UPI transactions will remain free: Finance Ministry said – UPI transactions will not attract charges, and cheap payment options will be encouraged

Till now there was discussion that the government may impose a charge on UPI payments, but the Finance Ministry on Sunday denied these reports. The government said - UPI transactions will remain as free as before. In the RBI discussion paper in the past, it was said, UPI also transfers funds like IMPS, so UPI should have the same fund transfer transaction charge as IMPS.

The Finance Ministry said – UPI is very convenient for the people. It is also beneficial for the economy. There is no discussion in the government regarding charging charges on UPI service. As far as cost recovery of the service provider is concerned, the same will be met through other means. The government is providing financial support for the digital payment ecosystem.

Debate sparked by RBI's consultation

A few days ago, RBI sought feedback from people regarding UPI payments and charges. A consultation paper was also shared for this. This created confusion among the people that the government is going to charge UPI as well, but now the Finance Ministry has made it all clear.

UPI is operated by NCPI

The operation of RTGS and NEFT payment systems in India is with RBI. Systems like IMPS, RuPay, and UPI are operated by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). The government mandated a zero-charge framework for UPI transactions with effect from January 1, 2020.

Revolution with the launch of UPI

With the launch of UPI in 2016, a revolution took place in the world of digital payments. UPI gave the facility to transfer money directly to the bank account. Earlier there was a trend for a digital wallet. Wallets have KYC-like hassles, whereas UPI doesn't have to do anything like this.

600 crore transactions in July

According to NPCI data, 600 crore transactions were done through UPI in July. The transaction value stood at Rs 10.2 lakh crore. UPI transactions are witnessing a month-on-month growth of 7.16%. The transaction value is growing at the rate of 4.76% year on year.

Special things related to UPI

UPI system does real-time fund transfers. Multiple bank accounts can be linked in one application.

To send money to someone, all you need is their mobile number, account number, or UPI ID.

UPI has been developed on the model of IMPS. That's why you can do 24x7 banking through the UPI app.

OTP, CVV code, card number, expiry date, etc. are not required for online shopping with UPI.

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