User backlash forces Paytm to roll back controversial 2% fee

Under intense pressure from users, Paytm withdrew two per cent fee on loading money to its mobile wallet through credit cards within hours of its introduction.
"We are suspending two per cent charge on credit cards for adding money to wallet, keeping users' convenience in mind," Paytm said in a blog post.
The rollback comes within 24-hours of Paytm introducing the fee, which sparked a backlash from its users on social media.
The Alibaba-backed company on March 8 announced that it would levy a two per cent charge on transfer of money from credit card to mobile wallet. The fee was aimed at curbing misuse of its platform to transfer interest free credit card funds to bank accounts of users at zero transaction cost.

Stating that the fee had been imposed "with an intent to prevent the misuse of transfer to bank facility at 0 per cent", the company said, "at the same time, we are conscious that this move caused inconvenience to a large segment of our users, including those who are using their credit card for genuine transactions".
Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma indicated that social media feedback prompted the company to react fast on the issue.
The company said it will build a series of features to curb such misuse and is strengthening the team that focuses on identifying and blocking various types of misuse.

While Paytm had announced levying of two per cent fee, its smaller rival MobiKwik had said it would keep all such transactions free.