Demonetisation: Govt waives usage charges on digital transactions till December 31

Even as complaints and discontent over demonetisation continue to build, the government has announced a slew of relaxations to increase the adoption of digital or electronic transaction methods.

These are the highlights from Das’s statement on Wednesday:

• Public sector banks and some private banks have waived usage charges on debit card use till December 31.
• National Payments Council of India has already waived off charges on cards.
• Service charge on online ticketing for Railways has been waived till the same date.
• 1.55 lakh point-of-sale machines have been installed to disburse new currency notes.
• Charges on transactions made via feature phones also waived till December 31. 
• RBI has already relaxed limits on e-wallets or prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) from Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 for individuals. 
• All government organisations have been advised to use only digital payment methods to make payments to their employees.  
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held video-conferences with NABARD & RBI, advised them to carry out the whole chain of activities smoothly.