Paytm does a U-turn, rolls back 2% fee on recharge via credit cards

Company says that it would put in place new mechanisms to prevent misuse of credit cards

Paytm on Thursday rolled back the additional two per cent charge it had levied on its customers the day earlier, saying it would put in place new mechanisms to prevent misuse of credit cards. On Wednesday, the mobile wallet major had it announced it would charge its customers two per cent if they added money to their mobile wallets using a credit card. 

“Keeping the millions of customers and merchants’ interests as utmost priority, the company has decided to remove the two per cent fees and announced that it will be use a series of features and constantly target the misuse. The company is also strengthening the team which focuses on identifying and blocking various types of misuse,” it said in a statement.

Some customers had been misusing this facility by adding money to the wallet using their credit card and then transferring the amount to their bank accounts at zero per cent fee. By doing this, these users were earning credit card loyalty points and free credit period. Thus, Paytm had announced refundable fees of two per cent on adding money to the wallet using credit cards.

“Our topmost priority has always been our users and are honoured that they choose to transact on Paytm.  We are steadfast in our resolve to enable millions of Indians become a part of the digital and financial inclusion revolution,” Deepak Abbot, Paytm’s senior vice-president, said.

MobiKwik, a vocal opponent of Paytm, in a statement on Thursday said it would continue to offer free loading of money into their wallet, including credit card users.

“In order to popularise the government’s vision of a cashless society, we at MobiKwik have decided not to charge two per cent on credit card recharges so that more people can transact online without having to worry about additional charges,” founder and CEO Bipin Preet Singh said.