India's Payments Council seeks fees for RuPay card and UPI transactions to sustain digital payments.

The Payments Council of India (PCI) has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reintroduce a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for RuPay debit cards for all merchants and a 0.3% MDR for UPI transactions for large merchants. The PCI argues that the current zero MDR policy only covers a fraction of the required cost for maintaining UPI services, emphasizing that the nominal MDR will ensure the sustainability of the digital payments ecosystem without disrupting grassroots adoption.