Business Finance

PCI Proposes MDR on UPI and RuPay Transactions

By BPN News Desk March 25, 2025

The Payments Council of India (PCI), a representative body of digital payment service providers, has proposed the introduction of a 0.30% Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions conducted by large merchants. MDR refers to the fee paid by merchants to banks and payment facilitators for processing digital transactions. This

Business Finance

RBI Hikes ATM Interchange Fees, Transactions May Cost More

By BPN News Desk March 24, 2025

The Reserve Bank of India has approved an increase in ATM interchange fees, which may result in costlier ATM transactions for customers starting May 1. Financial transaction fees will increase by ₹2, while non-financial transactions will rise by ₹1. This move is expected to particularly affect banks with smaller ATM networks, as they may incur […]

Finance

Rising Gold Prices Turn SGBs into Fiscal Burden

By BPN News Desk March 22, 2025

India’s Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) scheme, once praised for its innovation and potential to curb gold imports, is now turning into a fiscal challenge for the government. As global and domestic gold prices continue to rise sharply, the liabilities linked to the scheme have ballooned, forcing policymakers to reconsider the future of this gold-linked investment […]

Business Finance

New GST Rule Mandates Input Service Distributor Mechanism from April 1

By BPN News Desk March 20, 2025

The Indian government is set to implement a crucial change in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework, making it mandatory for businesses to adopt the Input Service Distributor (ISD) mechanism for the distribution of common Input Tax Credits (ITC) starting April 1, 2025. This change aims to streamline tax credit allocation, improve compliance, and […]

Finance

RBI Governor Urges Banks to Streamline KYC Processes and Enhance Customer Service

By Editor - News Desk March 19, 2025

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has urged banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to cease the practice of repeatedly requesting ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) documents from customers. Speaking at the annual conference of RBI Ombudsmen, Malhotra emphasized that once a customer submits KYC documents to any financial institution

Finance

NPCI to Phase Out ‘Collect Call’ Transactions to Reduce UPI Fraud

By BPN News Desk March 18, 2025

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is set to phase out the ‘collect call’ feature in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions to curb rising fraud cases. The feature, which allows merchants to send payment requests to customers for approval, has been widely exploited by scammers tricking users into authorizing unintended payments. To enhance

Finance

RBI’s ₹1.9 Lakh Crore Liquidity Infusion Expected to Lower Lending Rates

By BPN News Desk March 18, 2025

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has implemented significant liquidity infusion measures aimed at stimulating economic growth and potentially leading to a reduction in lending rates sooner than anticipated. These measures are designed to alleviate liquidity constraints in the banking system, thereby enabling banks to lower borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. To

Business Finance

Textile Firms Under GST Lens for Misclassifying Services

By BPN News Desk March 17, 2025

The Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) department has launched an investigation into multiple textile manufacturing companies across India over suspected misclassification of services to avoid higher tax rates. The inquiry focuses on firms allegedly paying lower GST rates under incorrect tax classifications, resulting in substantial revenue losses. Misclassification of

Finance

Sovereign Gold Bond Investors Reap Tax-Free Gains as RBI Sets Redemption Price at ₹8,624

By BPN News Desk March 16, 2025

Investors in the Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme 2016-17 Series IV have experienced substantial returns as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a redemption price of ₹8,624 per unit. This series, issued in March 2017, had an initial issue price of ₹2,943 per gram, leading to a significant appreciation over the investment period. The […]

Business Finance

Rising Bad Loans Challenge India’s Microfinance Sector; Government Maintains Non-Intervention Stance

By BPN News Desk March 11, 2025

India’s microfinance sector is grappling with a surge in bad loans, raising concerns about the financial stability of institutions serving low-income populations. Despite these challenges, the government has indicated that it does not plan to intervene at this juncture. Escalating Bad Loans in Microfinance Recent data reveals a significant uptick in non-performing