India, July 25 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has flagged that Unified Payments Interface's financial sustainability will depend on changing the system of free digital transactions to include minimal charges.

As the UPI system currently operates without any charges for users, it is the government that has been footing the bill by subsidising banks and other stakeholders who enable the seamless, real-time payments infrastructure, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said.

While addressing at a media event, Malhotra said, "We need a universally efficient system. As of now, there are no charges. The government is subsidising various players such as banks and other stakeholders in the UPI payments system. Obviously, some costs have to be paid."...