They heard us: Dr Wee hails netizens’ efforts after banks put off DuitNow QR fees

KUALA LUMPUR: Praising the efforts of netizens, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong says their voices have been heard regarding the impending DuitNow QR transaction fees.

“Well done, my netizen friends.

“Our voices continue to achieve the desired effect to keep the fees from being pushed onto the public.

“CIMB Bank has announced that it will postpone (imposing) the transaction fees for DuitNow QR for two months (from Nov 1) while Public Bank and Maybank announced they will postpone it until further notice,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday (Sept 29).

ALSO READ: Two major banks putting off charge for DuitNow QR payments

Dr Wee said it remained to be seen if other banks would follow suit and do the right thing by postponing the implementation date for the transaction fee as well.

“However, our ‘ultimate victory’ will be when PayNet, the owner and operator of DuitNow QR, announces that it will abolish the requirement for service fees collected from merchants.

“This depends on Bank Negara Malaysia, which is the largest shareholder in PayNet,” he said.

It was reported on Thursday (Sept 28) that CIMB Bank and Public Bank decided to extend the waiver of the merchant discount rate (MDR) on vendors accepting payments via the DuitNow QR code platform.

ALSO READ: QR payment charges regressive, detrimental to digitalisation efforts

Public Bank and Maybank have opted to postpone the lifting of the MDR waiver “until further notice”, while CIMB will maintain the waiver until Dec 31.

There was backlash when PayNet, or Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd, confirmed that vendors would be charged a transaction fee for payments received via DuitNow from Nov 1.

It said debit and credit card payments were currently subject to MDR, which had been waived for QR payments.

ALSO READ: Wee: Make waiver for DuitNow QR payments permanent

This waiver was meant as an incentive to encourage use of QR payment after its introduction in 2019.

PayNet said this waiver was extended due to the Covid-19 epidemic. It is neither a new fee nor an additional charge.