DIGITAL PAYMENTS: PANEL RECOMMENDS CHARGES ON HIGH-VALUE DIGITAL TRANSACTIONS

New Delhi: A parliamentary committee has recommended introducing charges on high-value digital transactions to ensure the financial sustainability of the country's payment system and reduce the burden on the government exchequer.

The committee has recommended the early implementation of a graded Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for high-value transactions. It said such a system could help create a self-sustaining revenue model without putting additional pressure on government funds.

The panel also expressed concerns over the incentive scheme aimed at promoting RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions. It said the allocation of Rs 2,000 crore to compensate for losses caused by zero-MDR transactions would unnecessarily increase the department's overall demand for grants.

The committee advised the Finance Ministry to develop a graded revenue system that would ensure the sustainability of digital payments without placing an additional burden on the government exchequer.

The panel, headed by senior BJP leader Bhartruhari Mahtab, also raised concerns over the wide gap between the Rs 2,000 crore budgetary allocation and the industry's estimated operational expenditure of Rs 20,700 crore.

2026-08-14T07:38:20Z