Goa, Aug. 8 -- Concerns over whether Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions could soon become chargeable have surfaced after Parliament cleared a bill that allows the possibility of fees being levied on certain merchant transactions. However, the government has clarified that ordinary UPI users will continue to make payments without paying a transaction fee.

In a clarification, the Ministry of Finance said that customers will not be charged for making UPI payments. It also confirmed that all Person-to-Person (P2P) transactions will continue to remain free.

The proposed framework relates to the possibility of introducing a Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) for a limited category of merchant transactions. If introduced, the charge would...