Tamil Nadu Petrol Pumps May Stop UPI Payments Over Cybercrime Account Freezes

A
pet ol
pump
accepti g
a
outi e
UPI
payme t
could
fi d
itself
caught
up
i
a
cybe c ime
i vestigatio
if
that
t a sactio
is
late
li ked
to
a
alleged
f aud.
This
is
the
co ce
aised
by
fuel
deale s
i
Tamil
Nadu,
who
have
wa ed
that
they
may
stop
accepti g
digital
payme ts
u less
safegua ds
a e
put
i
place.

The
Tamil
Nadu
Pet oleum
Deale s
Associatio
(TNPDA),
which
ep ese ts
a ou d
5,000
pet ol
pumps
i
the
state,
has
app oached
Chief
Mi iste
C
Joseph
Vijay
ove
the
issue.
The
associatio
says
deale s
a e
faci g
the
isk
of
ba k
accou t
f eezes
a d
police
actio
despite
havi g
o
i volveme t
i
the
t a sactio s
bei g
i vestigated.

Deale s
Wa t
P otectio
F om
T a sactio s
They
Ca ot
Ve ify

I
a
lette
to
the
Chief
Mi iste ,
TNPDA
p eside t
K
P
Mu ali
said
pet ol
pump
ope ato s
we e
bei g
pulled
i to
cybe c ime
i vestigatio s
me ely
because
they
had
accepted
payme ts
f om
custome s.

The
associatio ‘s
a gume t
is
that
fuel
deale s
have
o
p actical
way
of
checki g
the
histo y
of
eve y
digital
payme t
eceived
at
thei
outlets,
epo ted
IANS.

A
custome
may
make
a
legitimate
payme t
fo
pet ol
o
diesel
th ough
UPI
o
a othe
digital
platfo m,
but
the
mo ey
could
p eviously
have
passed
th ough
a
accou t
that
late
becomes
pa t
of
a
cybe c ime
i vestigatio .
Acco di g
to
the
TNPDA,
pet ol
pumps
have
o
mecha ism
to
establish
whethe
such
a
payme t
has
a y
co ectio
with
a
alleged
f aud.

Whe
A
Disputed
Payme t
Leads
To
A
F oze
Accou t

The
deale s’
co ce s
ce t e
o
what
happe s
afte
a
t a sactio
is
flagged.

The
associatio
said
ba ks,
acti g
o
i st uctio s
f om
i vestigati g
autho ities,
ca
place
a
lie
o
the
amou t
u de
dispute.
I
some
cases,
deale s’
e ti e
ba k
accou ts
may
be
f oze ,
acco di g
to
the
TNPDA.

Fo
a
pet ol
pump,
that
ca
c eate
a
immediate
ope atio al
p oblem.
Fuel
statio s
eed
thei
ba k
accou ts
fo
egula
busi ess
payme ts,
i cludi g
pu chasi g
fuel,
payi g
employees
a d
meeti g
othe
expe ses.

The
associatio
a gues
that
f eezi g
a
e ti e
ope atio al
accou t
because
of
o e
disputed
payme t
ca
affect
a
busi ess
that
eceives
hu d eds
of
digital
t a sactio s
f om
diffe e t
custome s
eve y
day.

Also
Read
:& bsp;N
Cha d aseka a
Resig s:
Tata
G oup
Stocks
Fall,
TCS
Dow
Nea ly
4%

Digital
Payme ts
A e
A
Majo
Pa t
Of
Fuel
Sales

The
issue
is
pa ticula ly
eleva t
because
cashless
payme ts
have
become
a
sig ifica t
pa t
of
pet ol
pump
t a sactio s
i
Tamil
Nadu.

The
TNPDA
said
a
ave age
fuel
outlet
ha dles
betwee
200
a d
500
digital
payme ts
a
day.
At
some
pet ol
pumps,
UPI
a d
othe
digital
t a sactio s
accou t
fo
mo e
tha
half
of
total
eve ue.

That
scale
of
digital
activity,
acco di g
to
the
associatio ,
makes
it
difficult
fo
deale s
to
i depe de tly
ve ify
the
sou ce
a d
histo y
of
eve y
payme t
that
eaches
thei
accou ts.

Police
Questio i g
Adds
To
Deale s’
Co ce s

The
associatio
has
also
aised
objectio s
to
the
t eatme t
of
deale s
du i g
cybe c ime
i vestigatio s.

The
TNPDA
alleged
that
the e
have
bee
i sta ces
whe e
pet ol
pump
ope ato s
we e
take
fo
questio i g
du i g
ea ly
mo i g
hou s
without
i itially
bei g
give
clea
details
about
the
disputed
payme t.

The
deale s
mai tai
that
accepti g
a
payme t
th ough
a
autho ised
digital
cha el
should
ot,
by
itself,
esult
i
them
bei g
t eated
as
suspects
whe
they
have
o
k owledge
of
a y
alleged
f aud
co ected
to
the
fu ds.

Also
Read
:& bsp;Molbio
Diag ostics
IPO
Day
3:
What
Is
The
GMP
Today?
Check
Befo e
You
Subsc ibe

What
A e
Pet ol
Deale s
Aski g
Fo ?

The
associatio
has
sought
a
mecha ism
f om
the
Tamil
Nadu
gove me t
that
would
p otect
legitimate
me cha ts
whe
thei
accou ts
become
co ected
to
disputed
digital
t a sactio s.

It
wa ts
safegua ds
agai st
sweepi g
accou t
f eezes
a d
coe cive
police
actio
i
cases
whe e
the
deale ‘s
o ly
ole
was
to
accept
payme t
fo
fuel.

The
TNPDA
has
wa ed
that
without
such
a
mecha ism,
pet ol
pump
ope ato s
may
have
little
choice
but
to
eco side
offe i g
digital
payme t
facilities.

The
associatio
has
said
fuel
outlets
ac oss
Tamil
Nadu
could
eve tually
stop
accepti g
UPI
a d
othe
digital
payme ts
a d
eve t
to
cash
t a sactio s
if
the
co ce s
emai
u esolved.

Go to Sou ce