With the announcement by cashless service providers on the impending Merchant Discount Rate better known As MDR, vendors are questioning the timing and quantum of the rate.
Among them, SME Association Malaysia said the MDR charges to be imposed on merchants for payment received via Duitnow are a huge surprise to the industry. While it appreciates that the MDR or commission has been there as a fine print all along, it still seems very arbitrary on the part of PayNet and the acquiring banks to impose as much as 0.5 percent on payments received.
Currently, the association accuses PayNet of being a monopoly in the space where merchants have no choice but to use the service pointing to the fact that it was the vendors who pushed enmass for the adoption of the service in the first place.
The association has also done its bit in promoting QR payments to SMEs especially those in the retail and food and beverage sector to rapidly digitalise and at the core of that – to accept e-wallet.
As such vendors are urging PayNet and the acquiring banks to consider charging a lower rate than the 0.25 and 0.5 percent proposed.
Otherwise, if it’s too much of a burden, merchants could only be accepting e-wallet or Duitnow above a certain limit or worse, go back to only accepting cash – reversing all the gains made in pushing the industry to become cashless
