Woman claims minimart in Marsiling charges S$0.40 for items bought via PayNow

UPDATE: ABS reached out to TISG to clarify that the QR code posted at the minimart in Marsiling is for NETS, and not PayNow as originally reported. TISG regrets this error.

Furthermore, a spokesperson from ABS said, “ABS is unable to comment on this specific case as it is unclear if this particular payment is via PayNow. The same Singapore QR code is used by multiple e-payment platforms.

PayNow is intended to be provided free to consumers choosing the speed and convenience offered by PayNow when making payments.

If a payment is to be made  via the PayNow platform, banks would have told merchants that they are not to charge consumers a processing fee.”

SINGAPORE: A woman took to social media to complain about a convenience store in Marsiling that she claimed charged an additional 40 cents for items that were paid via PayNow.

In a March 12 Facebook post, the woman, who goes by SiaoLyn Lyn on the platform, wrote that My Home Mart at 132 Marsiling Rise “really feels like a daylight robbery shop” because “They charge $0.40 PayNow fee for each item.

“For example, if you buy 4 items, they charge $0.40 × 4 = $1.60 extra, even though it’s just one single payment,” she added, saying that this makes no sense to her.

She also tagged the Facebook accounts of the Consumers Association of Singapore – CASE and the Singapore Police Force, as well as two media outlets.

Commenters on her post expressed surprise over the additional charges for PayNow from the minimart, with some urging her to file a report with the authorities.

However, when a journalist from Shin Min Daily News spoke to staff from the minimart, they were told that only cigarettes paid for via PayNow would be subjected to the additional charge. The journalist added that this was borne out by signs in both Mandarin and English posted in the store.

Furthermore, the owner claimed that the store needs to pay 1 per cent for e-payments and that cigarettes are less expensive in his store than in other shops. Without the additional charge and with him needing to pay for e-payments, he could end up losing money on cigarette sales, he added.

Moreover, he also said that some of his customers accept the additional charge.

When The Independent Singapore reached out to the post author for further comments or updates, she told us that, based on her experience, cigarettes at the minimart are actually $0.30 more expensive than in the nearest shop, which does not have an additional charge for e-payments. Moreover, she explained that she wasn’t just buying cigarettes, but a can of tuna, cai xin, and a bottle of 100plus as well, a total of four items.

The woman at the counter wanted to charge the additional $0.40 for each one, she added. She then returned the items when she was told about the additional charge.

The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) operates the PayNow scheme and it says that merchants are not allowed to impose surcharges or extra fees on customers who pay via PayNow. Additionally, PayNow acceptance usually has no merchant fee.

Last September, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong, who is also the Minister for Trade and Industry and chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, confirmed this in Parliament. /TISG

Read also: 1 yr, 11 months jail for woman who edited PayNow screenshots to cheat restaurants out of over S$9k worth of food