解析：印度 UPI 收費調整有哪些改變，為何重要

作者：Jaspreet KalraBy Jaspreet Kalra

孟買，9 月 16 日（路透社）——過去 10 年來，在印度，用手機掃描 QR Code 付款幾乎已成為無所不在的行為，這要歸功於一套廣泛使用的本土網路——統一支付介面（Unified Payments Interface，UPI）。MUMBAI, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Using mobile phones to scan a QR code for payments has become near ubiquitous behaviour in India over the last decade, thanks to a widely used homegrown network, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

但在不分支付金額或類型皆免費使用 6 年後，印度已決定開始向商家收取一筆稱為商戶折扣率（Merchant Discount Rate，MDR）的費用：交易金額超過 2,000 盧比（21 美元）者收取 0.4%，但部分交易排除在外；個人對個人的轉帳則維持免費。But after six years of free use, regardless of size or type of payment, India has decided to start charging merchants a fee of 0.4% for transactions of more than 2,000 rupees ($21), known as the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR), with some exclusions, though person-to-person transfers remain free.

印度支付業者股價週三上漲，因投資人認為 MDR 將為銀行與支付公司開闢新的收入來源；這些業者迄今一直吸收此類交易的成本。Shares of Indian payment firms rose on Wednesday as investors saw the MDR opening fresh revenue lines for banks and payment firms that have so far absorbed the costs of such transactions.

UPI 規模有多大？HOW BIG IS UPI?

官方數據顯示，8 月，UPI 為超過 5.5 億名用戶處理的交易總數達 245 億筆，金額共 29兆8,230 億盧比。In August, UPI processed a total of 24.5 billion transactions worth 29,823 billion rupees for more than 550 million users, official data show.

印度政府週二表示，以交易筆數計算，UPI 占印度數位支付的 84%；在全球即時支付交易筆數中則占 49%。UPI has a share of 84% in India's digital payments by volume and a 49% share of global real-time payment volumes, the government said on Tuesday.

8 月，以 UPI 交易金額計算，沃爾瑪旗下 PhonePe 與 Alphabet 旗下 Google Pay 的市占率合計約 80%。Walmart's PhonePe and Alphabet's GooglePay had about 80% market share by value of UPI transactions in August.

UPI 一直都是免費的嗎？WAS UPI ALWAYS FREE?

UPI 於 2016 年推出時的定價模式包含象徵性收費；2017 年，印度將大部分高面額紙鈔廢止流通時，相關收費暫時免收。Its pricing model at launch in 2016 included nominal charges temporarily waived in 2017 when India demonetised a large chunk of its high-denomination currency notes.

2020 年，所有收費都被取消，開啟零 MDR 制度；該制度預定於 2026 年 10 月 15 日結束。In 2020, all charges were scrapped, kicking off a zero-MDR regime set to end on October 15, 2026.

將徵收哪些費用？WHAT FEE WILL BE IMPOSED?

對商家的交易金額若超過 2,000 盧比，將適用 40 個基點的費率；支付給小型商家，以及在鄉村或半都市地區營運的商家，則設有例外。電信、鐵路、共同基金或股票投資等廣泛使用的類別，將適用較低費率。A fee of 40 basis points applies to transactions above 2,000 rupees with ‌merchants, along with carve-outs for payments to small merchants and those operating in rural or semi-urban areas. Widely used categories such as telecom, railways and mutual fund or stock investments will attract lower charges.

交易金額超過 75,000 盧比時，費用上限為 300 盧比。Fees are capped at 300 rupees on transactions exceeding 75,000 rupees.

消費者會支付這筆費用嗎？WILL CONSUMERS PAY THE FEE?

雖然印度國家支付公司表示，商家不得直接把這筆費用轉嫁給消費者，但批評者擔心，商家最終仍會把相關費用轉嫁給顧客。While the National Payment Corporation has said merchants cannot pass on the fee to consumers directly, critics fear they will eventually pass on the charges to customers.

商家會把這筆費用支付給處理交易的銀行，其中一部分也會轉給 Google Pay、PhonePe 等協助完成支付的支付應用程式。Merchants pay the fee to banks that process the transactions with a portion also passed on to payment apps, such as Google Pay and PhonePe, that facilitate such payments.

這項措施面臨哪些批評？WHAT CRITICISM DOES IT FACE?

印度反對黨國大黨批評政府的決定，反對派領袖拉胡爾・甘地表示，隨著商家把成本轉嫁出去，這些費用將加重消費者負擔。India's opposition party, Congress, has criticised the government's decision, with opposition leader Rahul Gandhi saying the fees will swell the burden for consumers as merchants pass on the cost.

社群媒體用戶也表達擔憂，認為這項改變可能促使商家偏好現金支付，並質疑政府過去所稱的「數位公共基礎設施」為何要收費使用。Social media users have also voiced concern that the change could prompt merchants to prefer cash payments, questioning the rationale for levying charges to use "digital public infrastructure," as the government has termed it in the past.

UPI 為何需要商戶折扣率？WHY DOES UPI NEED THE MERCHANT DISCOUNT RATE?

印度政府、中央銀行與支付主管機關表示，MDR 將有助於讓 UPI 自給自足，推動其在鄉村與半都市地區擴張，並讓絕大多數支付維持免費。India's government, the central bank and payments authority say, the MDR will help make UPI self-sustainable, give a fillip to expansion in rural and semi-urban areas, and keep a large majority of payments free of charge.

（1 美元 = 95.9275 盧比）($1=95.9275 rupees)

（Jaspreet Kalra 報導；Clarence Fernandez 編輯）(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)