.webp)
Bank Negara Malaysia has today issued an official statement regarding DuitNow QR, confirming that transaction fees will be implemented for DuitNow QR from 1 October 2023. This is a follow-up to the fee exemption for a limited period introduced since 2019.
BNM explained that this transaction fee is intended to cover the cost of maintaining the payment system, including cyber security support, and several other related matters. As previously informed, some digital payment services charge transaction fees to sellers, including for debit and credit card payments.
BNM also emphasized that individual users will not be charged any additional charges when using DuitNow QR. Conversely, for businesses, DuitNow QR transaction fees will remain as low as debit card payment fees – or even lower.
At the same time, BNM also said that major banks and also financial service providers that manage 75% of businesses that receive payments through DuitNow QR have stated that they will waive transaction fees on micro and small businesses.
According to the KPDN definition, micro enterprises are those with annual sales below RM300,000 or less than 5 employees, while small enterprises are those with sales below RM15 million or less than 75 employees.
So far, BNM has not specified the banks. Officially, Maybank and Public Bank have stated that they will not charge the transaction. Perhaps we will hear similar support by some other providers soon.