Pune school bus operators are set to pass UPI transaction charges on to parents for payments above Rs 2,000 from October 15, while a Mumbai-based association with a nationwide presence plans to stop accepting school bus fee payments through UPI altogether.
The Pune Bus and Car Owners Association has decided that parents will bear the additional merchant discount rate, or MDR, on qualifying UPI transactions. Rajan Junavane, the association’s president, told The Times of India that the UPI facility would remain available, but the additional cost for transactions above Rs 2,000 would have to be paid by parents.
The change could affect families more significantly because school bus fees are often collected quarterly or half-yearly rather than every month. A single payment may therefore exceed the Rs 2,000 threshold, increasing the charge that operators say they will pass on.
The payment change is linked to a planned MDR on UPI transactions above Rs 2,000. The report did not specify the rate that would apply to school bus payments. It also did not state whether the charge would vary according to the payment gateway, the amount paid or the frequency of collection.
The Mumbai-based School Bus Owners Association, or SBOA, has taken a different position. The association has said it will stop accepting school bus fee payments through UPI from October 15 and has asked parents to use cheques or credit cards instead.
“Parents are requested to pay bus fees by cheque or credit card,” Anil Garg, president of the association, said. Garg said the organisation had written to the Union finance minister seeking an exemption for school buses, petrol pumps and spare-part shops.
Garg said the association wanted school buses and the other listed businesses to be treated as essential services and exempted from the charge. “If an exemption is not given, we will be forced to stop UPI collection permanently,” he said.
The two positions indicate that parents may face different payment arrangements depending on the operator they use. In Pune, operators are expected to continue accepting UPI payments while transferring the additional cost to families. Operators associated with the Mumbai-based organisation may instead require payments through cheques or credit cards.
For parents, the change could add a new cost to school transport payments or require them to use payment methods that are less immediate than UPI. The available report does not establish how many school bus operators or families in Pune will be affected, nor does it provide details of any consultation with schools or parent groups.
The associations’ request for an exemption is now with the Union finance minister, according to Garg. The payment arrangements announced by the Pune and Mumbai-based associations are scheduled to take effect from October 15.
