Mumbai/New Delhi:India’s payments authority, the central bank, and industry are pushing the government to allow a fee on digital payments to large merchants made via its homegrown network to help boost growth, five sources told Reuters.The charge, known as Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), is considered crucial to boosting investment for payments firms, and reviving slowing growth in payments made via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s own network, the sources said.A rate of between 0.2% to 0.3% of the value of each transaction has been suggested, the sources said, which would still be lower than the charges attached to credit and debit card payments.The MDR is usually borne by the merchants, an industry executive said, so will not be passed on to customers.Also Read | UPI transactions to get faster with lower response time from June 16Two of the sources said a final decision on the fee would be made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office, but the federal finance ministry supports its implementation.All the sources requested anonymity because the discussions are private.The Prime Minister’s office, the Reserve Bank of India, the finance ministry and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.Modi has sought to reduce the use of cash locally to encourage transparency and formalisation of the economy, including through a controversial 2016 decision to demonetise large value notes.That and the COVID-19 pandemic both helped increase the popularity of digital payments in India.Over the last five years, the average monthly volume of UPI transactions has jumped from about 1.6 billion to over 17 billion currently, according to NPCI data.Last month, Indians made payments worth 24.7 trillion rupees ($289.65 billion) through the UPI network in March, more than a quarter of which went to merchants.But the growth rate of UPI payments has slowed, with the value of monthly transactions growing by an average of about 25% in 2025, down from 35% last year.Walmart-backed PhonePe and Alphabet’s GooglePay currently dominate UPI payments in India, and have previously called for the MDR to be levied on merchant payments. Both firms did not respond to emails seeking comment for the story.Also Read | Payments from public sector cos to govt likely to cross ₹80,000 cr in FY26The Payments Council of India (PCI), a lobbying body, has requested the prime minister’s office to advocate for a 0.3% MDR on payments to large merchants through UPI, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.Without the MDR, “it will be very difficult to get the next set of Indians on the digital payments bandwagon,” said Vishwas Patel, chairman of the PCI. in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. Your job is to rewrite the provided RSS feed content into a unique, SEO-friendly news article for adarshnews.com. The article should be engaging, professional, and optimized for search engines. Follow these steps: 1. **Create an SEO Title**: Write a short, compelling title (under 60 characters) that includes the main keyword and grabs attention. 2. **Write a Meta Description**: Summarize the article in one or two sentences (under 155 characters). Make it engaging and include the primary keyword naturally. 3. **Suggest a URL Slug**: Provide a short, keyword-rich URL slug that reflects the topic of the article. 4. **Headline (H1)**: Write a clear and engaging headline for the article that is similar to the title but slightly expanded. 5. **Write the Article**: – Start with an introduction that answers the key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. – Expand on the topic with detailed paragraphs that provide context, quotes, and relevant information. – Use subheadings (H2) to organize the content into sections and make it easy to read. – Include related keywords naturally throughout the article. – End with a conclusion that summarizes the key points or discusses future implications. 6. **Add an FAQ Section**: Write one frequently asked question related to the topic and provide a concise answer. Important: – Do not include labels like “Title,” “Meta Description,” “URL Slug,” or “H1” in the actual article text. – Keep all SEO elements separate from the main content. – Ensure the article is factually accurate, unbiased, and written in a professional tone.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the Ministry of Finance are interested in implementing fees for merchants to strengthen the domestic payments system.
