RBI cuts Debit Card Transaction Charges from 2018

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As a part of it's 5th Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut charges for using the Debit Card transactions. The bank has came up with differentiated Merchant Discount Rates (MDR) for debit card transactions, prescribing separate caps for small and large traders.

The MDR charges for small merchants with an annual turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh has been fixed at 0.40% with a cap of Rs 200 per transaction by debit cards through Point of Sale (PoS) machines or online transactions. Here is a detailed look at new charges.

New Charges for Debit Card Transactions:

For small merchants (up to Rs 20 lakh turnover)

Debit card                  

For small merchants with turnover up to Rs 20 lakh (during the previous financial year), the charge on debit card payments has been set to not exceed 0.40 percent, with an upper cap of Rs 200 per transaction.

QR code-based payment

Charges for QR code-based payments for such merchants have been set to not exceed 0.30 percent of the total transaction, or Rs 200 per transaction.

For other merchants (above Rs 20 lakh turnover)

Debit card

In the case of merchants with a turnover of above Rs 20 lakh during the previous financial year, the charge of a debit card transaction has been set to not exceed 0.90 percent with an upper cap of Rs 1000 per transaction.

QR code-based payment

In case of QR-based transactions, charges are set to not exceed 0.80 percent of the total transaction with an upper cap of Rs 1000 per transaction.

This move is aimed at promoting debit card acceptance by a wider set of merchants, and ensure sustainability for the entities involved. The new rates will come into effect from January 1, 2018.

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