The Narendra Modi-led government's latest move on UPI has invited sharp criticism from Rahul Gandhi, who also accused the Prime Minister of being "compromised". 

"The Modi government has quietly opened the door to imposing fees on UPI. Now, MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) can be levied on merchant UPI transactions above Rs 2,000.

Even if these transactions account for just 5% of the volume, they make up nearly 65% of UPI's total transaction value," Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, posted on X. 

The Congress' attack came after the government directed banks and payment system providers not to levy charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions of up to Rs 2,000 or on payments made through RuPay debit cards.

Read | UPI Payments Up To Rs 2,000 Are Free. Here's What Happens Beyond That

However, the government has not specified whether charges would be applicable to transactions above Rs 2,000, to be paid by merchants. So far, there has been no charge on UPI transactions, irrespective of the amount.

"The government says no fees will be charged to customers. But where will the fees imposed on shopkeepers ultimately come from? Added to prices, straight out of the customer's pocket," Gandhi said.

Source: ndtv