Long gone are the days when we used to go out to our local shops to get our phone recharges done. Now, our UPi apps are our best friends. Whenever we need to recharge our mobiles, we can instantly do it from wherever we are. Isn’t it really convenient? Speaking of UPI apps, the mobile recharge service on Google Pay used to be completely free of additional costs up until recently.
Now, the platform might have started charging a “convenience fee”. Earlier, the UPI app which had more than 60 million active users in India charged only the exact amount for the mobile recharge. On DesiDime forum, Ankush shared that Google Pay levied an additional ₹3 while he was recharging his mobile. He was making a ₹749 recharge for his Jio number.
Also read: Google Pay lets you activate UPI using Aadhaar: Here’s how it works
Well traditionally, some apps charge a little extra amount if you’re paying through a credit card as a payment gateway fee. However, Ankush had made his recharge payment through UPI only.
Currently, Google Pay follows the following convenience fee structure:
Also read: Google Bard gets a desi touch: 2 new features Indians will find useful
Earlier, Paytm and Phonepe had picked up on this approach to charge a convenience fee during mobile recharge. It seems that Google Pay is also following in on their steps. Reports suggest that currently, Google Pay will only charge convenience fees on mobile recharge and not on other services like bill payments, etc. Even the UPI payments you make for your personal use or merchant use are also free of cost.
Google is yet to release an official communication in this regard. However, in its updated Google’s Terms of Service for India released on November 10th, 2023, one can spot a mention of “Google fees”.
