PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Petrol pump operators in Dehradun have started encouraging customers to pay in cash instead of using UPI, amid concerns among dealers over proposed changes related to Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments. However, dealers said that petrol pumps are not refusing UPI payments and that customers can continue to pay digitally, but cash is preferred. The shift towards cash appears linked to concerns over the additional cost dealers could face under the Union government’s proposed MDR provision, which comes into effect on October 15.
A local resident wanting to remain anonymous said that he encountered the issue on Thursday when he visited a petrol pump to refuel his four-wheeler. After asking for the UPI scanner, he said that the attendant told him that UPI was not working and asked him to pay in cash. “I had to go to the nearby ATM to withdraw cash and return,” he said. Such incidents prompted questions over whether customers were being asked to pay in cash because of technical issues or concerns related to the proposed MDR changes.
When contacted by The Pioneer on Friday, a petrol pump operator said that dealers were not refusing UPI payments. The operator said that customers were being informed that they could choose between UPI and cash payments. The Dehradun Petroleum Pump Dealers Association president Ashish Mittal said that the All India Petroleum Dealers Association (AIPDA) had taken up the issue with Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri and senior ministry officials. According to an AIPDA update, the association held a meeting with Puri, Petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal, joint secretary (Marketing) Sujata Sharma and other senior officials. Dealer commission and MDR on UPI transactions were among the issues raised during the meeting. Mittal said that the association had requested the ministry to reconsider the proposed MDR-related provision, arguing that petrol prices and dealer margins are fixed. “If it cannot be reconsidered, the MRP of petroleum products should be increased to accommodate the additional cost,” Mittal said. For now, UPI payments continue to be accepted at petrol pumps in Dehradun, although some operators are encouraging customers to use cash.
