Mayawati slams Centre over UPI fee, calls it 'capitalist profiteering attitude'
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has criticized the Indian government's decision to impose a 0.4% fee on UPI merchant transactions over ₹2,000. She labeled the move as 'capitalist profiteering' and argued that it places an unfair financial burden on the public during a time of high inflation.
Why it matters
The criticism highlights the political tension surrounding the monetization of digital public infrastructure in India.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati termed the Centre's move to introduce a 0.4% fee on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) merchant transfers worth more than ₹2,000 from October 15 as, prima facie, a "capitalist profiteering attitude" that recovers tax from the people with both hands.
In a post on X in Hindi on Friday (September 18, 2026), Ms. Mayawati said, "After vigorously promoting UPI digital transactions initially, the government's new arrangement to now levy fees on those transactions, prima facie, appears as a capitalist profiteering attitude involving tax recovery from the people with both hands, which has naturally resulted in unease and outrage among the public."
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in