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Brazil's Pix works like UPI and it's free. If Brazil can keep Pix free, why can't the Modi government keep UPI free?
Isn't it obvious? The whole UPI system works because consumers get subsidies, while merchants still pay a fee. If that subsidy disappears, small transactions won't make sense and I'd only use UPI for bigger payments. If the government really cares, it should simply push everyone to the digital rupee and fund it fully.
Who conducted this survey? How many people took part, and is it an official NPCI, BHIM or UPI survey or just a Facebook poll? MDR charges are paid by merchants, not customers—it's a Merchant Discount Charge, not a CDR. All credit cards have MDR, but people often forget that and keep using them.
UPI is meant to replace cash, not credit cards. If fees are introduced, many users will revert to cash—especially low‑income people and small shopkeepers, who make up the bulk of transaction volume.
A 2025 IIM Bangalore study showed that when faced with an MDR of 0.1 % on transactions above ₹5,000, capped at ₹10, only 12 % of users said they'd switch to cash.
All this just to line the government's pockets for shoddy roads and the next election campaign. I'm definitely switching back to cash.
Printing, transporting and counting cash costs money. If the government doesn't charge for those, it shouldn't charge for digital payments either. Instead, they could create a business‑focused version for merchants.
I'd be happy to go back to cash if that's what it comes to.
A one‑time government subsidy benefits the masses.
UPI‑like payment systems exist in many countries and are free everywhere. They help the government shift money to digital form, bringing indirect benefits like curbing tax evasion. No one charges for them. In India, the idea of fees is being floated because our so‑called brilliant bureaucrats live in a delusional world and feel the need to compensate for decades of misgovernance by squeezing the over‑taxed even more.