NEW DELHI/MUMBAI, Aug 4 (Reuters) - India has moved a step closer to reintroducing merchant fees on transactions made through its popular Unified Payments Interface (UPI) after proposed changes to the country's payments laws were introduced in parliament on Tuesday.
UPI, one of the world's largest real-time payments networks, processed 23.6 billion transactions worth 29.9 trillion rupees ($313.5 billion) in July, according to official data. Walmart's PhonePe and Alphabet's Google Pay dominate payments via UPI.
Industry executives have long argued that growth in digital payments has become harder to sustain because payment firms earn no fee on UPI transactions, limiting their ability to invest in the ecosystem.
An amendment to India's Payment and Settlement Systems Act, tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, would allow the introduction of a merchant discount rate (MDR) on digital payments, according to industry and regulatory sources.
The sources said the change creates a legal basis for charging an MDR, but no decision has yet been made on the level of fees or where they would apply.
#according
UPI, one of the world's largest real-time payments networks, processed 23.6 billion transactions worth 29.9 trillion rupees ($313.5 billion) in July, according to official data. Walmart's PhonePe and Alphabet's Google Pay dominate payments via UPI.
Industry executives have long argued that growth in digital payments has become harder to sustain because payment firms earn no fee on UPI transactions, limiting their ability to invest in the ecosystem.
An amendment to India's Payment and Settlement Systems Act, tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, would allow the introduction of a merchant discount rate (MDR) on digital payments, according to industry and regulatory sources.
The sources said the change creates a legal basis for charging an MDR, but no decision has yet been made on the level of fees or where they would apply.
#according
4 days ago
