Charges on card deals to stay to keep banks healthy

Incidentally, the payments platforms as of now do not charge a commission on e-wallets

The government on Sunday said charges on cards that had been waived till the end of December cannot be extended further without impacting the health of banks.

“The issue will have to be discussed with the RBI (the Reserve Bank of India), which has asked for time till March 31 to sort it out,” said a source in the government. Till then the charges, known as Merchant Discount Rate or MDR, will remain.

Petrol pump dealers or anyone else who accept a card payment for a sale of goods or services pays a fee known as the MDR. The fee