Payment Settlement Act amendment clarifies zero fee policy for small payments

The Finance Ministry exercised its authority under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 to issue a clarification that eliminates fee speculation after recent amendments to the law. The notice confirms that both UPI and Rupee Debit Card payments up to two thousand rupees are officially recognised as electronic payment means, and no bank or payment system operator may charge users. If a merchant discount rate (MDR) is ever introduced, it will apply only to specific merchant categories, for amounts exceeding a defined threshold, and at a negligible rate compared with card‑based MDR.