New Delhi, Sept 17:
The Opposition on Wednesday stepped up its criticism of the Centre’s decision to introduce a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on certain UPI transactions, alleging that the move was influenced by US concerns over India’s free digital payments system.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh questioned whether the MDR framework had been introduced to enable US card companies to compete with UPI.
Ramesh alleged that the government had yielded to a US demand to end zero MDR for UPI transactions. He also referred to earlier criticism of UPI by the US Trade Representative over the impact of India’s free digital payment system on global card networks.
The Congress leader also raised concerns over US trade and immigration policies, referring to proposed tariffs on India and tougher measures affecting Indian immigrants and H-1B visa holders.
The Opposition has demanded withdrawal of the new charges and continuation of free UPI payments.
Under the new framework, a 0.4 per cent fee will apply from October 15 to UPI transfers of more than ₹2,000 made to merchants. The government has maintained that there is no question of rolling back the decision.
The Opposition has also argued that the new charges could increase costs and eventually push up prices of commodities. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an RSS affiliate, separately said the government should reconsider any proposal to impose MDR on UPI transactions above ₹2,000, arguing that the move was not warranted by the costs involved.