The finance ministry stated that the government does not intend to charge for payments made via the unified payments interface (UPI), putting to rest speculation sparked by a recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) discussion paper on digital payment charges.
“UPI is a digital public good that provides enormous convenience to the public while also increasing economic productivity.” There is no plan in the government to charge for UPI services. “The service providers’ concerns about cost recovery must be addressed through other means,” said a tweet from the official handle. According to the report, the government provided financial support for the digital payment ecosystem last year and has announced similar support this year in order to encourage further adoption of such payments and the promotion of cost-effective and user-friendly payment platforms.