Paytm has become a familiar name across India, especially after the government’s demonetization initiative. Today, many merchants accept payments through Paytm, allowing customers to use cards more and carry less cash. For those who earn rewards on credit-card spending, this was a welcome development—until recently.
Paytm begins charging 2% on credit card wallet loads
On 6 February 2017, Paytm ran a short poll on Twitter asking whether users preferred to add money to their Paytm wallet using credit or debit cards. Following that period of feedback, Paytm introduced a 2% fee on wallet top-ups made with credit cards. Debit card loads remain free.
This change affects users who were adding funds to the Paytm wallet with credit cards to earn reward points: in most cases the fee will outweigh the value of those rewards. Below are the key points to remember about this policy change.
- Loading your Paytm wallet with a credit card now attracts a 2% fee, which can negate or exceed any credit-card rewards you’d earn on that spend.
- Adding money to the Paytm wallet via debit cards is still free, so switch to debit-card top-ups if you want to continue preloading the wallet without extra charges.
- If you pay directly on Paytm for recharges, bill payments or purchases from the Paytm marketplace using a credit card, Paytm does not add an extra fee in those cases—the merchant or Paytm’s payment processing absorbs the cost.
- Therefore, continue using credit cards for direct payments on Paytm (recharges, bill payments, marketplace purchases), but avoid using credit cards to load wallet balance.
- Paytm announced that when users load wallets with credit cards, it would issue a 2% coupon as an offset in some situations; to qualify, a minimum transaction of ₹250 is required. This conditional coupon may not appeal to users who preferred straightforward reward earning on card spends.
- Other digital wallets such as MobiKwik, Freecharge and JioMoney were, at the time of this change, not charging extra for credit-card wallet loads, so those services may be alternatives if you prefer topping up with a credit card.
- As the market leader, Paytm’s policy could influence other wallet providers—watch for further changes across the industry.
- With significant investment from Alibaba and ongoing strategic shifts, Paytm may continue to evolve its fee and service policies going forward.
If you rely exclusively on debit cards and do not use credit cards to top up wallets, this change will not affect your typical workflow.
Update (March 10): The 2% charge for credit-card wallet top-ups has been withdrawn and is no longer levied.
Let us know whether you think this Paytm decision was justified. Will you stop adding balance to your Paytm wallet using credit cards, switch to debit cards, or use other wallets instead?