Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Affordable card payment” (January 11). It is welcome that the Government has managed to persuade fuel retailers to continue accepting credit and debit cards, without placing a burden on the consumers. But then, all services come at a premium and those expecting freebies to continue are living in a fool’s paradise.
The bill will have to be picked up equitably by customers, merchants and banks. Issuing, managing, renewing, transporting and guarding currency costs a lot, and this cost is borne by the Reserve Bank of India and the banks. These are not passed on to citizens and merchants are happy with cash.
The petrol pumps claim that the levy of transaction fees on card payments eat into their margins. This is an issue that fuel retailers must negotiate with the various oil marketing companies.