Drop decision to impose fee on UPI transactions: Pinarayi

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Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has slammed the Union government decision to impose payments on transactions made via the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), calling it “daylight robbery.”

Mr. Vijayan said the government measure, which would transform the UPI system as a tool for fintech companies to reap profits, cannot be accepted. He demanded immediate rollback of the decision, saying that ultimately the burden would fall on the common man.

“Although the government says the fee will be collected from merchants, they will hike prices to push the burden on to consumers,” he said.

The Union government is trying to make digital payments a source of income for itself after forcing the people to shift to UPI transactions in the name of ‘Digital India,’ he said. Digital payments were promoted among the people by convincing them that it would remain free of charge.

Believing the government, ordinary people, workers in the unorganised sector and small traders embraced digital transactions. The decision to impose 0.4% fee on transactions above ₹2,000 is tantamount to picking pockets, he said.

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