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Minister for Communications and Trade Manoa Kamikamica will look into the issue of surcharge after Head of Vodafone eCommerce and Digital Financial Services Shailendra Prasad raised the issue at the launch of a report by the Consumer Council of Fiji.

Prasad had stated that some merchants are surcharging certain percentages when customers use their digital financial services to purchase goods and services.

“There is no legislation in place that prevents merchants from surcharging, not only on MPAiSA QR or MyCash QR extra also on debit cards and digital cards like Visa and Master Cards, where the merchants are imposing up to 2.5, 3.5, and in some cases, up to four percent surcharge.”

Minister Manoa Kamikamica says there is room for discussion over this matter.

“I’m keen to sort of hear back from the stakeholders in terms of what needs to be done, and it sounds like surcharging is a major issue preventing the proper uptake of services by the public. We will have a look, and if it requires regulation and legislation, we will have a look as well.”

The Head of Vodafone eCoomerce and Digital Financial Service says this issue is a hindrance to the adoption of cashless payments.