New Delhi: Finance ministry on Wednesday asked PSU banks to restrict fees on payments through IMPS and UPI to the extent that is applicable for NEFT fund transfer of over Rs 1,000 to encourage cashless transactions in the country.
As per RBI norms, NEFT transfers of up to Rs 10,000 attract Rs 2.5 fee. From Rs 10,000-Rs 1 lakh the fee is Rs 5; on Rs 1-Rs 2 lakh it is Rs 15, and beyond Rs 2 lakh it is Rs 25. Service tax is charged in addition to this.
For mobile banking (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) transactions above Rs 1,000, the finance ministry said a further discount of 50 paise on these rates shall apply.
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) is undertaken through SMS and is used mainly for banking services on a feature phone. The USSD fee is Rs 1.50, which has been waived till December 30.
IMPS is an interbank electronic instant mobile money transfer service through mobile phones. The UPI app enables customers to make online as well as offline payment to merchants from their bank accounts, without typing card or net banking/wallet details and IFSC code. This direction will apply for all transactions up to March 31, 2017.
Meanwhile, telecom minister Manoj Sinha announced on Wednesday that customers of state-run telecom firm BSNL will get 0.75 percent discount on online or electronic payment of their bills. Customers can pay the bill through BSNL portal or BSNL mobile application to avail discount.
"Our customers can now avail a discount/incentive of 0.75 per cent on the invoiced amount (excluding Service Tax) while making online or electronic payment before pay by date with effect from December 22, 2016 till March 31, 2017 for post-paid bills — (landline, Broadband, GSM) and GSM Prepaid Recharges," said BSNL.
