New Delhi, December 1: Fintech major Paytm on Tuesday said it will waive all charges on merchant transactions, and enable its merchant partners to accept payments from Paytm wallet, UPI apps and RuPay cards at zero charges.

Paytm will absorb Rs 600 crore in MDR charges annually by banks and other charges to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) during the ongoing pandemic, according to a statement. Paytm Launches Android Mini App Store for Indian Developers.

This would help ensure that these merchants have adequate liquidity to expand their businesses, it added. "This initiative will benefit more than 17 million merchants on Paytm ecosystem who use Paytm All-in-One QR, Paytm Soundbox and Paytm All-in-One Android POS to accept payments from their customers," the statement said.

It added that merchants will also have the power to choose whether they want to receive payments directly into their bank accounts or into their Paytm wallet. The company has been promoting acceptance of payments through all methods, including Paytm Wallet, UPI, RuPay, NEFT and RTGS, and empowers merchants to accept unlimited payments Paytm All-in-One QR at zero charges, it added.

"We are absorbing MDR to extend support to our merchant partners to increase their overall liquidity to expand their businesses. "We believe waiving off these charges will benefit all MSMEs accepting Paytm All-in-One QR, Paytm Soundbox and Paytm All-in-One Android POS devices to collect payments directly into their bank accounts," Paytm Senior Vice-President Kumar Aditya said.

This move would also encourage merchants to embrace digital payments that would further strengthen the Digital India mission, he added. Paytm is also extending financial support to MSMEs and aims to disburse Rs 1,000 crore in loans by March 2021.

The company continues to offer collateral-free loans under the 'Merchant Lending Programme' in Paytm for Business app. Its algorithm determines the credit-worthiness of the merchant based on daily transactions and arrives at a pre-qualified loan offering.

It has digitised the entire process starting from the loan application, approval to disbursal with no additional documents required in partnership with NBFCs and banks.