Pune: Fuel dealers in the state will decide on Sept 27 whether or not to accept UPI payments at pumps following Centre’s proposal to levy a 0.4% merchant charge on each payment exceeding Rs 2,000.Federation of All Maharashtra Petrol Dealers Association (FAMPEDA) has opposed the move in a letter to the finance ministry.FAMPEDA president Amit Gupta said there would be a meeting of national fuel dealers’ associations on Sept 27. “Whatever they decide will apply to us. MDR on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000 will be a major problem as we receive a prescribed dealer margin on a fixed per-litre basis and have no authority to revise the selling price or dealer margin to recover additional payment processing costs,” Gupta said.Dhruv Ruparel, president of Petrol Dealers Association Pune and a vice-president of FAMPEDA, said any MDR, flat transaction fee or other digital payment charge would directly affect dealers. “A substantial proportion of fuel purchases exceed Rs 2,000. It would materially affect dealers’ financial viability,” he said.Maharashtra has nearly 8,000 petrol pumps, with around 350 in Pune. Any decision to decline UPI payments for fuel purchases above Rs 2,000 could inconvenience motorists and transporters.Baba Shinde, president of Maharashtra State Vahan Chalak Malak Pratinidhi Mahasangh, said the move could also create security concerns for truck drivers. “Earlier, transporters used to provide cash to drivers after calculating the route. Now, that is not the case due to several issues, including criminal incidents. If petrol pumps decline UPI payments to truck drivers, things will become very inconvenient and risky, leading to many complications,” he said.
