Sumanth Raman, a political commentator known for his “neutrality,” posted fake news about the NPCI charging a fee for UPI transactions. He even conducted a poll on the topic in his Twitter handle without even confirming the veracity of the news.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced on Wednesday that it has allowed PPI (Prepaid Payment Instruments) wallets to be part of the interoperable UPI ecosystem and has imposed a maximum of 1.1% fee on Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions exceeding ₹2,000 when using PPI.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) stated in its latest circular that it will begin charging “Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI)” fees on merchant transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on April 1.
The NCPI had stated in its circular that the interchange charges are only applicable for Prepaid Payment Instruments merchant transactions. There are no charges levied on users for UPI or wallet (PayTm, Phone Pe, etc) transactions.
Within hours of the circular, miscreants started spreading rumours that UPI app users were being charged by NPCI for making online payments.
In one such attempt, ‘neutral’ political commentator Sumanth who has a considerable following on social media, stated that a 1.1% charge would be levied on all UPI transactions exceeding ₹2000, and he conducted a poll on his Twitter handle to gauge the level of effect the alleged charge would have on future UPI transactions.
As the fake news was circulated rapidly, with some verified handles like Sumanth Raman spreading it, NPCI and PAYTM issued a clarification, stating that the news of charging all UPI transactions is a rumour.
Please be informed that Paytm UPI is free, fast, secure, and seamless. No customer will pay any charges on making payments from UPI either from bank account or PPI/Paytm Wallet. Please read the @NPCI_NPCI press release to get more clarity on the issue. https://t.co/GM49FoZydA
— Paytm (@Paytm) March 29, 2023
Realizing that he was spreading a fake news, ‘Neutral’ Sumanth deleted the tweet saying, “OK. Deleting this poll. Apparently it is only for transactions through wallets and credit cards and not for bank debits.”
OK. Deleting this poll. Apparently it is only for transactions through wallets and credit cards and not for bank debits. https://t.co/sVUmD7J3rr
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) March 29, 2023
This tweet too is factually incorrect as the NPCI has clarified that no charges are levied on users using wallet (PayTm, Phone Pe, etc) transactions.,
The National Payments Corporation of India created UPI, an instant payment method. (NPCI). It integrates numerous bank accounts into a singular mobile app, combining several banking features and enabling seamless merchant payments.
Linking the bank account in any UPI-enabled app for making payments has traditionally been the most preferred way of UPI transactions, accounting for approximately 99.9% of total UPI transactions. Customers and merchants continue to benefit from free bank account-to-account transfers.
According to NPCI, over eight billion transactions are handled for free for customers and merchants each month. By providing a free, fast, secure, and seamless experience, UPI has emerged as a preferred method of digital payment.
(With inputs from LiveMint)
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