The finance minister also informed that no Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges will be applicable on selected modes of payment from January 1
Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds a review meeting of the banking sector with CMDs of Public Sector Banks, in New Delhi on Dec 28, 2019. Also seen Finance and Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar, Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty and Revenue Secretar Ajay Bhushan Pandey. (Photo: IANS/PIB)
While addressing the top executives of the public sector banks (PSBs), the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday asked them to clear all the pending vigilance cases against their officials for alleged malpractices.
The finance minister also informed that no Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges will be applicable on selected modes of payment from January 1 onwards, which will be notified soon, Sitharaman said after a review meeting with heads of the PSBs.
Soon on February 01, 2020 Sitharaman is set to present her second budget. The minister has been holding meetings with industrialists, economists and state finance ministers in the past few weeks, with an aim to address save banking sector and to reverse the economic slowdown.
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Earlier this year, Sitharaman in her Budget speech had proposed to waive MDR charges to spur digital payments.
“I, therefore, propose that the business establishments with annual turnover more than Rs 50 crore shall offer such low-cost digital modes of payment to their customers and no charges or Merchant Discount Rate shall be imposed on customers as well as merchants.
“RBI and banks will absorb these costs from the savings that will accrue to them on account of handling less cash as people move to these digital modes of payment,” she had said.
(With input from agencies)
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