New Delhi: Recently, Google Pay has implemented convenience fees for bill payments, aligning itself with prominent fintech platforms like Paytm and PhonePe. This is undoubtedly an unwanted surprise for its consumers. Until now, Google Pay has offered a tariff-free service, which is suddenly surprising to many.
According to a report by the Economic Times, customers receiving discounts or making payments using credit or debit cards are now required to incur a fee on each transaction, ranging from 0.5% to 1% of the transaction value, in addition to GST. This represents a shift for Google, which had not imposed fees for this category of transaction before.
The report indicates that Google Pay has imposed a convenience fee of ₹3 for cell recharges since the previous year. Earlier this week, a user asserted that individuals attempting to pay an electricity bill via credit card incur a convenience fee of ₹15. The app displays this charge as an MS Cancellation cost, representing a processing cost for debit/credit card transactions, including GST.
Currently, there are no fees associated with UPI transactions conducted through Google Pay. Nevertheless, sources said stakeholders are experiencing approximately 0.25% expenditure on UPI transactions, compelling fintech companies to investigate alternative revenue streams to recuperate these expenses. Even though UPI transactions have been complimentary thus far, there have been calls for imposing UPI charges; nonetheless, the government has maintained its position that UPI should remain free of cost.
This alteration has been poorly received by many users, particularly those who use Google Pay to settle bills without incurring additional expenses. As the evolving environment of digital payments progresses, consumers must assess and reconsider their alternatives to facilitate payments without incurring these newly instituted costs.
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