nobody (seller) want to bear the cost ….

but 6%.. WAY TOO MUCH

All this stems from the fact that credit card companies compel merchants to HIDE, yes, to conceal, the fact that each time you swipe your card, you are paying a 1-3% tax. Do you really think merchants absorbe the creditcard fee? No way. Having worked in retail, I can safely assure you that that when setting the retail price for a good, most people do it like this:

Cost of good + overheads + margin + 3% for credit card = retail price

So what if the customer pays cash? 3% bonus profit lah. In a way, credit cards are actually devaluing our cash, and are a cause of inflation.

So instead of yet another round of messing with margins, I for one think that what needs to be done is to undo the MYTH the credit card companies have been maintaining all this while and require ALL merchants (petrol kiosks included) to display seperate prices for cash and card, or cash only. Taking the credit card tax out of the retail price would seriosuly solve alot of problems.

Also as a side note, my understanding of this issue from a first hand account talking to the petrol station owner is that their commission IS NOT A PERCENTAGE, but a FIXED SUM derived from 4% of rm1.98 back in the day. (4% of rm 1.98 is 8 sen) Their beef with this now is that while they are still only getting 8sen/litre, the credit card companies arn’t charging a fixed 2 sen/litre, but 1% of the new price of 2.70 (which is 3 sen) meaning the station owner is facing a 15% reduction in margins.

Just my two sens here. Someone pls correct me if I am wrong.

The credit card commission of 1% is paid by the petrol dealers to the banks based on the transaction amt. Face it, everytime we use a credit card, there is commission paid to the banks for providing the service. In some cases, the commission is passed on to the consumer. Remember when someone tells you that you need to pay 3% of the transaction amount when u swipe your card?

So…it’s the same here. The petrol dealers pay the bank 1% everytime you swipe, for providing the service. That’s how the bank makes money.

so how do the petrol dealers or any other merchant pays?…where do they get the money??… from their income of course.

Now…to the question of profit margin…well, if the petrol dealers want their commission raised to 6%, let them have it. let the petrol companies and the government sort this because, whatever increase in commission will not be directed to consumers given the current fuel price is subsidised.

however, this will eat into the government’s subsidy allocation as that cost will be transferred to either the petrol companies or the government itself. it will in turn hurt the government’s coffers.

What I totally disagree with is the PDAM’s decision to hold customers, that is US, at ransom everytime they demand something. Its downright disgusting.

Paul Tan says: Eat into subsidy? What are you talking about? What makes you think he is proposing that the government or oil companies take care of the extra 3% they want? You must have missed this report by The Star.

“The price for using a credit card will be higher and cash sales may be a few sen lower. This would discourage people from using credit cards,” he said.

prata are smaller! can’t find any bits of potatoes in its curry anymore..

nasi lemak’s rice had been scooped using smaller bowl and less compact… egg still had yolk but the white part(protien) lost some its volume… guess nowadays egg yolks are larger then white…. even sambal are a bit lesser bcoz chilly are more expensive then ever! Glad that kacang still remain but guess where those ikan bilis had gone??

These PDAM members are just what Malaysia represents: a subsdised society. This subsidised environment is so fake that when such is removed, there is an uproar. Note that inflation in Malaysia is actually double digit sans subsidy. Ask an economist.

While petroleum is a commodity, we treat it as a subsidised item, and this is what happens.

I agree with the comment that if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen. Those who don’t mind the 1% surcharge for credit transactions (for security, speed and convenience) shall stand to benefit.

And yes, fire those foreigners who sit there and clean my windows. Take the 6 people out of the payroll of a 1 acre station and they’ll save. STOP PUTTING YOUR CUSTOMERS AS YOUR PAWNS and STOP BEING CRYBABIES.

Secondly, PDAM members do not want to bear the cost of credit card charges, based on the the line that why must the merchants pay for the convenience of the customer? Instead why don’t the customers bear the cost of their conveniences? Of course, this is the dealer’s point of view.

In fact I know a few merchants (like handphone shop or spectacle shop) who ask their customers to bear the interest charged to the merchant if the customers were to use credit card.

Using cashless transaction such as credit card is convenient and secure; the cash will attract robbers especially in this difficult economic situation.

When they have more cash and being robbed more often, hope they’ll remember to blame themselves for being greedy.