No card fee at petrol bunks: Centre

New Delhi: Credit and debit cards will continue to be accepted at petrol pumps even after January 13 without customers having to pay transaction charges, the government said on Monday.

Banks and oil companies are in discussions as to who should bear these charges, it said a day after averting a crisis that would have hit millions of people as oil pump owners threatened to stop taking card payments.

“Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges will be levied as per RBI guidelines but who will take the hit? Banks, oil marketing companies are discussing,” petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan told the media after meeting finance minister Arun Jaitley on the issue.

“We had assured yesterday (Sunday) also that since retail outlets, petrol pump owners work as commission agents, we will not pass on the cost to them,” he said.