Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday questioned the Centre’s decision to retain the no-charge provision for UPI payments only up to Rs 2,000, alleging that the move could eventually increase costs for consumers.
In a post on X, Gandhi said permitting Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on transactions above the threshold could allow payment-related costs to be passed on to customers through higher prices.
He said transactions exceeding Rs 2,000 may account for only about five per cent of UPI transactions by volume but represent nearly 65 per cent of their total value.
Gandhi also alleged that US-based payment companies had opposed India’s zero-MDR framework and accused the Centre of moving towards a system favoured by them.
The comments followed a Finance Ministry notification stating that UPI transactions up to Rs 2,000 would continue to remain free of direct or indirect charges imposed by banks or system providers. According to the notification, this covers around 96 per cent of UPI transactions by volume.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also attacked the government over the issue, alleging that the change would put an additional burden on people already facing high inflation.
“The Modi government’s loot has now reached UPI. ‘No fees on UPI’ has been changed to ‘no fees on UPI transactions up to Rs 2,000′,” Kharge said, claiming that the government was effectively moving towards a digital payments tax.
The Congress leaders’ remarks come amid a wider debate over the future funding model for India’s UPI ecosystem and whether charges on higher-value merchant transactions could be introduced.
