'This is false': Govt rejects 'foreign influence' charge in UPI merchant fee row

The government also reiterated several points regarding the new UPI framework and clarified that UPI remains free for consumers.

The government on Wednesday debunked claims that its decision to levy Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on some merchant UPI payments was influenced by foreign pressure. Since the announcement of the UPI charge, several critics of the move, including the main opposition Congress party, have accused the government of introducing the fee to favour the United States and please US President Donald Trump.

The finance ministry, in a post on X, clarified that the decision was taken with the “goal of building a self-sustaining, inclusive, and affordable digital payments ecosystem” and that it was made independently. It said any claim of foreign influence was false.

Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, accused the government of ‘lying down in front of US President Donald Trump’ by burdening ‘every single Indian person’ with a 'UPI tax'.

“Some claims suggest the change is due to foreign influence. This is false. India’s UPI policy decisions are made independently, with the clear goal of building a self-sustaining, inclusive, and affordable digital payments ecosystem,” the Ministry of Finance said.