Source: Radio New Zealand
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson introduced legislation last year to ban in-store card surcharges. 123RF
Consumer NZ says it is disappointed by news the government may not progress its plan to ban credit card surcharges.
The ACT Party and Retail NZ have both said the proposed ban on surcharges for contactless and credit card payments was dead, although the minister responsible told RNZ it was still being worked on.
Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson (National) introduced legislation last year to ban in-store card surcharges, so shoppers would not be penalised for their choice of payment. The ban was expected to be in place by May.
But ACT leader David Seymour said it would not happen.
“Nobody likes the fees, and like many costs everyone wishes they would just go away,” he posted on Facebook.
“When the payWave surcharge ban was announced, small businesses up and down the country pointed out they wouldn’t go away. Motels, cafes, retailers, they all pointed out they’d eat the fee.
“They might be able to reclaim some of it by putting up the price of what they sell. Sometimes businesses find they just can’t raise prices but, if they did, they would effectively be making customers who paid cash or eftpos fund the payWave costs of others.
“None of those solutions are fair, so ACT’s Dr Parmjeet Parmar put up a simple suggestion to improve the policy. Let businesses charge payWave fees if they offer a free alternative. That way people who want the convenience can pay for it, and those that don’t can avoid the fees.
“The proposal is now stopped, because we listened to the people affected. It could come back in the future, the way Parmjeet has suggested, but not in a way that puts costs on small businesses or other customers.”
Consumer NZ spokesperson Jessica Walker said the organisation was disappointed.
“Our research has found support for a ban is getting stronger – our nationally representative surveying in January found that almost three in five people supported a ban on card payment surcharges, with only 15 percent of people opposing a ban.
“While we understand concerns that some businesses will be forced to raise prices to make up for the cost of the ban, it’s important to remember that interchange fees were reduced late last year. It was estimated that businesses would save around $90 million a year – we remain concerned that those savings will not be passed on to consumers.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
