Paytm starts levying ‘convenience fee’ on mobile recharges: All you need to know

After PhonePe, Paytm has also started leaving an additional surcharge or ‘platform fee’ on mobile recharge.

New Delhi: Following in the footsteps of PhonePe, mobile payments platform Paytm has also started leaving an additional surcharge or ‘platform fee’ on mobile recharge via its app. Paytm is currently taking anywhere between Rs 1 to Rs 6 as a platform fee for processing mobile recharges. Customers recharging their mobile phone via Paytm will have to pay the surcharge irrespective of the mode of payment; be it its own Paytm wallet, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), debit or credit card. Several Paytm users took to Twitter to call out the platform for charging the additional fee on mobile recharges even on UPI payments. 

It is important to note here that Paytm in 2019 had said that it neither charges nor will charge any convenience or transaction fee from customers on using any payment method which includes Cards, UPI and Wallet. However, it now seems, that the company may start charging the convenience or transaction fee on mobile recharges, as it is already happening with a few customers. 

Moreover, as of now, it looks like Paytm is not charging any platform or convenience fees on mobile recharges worth less than Rs 100. The surcharge is reportedly applicable on recharges worth Rs 100 and more, with the minimum fee being Rs 1 and the maximum fee being Rs 6. 

However, as of now, not all the customers are being levied the platform fees on mobile recharges. It appears like the Noida-based public-listed fintech firm is currently experimenting with the new fees.

Paytm’s an ongoing experiment, possibly what looks like an attempt to boost revenue, reminds of PhonePe’s last year's pilot when the Flipkart-owned mobile payments platform started charging a small platform fee for processing mobile recharges worth more than Rs 50.