US pressure behind India's proposed UPI-RuPay transaction fee levy

In India, millions of people pay with their phones using a system called UPI, and it has always been free to use.

Now, India's government has proposed a new law that would let banks and payment companies charge fees for UPI and RuPay card payments.

Big American companies like Visa and Mastercard have been asking for this change because they lose money when people pick free phone payments instead of cards.

The United States government says India's payment rules are unfair to American companies and has called them a 'foreign trade barrier.'

The US has also complained about Brazil's free payment system called Pix, and it put a 25% tax on goods from Brazil because of it.

In India, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh says the real reason for the new fee is pressure from the United States.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman disagrees, saying the fee would be paid by shops or merchants, not by people using UPI.

She also said nothing is final yet and that the decision will come only after Parliament passes the new law.

India's free UPI system, launched in 2016, has helped millions of people pay without using cards.