CPI demands rollback of UPI merchant fee, alleges move made under US pressure

Patna, Sep 16 (UNI) The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Wednesday demanded that the government withdraw the newly announced merchant charges on certain UPI transactions. CPI state secretary Ramnaresh Pandey alleged that the move was taken under US pressure and would eventually burden traders and consumers. Pandey said the decision to introduce charges on eligible UPI merchant transactions was "unfortunate" and questioned the rationale for turning a public digital payments infrastructure into a fee-based system. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced that a revised Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework will apply from October 15 to specified…