UPI fees new inflationary blow to common man: Bhupinder Hooda

Chandigarh, Sep 17 (PTI) Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday said fees levied on UPI payments would deal a fresh inflationary blow to the common man, and demanded their immediate withdrawal.

In a statement issued here, the senior Congress leader dismissed the government’s claim that the fees would not burden customers, saying whenever merchant fees are imposed, the cost ultimately falls on them.

Hooda, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, cited taxes and various charges levied on petrol and diesel as an example, saying oil companies do not bear these costs themselves and customers ultimately foot the bill.

“That is why the general public ends up paying 40-50 per cent in taxes on fuel. Similarly, petrol pump operators do not pay card payment charges themselves; instead, they recover the cost from the customer under the guise of a ‘fuel surcharge’,” he said.

He said jewellers add a “card surcharge” to the bill to offset the 1.5-2 per cent MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) payable to banks, while IRCTC, cinema halls, and travel apps collect payment gateway charges from passengers under the label of “convenience fees”.

Many shopkeepers refuse card payments for small bills to avoid processing costs, effectively forcing customers to make larger purchases, he said. Restaurants and large stores, despite it being illegal to directly add MDR to the bill, recover the amount from customers by imposing a 5 per cent “service charge”, he said.

“The same scenario will play out with UPI fees. Traders and large merchants will add this 0.4 per cent charge or the maximum cap of Rs 300 to the bill. Expenses such as school and college fees, rations, medicines, clothing, and daily purchases will become costlier,” Hooda claimed.

“The claim regarding an exemption for small traders on transactions up to Rs 1 lakh is merely on paper; the goods they procure from suppliers will already have the UPI payment fee factored into the price, meaning customers will ultimately pay more for those items,” he added.

Hooda said the government, which had championed the “Digital India” slogan, was now imposing fees on the very system that the common man had adopted precisely because it was free of cost.

“Imposing fees on that system now amounts to a direct betrayal of the public,” he said.

Hooda said the Congress demands the immediate withdrawal of the fees.

“Instead of devising new ways to burden the common man with the impact of inflation, the government should seek avenues to provide relief,” he said.

The government on Tuesday introduced a 0.4 per cent fee on transfers worth more than Rs 2,000 made to merchants through the platform from October 15, while ring-fencing person-to-person transactions as well as small payments from any charge. PTI SUN RHL

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