Mumbai, Aug. 7 -- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra has walked back comments made in a recent newspaper interview, clarifying that he never said UPI may stop being free, media reports said.

His remarks had triggered speculation over whether users might eventually bear the cost of using the platform.

MDR refers to the fee payment companies charge merchants for processing debit and credit card transactions.

Though UPI currently operates as a zero-cost system for users and merchants, the RBI governor underlined that there are real costs involved in running the infrastructure.

Reiterating his stance, Malhotra said the decision on who should ultimately bear the cost lies with the government.

His comments come amid growi...