BENGALURU: Congress leader and AICC general secretary Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala here on Wednesday criticised the Centre over the proposed imposition of transaction charges on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments, warning that any additional levy would ultimately burden consumers and small traders.
Speaking to reporters at the KPCC office in Bengaluru, Surjewala cited official figures to highlight the growing scale of UPI transactions. He said UPI recorded 24,162 crore transactions worth around Rs 314 lakh crore during 2025-26 and the transaction value is expected to cross Rs 400 lakh crore in 2026-27.
He claimed that Person-to-Merchant (P2M) transactions above Rs 2,000 could face a significant financial burden if charges-Merchant Discount Rate (MDR)-are imposed. Such costs, he argued, would eventually be passed on to consumers through higher prices.
Surjewala also questioned changes to provisions relating to transaction charges, particularly Section 10A, alleging that the amendments could allow the government to revise or increase charges through notifications without returning to Parliament.
“Today it may be a small charge, but tomorrow it could become one per cent or more,” he warned, arguing that even a modest levy on the huge volume of UPI transactions could result in tens of thousands of crores being collected from the public.
He also raised concerns over the dominance of large technology platforms in India's digital payments ecosystem. Surjewala questioned whether foreign-owned platforms handling a substantial share of UPI transactions were adequately contributing to the system, while also gaining access to valuable data on consumers' financial and spending patterns.
The Congress leader questioned the need for additional charges to finance the UPI ecosystem, claiming that the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is financially sound and has substantial cash reserves. He cited a pre-tax profit of around Rs 1,900 crore and questioned why additional costs should be imposed on users when banks and other institutions already generate substantial fee income.
Surjewala also pointed to the Reserve Bank of India's surplus transfers to the Centre and asked why the government could not support the digital payments infrastructure without imposing an additional burden on citizens.
Replying to a query, he compared the issue with earlier changes in pricing in the telecom sector and maintained that the impact of transaction charges would not be confined to metropolitan areas. Small traders and consumers in towns and rural areas, he said, would also eventually bear the cost.
The Congress leader urged the Centre to ensure that UPI, which has emerged as a widely used digital payment platform, remains affordable and does not become a source of additional costs for ordinary citizens and small businesses.