KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the imposition of a transaction fee for payments made via DuitNow QR and transactions conducted with credit cards will not burden the low-income group in the country.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said he had met Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) Governor Datuk Shaik Abdul Rasheed Abdul Ghaffour yesterday to get clarification on the matter.
“I discussed this with the BNM Governor. According to him, it will not be imposed on the lower-income group.
“What is important is that it will not burden this group,” he told reporters after visiting the Postnormal Times Exhibition at the KL Jazz and Arts Centre here, Bernama reported.
Yesterday, Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) confirmed that a transaction fee would be imposed on vendors for payments received through the DuitNow QR platform and transactions conducted with credit cards, effective Nov 1, 2023.
However, the 50sen fee will be charged for transactions exceeding RM5,000 involving peer-to-peer fund transfers from one personal QR to another personal QR, not payments to merchants.
Asked about MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong’s suggestion that the transaction fee be abolished, Anwar said this matter should be handled by BNM.
On another matter, the Prime Minister clarified that his meeting with Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah yesterday was a routine weekly post-Cabinet briefing.
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