Majority Of People May Stop Using UPI If Transaction Fee Is Imposed: Survey

New Delhi: Majority of the users would discontinue using the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) if transaction fees were imposed on it, according to an online survey conducted by LocalCircles.

A significant portion of respondents reported experiencing transaction fees being imposed on their UPI payments once or more in the past year. Among the surveyed individuals, 73% stated that they would discontinue using UPI if a transaction fee was introduced, while, 23% expressed their willingness to accept a transaction fee for payments.

The LocalCircles survey gathered more than 34,000 responses from citizens across 364 districts, with 67% of respondents being male and 33% being female.

“37% of UPI users surveyed claim that they have experienced a transaction fee being levied on their UPI payment once or more in the last 12 months,” the survey report mentioned.

In August 2022, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a discussion paper suggesting a tiered structure for charges on UPI payments, categorised by various amount bands. Subsequent to the release of the RBI discussion paper, the finance ministry clarified that there were no plans to impose fees on UPI transactions, as stated in the report on UPI transaction fees by LocalCircles.

When inquired about the frequency of UPI usage, the survey found that one out of every two UPI users conducts more than 10 transactions every month.

According to government data, UPI transactions in the country have surged from 92 crore in the financial year 2017-18 to 8,375 crore in 2022-23, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 147% in terms of volume.

The value of UPI transactions has risen from Rs 1 lakh crore in 2017-18 to Rs 139 lakh crore in 2022-23, registering a CAGR of 168%.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is India’s mobile-based rapid payment system, enabling customers to make instant payments around the clock using a Virtual Payment Address (VPA) created by the user.

To date, multiple countries, such as Sri Lanka, France, the UAE, Singapore, and Mauritius, have collaborated with India on the development of emerging fintech and payment solutions.