Opposition parties led by the Congress alleged that the MDR decision had been taken under “American pressure” and allowed “US card companies to compete with UPI”.
Rejecting the Opposition allegations, the Ministry of Finance said, “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.”
“UPI continues to be free for customers. Sending money to friends, paying at shops, or scanning a QR code – all remain without charges,” the Ministry said in a post on X.
Targeting the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, said “stop lying down in front of the US, have a spine, stand up” and roll back the “UPI tax”.
In a video in which he is seen standing before a portrait of his grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he said, “Indira ji was once asked whether she leans left or right and her response was ‘I don’t lean left, I don’t lean right, I stand straight’. Modi ji has a completely different concept, he is neither left nor right, he has decided to lie down straight and prostrate himself in front of Donald Trump.”
“He has put a tax on every single Indian person by taxing UPI and giving a huge amount of money to the United States,” Gandhi alleged.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, too targeted the Prime Minister. In a post on X, he said, “Your dear friend ‘Abki Baar Trump Sarkar’ dictates, you capitulate and 140 cr Indians are left to bear the consequences! The threat of up to 100% US tariffs on Indian goods shows how your Govt’s foreign and trade policies have miserably failed…Yesterday’s surrender on the MDR on UPI is another stark example of your govt’s meekness! From tariffs and trade to H1B immigration, visas and digital payments, the pressure from Washington keeps mounting, and you, ‘Howdy Modi ji’ keeps surrendering!”
SP president Akhilesh Yadav said, “The BJP, in its pursuit of earning from others’ earnings, is now about to charge fees for payments made via UPI. Will a trillion-dollar economy be built this way? The BJP, which is now squeezing money even from payment gateways, has turned into a chungi-jeevi’ (toll collector).”
AAP MP Sanjay Singh, referring to the Prime Minister’s description of his critics as ‘naaraaz fufa’, said, “Fufa is cunning too, so he will say that tax will be imposed on the trader. Now, the trader isn’t your relative, so he will sell you expensive goods. This tax has been brought under pressure from America.”
Targeting the government, RJD leader Manoj Jha said, “This is not a decision taken of their own accord, with their own wisdom. When we talk about American imperialism, this is like bowing down before it.”
CPI general secretary D Raja demanded that the government withdraw the “anti-people decision” and keep UPI transactions free.
The government, he said, claims that consumers will not be charged, but experience shows that merchants always find ways to pass on new costs to consumers.
In Kolkata, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, said, “A good leader is someone who sets long-term goals and actually achieves them. Let me give you a few examples of Modi ji’s vision and farsightedness. First, I want to discuss UPI. When UPI was initially launched, many people thought this initiative wouldn’t succeed under any circumstances. And many were asking: How will the poor benefit from this UPI?”
“Just last month, UPI completed 10 years since its implementation. In the month of August alone, 23.66 billion transactions took place via UPI. You will be astonished to hear their total value, which was approximately Rs 29.88 lakh crore,” Singh said, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron had called UPI “not just a tech story, but a civilisational story”.
He said the digital payments infrastructure directly benefited lower-income groups, particularly street vendors. “Under PM SVANidhi scheme, street vendors were also provided collective collateral-free loans worth approximately Rs 80,000-85,000. And they used this money to expand their businesses. According to an estimate, the average annual income of these PM SVANidhi beneficiaries has increased by 20 per cent,” he said.
The Ministry of Finance, justifying the MDR decision in its post on X, listed what it called “key facts”: Person-to-person transfers remain free, regardless of amount; small merchants have been protected because vendors earning up to Rs 1 lakh per month via UPI QR codes will continue to enjoy zero charges.
It said everyday payments remain safe, that over 95% of merchant payments are below Rs 2,000 and these remain free. Only larger merchant transactions above Rs 2,000 will attract a small fee (0.4%) to be borne by merchants, far lower than credit card charges or other network charges, the Ministry said.
It said railways, fuel, telecom, bill payments, insurance, etc have a flat fee of Rs 5 per transaction above Rs 2,000. Mutual fund and securities payments will attract just 0.02%, capped at Rs 300.
On the safeguards for consumers, the Ministry said banks have been instructed that merchants cannot pass MDR costs to customers; that there will be no hidden fees because UPI apps cannot levy platform charges.
– With ENS inputs
“He has put a tax on every single Indian person by taxing UPI and giving a huge amount of money to the United States,” Gandhi alleged.
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