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Congress General Secretary and MP Randeep Singh Surjewala on Wednesday said that September 14 will be remembered as a "day of digital somersault," alleging that the Centre's decision to permit charges on UPI transactions exceeding Rs 2,000 constitutes a "betrayal" of ordinary citizens.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Surjewala criticised the Modi government over the proposed UPI transaction tax, alleging that the move will benefit American companies while putting the financial burden on the common person. "This is an issue of utmost importance, impacting the lives and livelihoods of every common person. We are here to point out three things. Modi's government imposing a UPI transaction tax is a betrayal of the people of India. American companies will profit here, ordinary Indians will pay, and the BJP government has surrendered, he said. The Congress General Secretary added, September 14, 2026, will be remembered as a day of digital somersault, as well as a day of betrayal and surrender by the Union BJP government, as it has opened the doors for imposing a UPI transaction tax on UPI transactions above Rupees 2,000 with effect from October 15, 2026. Further, Surjewala warned that the revised UPI framework could also apply to person-to-person transactions in the future. Today it is person-to-merchant; tomorrow it can be the money that I transfer to you person-to-person or for any other thing," he said. His remarks came after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) introduced a revised framework under which UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 will attract a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) of 0.4 per cent, while consumers will continue to transact free of cost using UPI. The revised UPI Merchant Discount Rate framework will come into effect on October 15, 2026, and will apply to select merchant transactions. Under the new framework, an MDR of 0.4 per cent will apply to Person-to-Merchant (P2M) UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, with the MDR capped at Rs 300 per transaction. For instance, a 0.4 per cent MDR on a Rs 2,000 transaction works out to Rs 8. However, the charge is part of the merchant-side MDR framework, and the statement said consumers will continue to use UPI free of cost. The revised framework keeps Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions and P2M transactions up to Rs 2,000 outside the scope of MDR. (ANI)
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