Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum [third from right] during the discussions with the Association of Banks in Fiji [Fijian Government]

From January 1st, there will be no fee charged to all Fijians who swipe their ATM Cards for transactions in any supermarket around the country.

The initiative was announced during the Budget announcement this year and today the government held discussions with the Association of Banks in Fiji to ensure its implementation.

The government will also pay fifty percent of the cost to purchase EFTPOS machines for small businesses.

The initiative will also apply to Pharmacies, Service stations and other businesses that provides EFTPOS Services.

Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the fee for every transaction stands at 40 cents however, from next month, the government will remove the fee and Fijians can do unlimited transactions without any cost.

“It also from our wider economic perspectives by having more electronic transaction you increasing liquidity, by having more liquidity in the system it also means that when you want to go and borrow money, the cost of borrowing is not expansive.”

Sayed-Khaiyum says they are also looking forward to have more point of sale machines in different allocations throughout Fiji.

There is also talks of reducing fees for merchants as many small shops at the moment require a minimum purchase of ten dollars.