Muscle-Flexing & Blackmailing By Petrol Pump Owners

To promote cash-less transactions, the government had waived the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) on fuel purchase post-demonetisation for consumers. But after the expiry of the 50-day window, the banks have decided to levy MDR on petrol pump owners.

Petrol pump associations have deferred their decision of not accepting debit and credit cards for fuel purchase till 13 January. Earlier, the petrol pump associations had said they would stop accepting debit or credit card payments from Monday in protest against the one percent transaction fee imposed by banks.

Petrol pumps are using demonetisation and go-cashless initiatives as an excuse so that they can use the twist arm technique to have not to pay convenience charges that credit and debit card companies levy to them.

Convenience you Ask ?

• Yes, convenience to customer and more to, to the vendor.

Normal Practice in business with cash is:

• Attendants collect cash from customers
• Cash Collectors then collect them from Attendants
• Counting and accounting for cash viz a viz business done each day
• Go and physically deposit cash into the banks

Digital Payments:

• Swipe the card money goes into the account
• Digital check the account credited with business done and tallied

Convenience of this kind would of course come with charges. Why not? Don't businesses pay their employees to do all the manual work and especially at the magnitude of risk of keeping so much cash at business place till they are carried out to be transferred and deposited to the banks. And when has carrying cash to the banks become so safe ?  There have been enough news about petrol pumps(or even other businesses) being robbed or employees going to deposit cash in the banks being robbed. But India hai sub kuch free mangta hai!

Oh yes now they cannot account for adulteration they do at some places and pocket the extra without reporting. You didn't know? Assume 100 litres of petrol/diesel is mixed with something of a 1-litre you have 101 litre and if assuming all is sold digitally how do you account for one extra litre?

Latest News: After petrol pump owners on Sunday threatened to stop accepting cards, government on Monday announced that there will be no extra charge for card payments at petrol pumps.

No surcharge on card payments at petrol pumps even after Jan 13

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