PETALING JAYA: Grab will start charging a 1% fee on credit card reloads to its GrabPay Wallet starting from Sept 11.
According to an infographic on the Grab website, reloads via other payment methods, including bank transfers, debit cards and GX Bank, a joint venture between Grab, Singtel and other Malaysian investors, remain free.
Customers should note that certain Maybank credit cards with co-branding from Grab will also be exempted from the new fee.
Competing ewallet provider, TNG Digital Sdn Bhd, implemented a similar 1% credit card reload fee in February this year, citing the heavy cost of credit card reloads it had been subsidising and excessive credit card balance cashouts.The new fee’s addition drew a largely negative reaction from netizens, with users on Facebook slamming its introduction.
User Adam Andrew commented the “Only way to combat this is to stop using the service until they realise that this form of monetisation is not what people want”.
Another user, Aun Thiam, asked “What is the point of encouraging people to use ewallet when you start to charge 1% fee on credit card reloads????”
Others expressed concern that competing ewallet providers would follow suit in imposing credit card top-up charges and even questioned if such fees are allowed by Bank Negara.
When asked for comment, Grab Malaysia said that based on industry practice, credit card transactions typically are imposed a processing fee and foreign transactions incur additional cost.
“In doing so, this helps the company to reduce the substantial cost associated with credit cards which was previously borne by GrabPay.
Additionally, it helps us to strike a balance in our efforts to prioritise on affordable options and features that truly benefit our users,” the company said.
