THE 5% surcharge fee on the use of electronic payment system runs contrary to the regulation set by the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
“We believe the 5% surcharge fee is also above the regulatory range of 0.9% to 1.1%. The surcharge cannot be imposed on the consumer, which in this case, when paying for parking fee,” Building Management Association of Malaysia (BMAM) president Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok told FocusM.
Yesterday, several consumer groups told FocusM that it was absurd that consumers are forced to pay a surcharge fee for using Touch ‘N Go (T&G) or debit cards to pay for parking when the latter have no other option to turn to.
“It’s simply not fair. We’re already paying upfront via topping up the T&G card, but we’re still forced to pay a surcharge fee at a time when many buildings have switched to cashless transactions for parking.
“We have filed complaints with the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) in the past. In other countries, those who use cashless transactions get a discount unlike here,” Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) CEO Paul Selvaraj was reported saying.
Elaborating on the issue, Teo said that his team have had several meetings with BNM since 2016 on the matter, which resulted in restricting Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) between 0.9% and 1.1%.
“And the surcharge was supposed to be imposed on merchants, not consumers,” he said.
The surcharge is for merchants, not consumers
Teo added that for consumers who refuse to pay the surcharge fee, BNM had said that consumers can have the alternative of paying parking charges at the payment counter.
“So, the question arises on why the surcharge fee is beyond the stipulated amount allowed under MDR and why is it being imposed on the consumers which is contrary to the regulation,” he asked.
Teo also questioned the rationale of certain operators who claimed that the surcharge is imposed for the equipment installed by the card company, to enable debit card cashless payments.
“This reasoning is contrary to the practice of all other debit card issuers installing equipment at their own costs at merchants’ premises, the ‘special’ exception seems only for parking fee transactions,” said Teo.
On that note, he said BMAM had wrote to the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) to assess the possibility of predatory monopolistic conduct in the surcharge fee issue.
Teo added: “The MyCC replied that the alleged conduct does not raise any competition concern under the Act on the basis that there is an alternative to use parking tickets instead of the debit card facility.”
However, the Transport Ministry had agreed back in November 2018 to look into the surcharge fee issue and resolve it.
“In November last year, the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Ministry announced the surcharge fee will be abolished when the respective contract between the parking operator and the debit card service provider expire,” Teo remarked. – Dec 25, 2020.
