India, Sept. 16 -- The Congress on Tuesday accused the government of breaking its own promise of keeping the United Payment Interface free of fees after a notification issued the day before paved the way for a Merchant Discount Rate charge on UPI transactions above Rs.2,000.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the move breaks the government's promise of a free UPI system and accused it of "surrendering to American pressure" on digital payments. "The Modi government's loot has now reached UPI," Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said in a statement. "'No fees on UPI' has been changed to 'no fees on UPI transactions up to Rs.2,000.'"

On Tuesday evening, the government introduced a 0.4% transaction fee on payments above ...