Demonetisation: Govt limits charges on electronic fund transfer

New Delhi: In order to further promote digital and card payments, Finance Ministry on Wednesday directed all public sector banks(PSBs) not to charge fees for transactions settled on IMPS and UPI in excess of rates charged for NEFT for transactions above Rs 1000, with service tax being charged at actual.

For USSD, transactions above Rs 1000, a further discount of fifty paise on these rates will apply.

In line with the Central government’s objective of promotion of payments through cards and digital means over payments in cash, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently rationalized customer charges for transactions up to Rs 1000 settled on IMPS, UPI and USSD with effect from Jan 1, 2017 till March 31, 2017.

RBI has also rationalized the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for debit card transactions up to Rs 2000 with effect from Jan 1, 2017 till March 31, 2017.