Citi India waives debit card fees for merchants to encourage digital payments

Foreign lender Citi India Sunday announced fee waiver for all domestic debit card transactions as part of its efforts to encourage digital payments.

The temporary suspension of the merchant discount rate (MDR) on all domestic debit card transactions it acquires will remain until December 31.

During this period, all merchants who receive payments for domestic debit card transactions will not incur any charges, Citi India said in a statement.

This step supports Citi India's merchant partners as consumers move towards electronic mode of payments at this time and is aligned with the government's increased focus on digitising payments.

"By waiving these charges, we will help in the growth of the digital payments ecosystem. The bank consistently works with our partners, both online and offline, to increase card spending by uniquely designed offerings that capture consumer trends and result in incremental business for our partners as well," Citi India, Head of Credit Cards Arjun Chowdhry said.

Citi is a leading issuer and acquirer of both credit and debit cards in India, partnering with Mastercard and Visa.

It also acquires Rupay cards of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI).