Keep UPI free!
But here's why UPI became so popular: It's free.
Before 2019, when you paid through UPI, the shopkeeper had to give a small fee to the bank – for example, ₹0.25 if you bought milk worth ₹100. That doesn't sound like much, but for the shopkeeper, who only makes ₹2.50 on that milk, losing ₹0.25 was a big deal. So many shopkeepers didn't want to take UPI then.
Then in December 2019, the government said: 'No more fees on UPI!'
After that, everyone started using it. UPI payments are now 14 times higher than they were five years ago.
What's the problem now?
Recently, the head of the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) said that maybe UPI users should start paying a little again, because banks say they are spending a lot of money to keep UPI running. But the government quickly said, 'Nope, we're not bringing back those fees.' They want people to keep using UPI without any fear or confusion.
Actually, the government already gives money to banks to help them run UPI. It pays about ₹0.15 for every ₹100 transaction under ₹2,000 – like a small thank-you to banks.
And if UPI was really bad for banks, then why are more and more banks joining it? In 2019, 143 banks used UPI. Now, there are 675! That's because banks use UPI to make new customers who later take loans or buy insurance, which is where banks earn big money.
What should be done?
If banks still think UPI is too expensive to run, the government can give them more help – but UPI should stay free for users. If people have to start paying to use UPI, they might stop using it and go back to cash. And printing cash also costs the government a lot of money – ₹6,373 crore last year!
In short:
UPI is free and super popular in India.
Banks want to bring back small fees.
But making UPI paid might make people stop using it.
It's better if the government helps banks instead of making users pay.
Let's keep UPI simple, fast, and free!
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