New Delhi, Sept. 17 -- The Payments Council of India (PCI) on Thursday disputed a claim by the Kerala Congress that a 0.4% UPI Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on fuel payments could significantly cut petrol pump operators' margins and push up transportation costs, saying the calculation does not apply to fuel transactions.

Kerala Congress claimed that a truck filling 300 litres of diesel would require a payment of Rs.30,924 and that a 0.4% MDR would cost the pump owner about Rs.146. It said this would reduce the operator's gross commission by 18.66%.

The party said, "Will he absorb the hit, or pass it to the customer, or ask for cash. Why would the trucker pay extra when cash costs nothing?"

It further mentioned that higher costs could ev...