Following the footsteps of PhonePe, Paytm has reportedly started charging a modest fee to some of its users for mobile recharge made through the financial platform. Depending upon how large the mount of recharge is, Paytm will start charging from Rs.1 to Rs.6.
The fee is charged from the users for a mobile recharge of Airtel recharge, Jio recharge or any kind of recharge through UPI, bank credit or a debit card, and even a wallet.
About the outcome after the decision of charging platform fee
Several Paytm users turned to Twitter and tweeted to criticize the platform for levying a surcharge on mobile recharges, even while using UPI. It’s worth noting that Paytm stated in 2019 that it does not charge and will not charge customers any convenience or transaction fees when they use any payment option, including Cards, UPI, and Wallet through Paytm.
But it seems that the platform has started collecting a convenience or transaction fee on mobile recharges, as some customers have already experienced.
How does it charge
Fortunately, it appears that Paytm does not impose any platform or convenience fees on Airtel recharge, Jio recharge or any mobile recharge worth less than Rs. 100 at this time. The platform fee is said to be applied to recharges of Rs. 100 or more, with a minimum fee of Rs.1 and a maximum rate of Rs. 6.
However, not all users are now charged platform fees on mobile recharges. The Noida-based public-listed fintech startup appears to be experimenting with the new costs right now. When the Flipkart-owned mobile payments network began collecting a tiny platform fee for processing mobile recharges worth more than Rs 50, PhonePe started charging a platform fee from its users as well.
In October of last year, PhonePe, a Paytm competitor, began charging users a ‘processing fee’ on cellphone recharges over Rs 50. What the corporation described as a “small-scale experience” affected hundreds of people, who took to social media to complain about the extra charge.
Paytm’s ongoing experiment, which appears to be aimed at increasing revenue, is similar to PhonePe’s pilot last year. No platform has indicated how it determines whether or not a user is required to pay additional convenience or processing costs.
Public reaction
People are of-course going on social media and reporting the case. But to dodge extra fees, users has switched platforms to Google Pay and Amazon Pay. These platforms are not charging any amount for any Airtel recharge, Jio recharge or any other mobile recharge as of now.
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