Cambodia, Thailand on travel alert: Latest deadly conflict sees border closed, MFAT warning to Kiwis

3 days ago

New Zealanders are being warned against holidaying in Cambodia and Thailand after the two Southeast Asian countries descended into fresh conflict.
At least 14 have been killed in the fighting since yesterday. Thailand launched airstrikes on Cambodian military targets, and Cambodia fired back rockets and artillery, Agence France-Presse (AFP)

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Consumer NZ Is Stoked To Learn Surcharges Will Be Banned

Scoop

7 hours ago

Scoop

Consumer NZ Is Stoked To Learn Surcharges Will Be Banned

From May 2026, New Zealanders will be able to tap their card or phone without being charged those pesky, excessive and sometimes hidden surcharges. An amendment to the Retail Payment System Act will put an end to excessive, hidden and unavoidable surcharges, which cost New Zealanders an estimated $65 million a year. Jessica Walker, acting head of research and advocacy at Consumer NZ, is thrilled to see surcharges scrapped because it will put millions back into the pockets of New Zealanders, and make accepting payments much simpler for merchants, too. 'We've received close to 300 complaints about excessive surcharges (over 2%) in the last few years. In some cases, card payment surcharges were as high as 25%. We've even had complaints about surcharges being applied to EFTPOS transactions. 'We've been calling for surcharge regulation since 2017 and, recently, urged the Commerce Commission to consider an outright ban. Although surcharge guidelines were in place, they clearly weren't working. "The whole surcharge situation here in New Zealand is currently a mess. Surcharges for debit and credit cards are banned in the United Kingdom and European Union, and the Reserve Bank of Australia recently proposed a surcharge ban – so this brings us nicely in line with other countries," says Walker. 'The ban is a no-brainer. These new rules will bring an end to a very messy situation!' What consumers need to know The ban will only apply to debit, EFTPOS, Visa and Mastercard payments, so if you're paying with another card, such as an AMEX or foreign-issued card, you may still have to pay a surcharge. The ban also won't apply to prepaid gift cards. Online payments are excluded. This is disappointing because your flight or accommodation booking or any other online purchases could still attract a surcharge. Australia is considering making online payments part of its surcharge ban. We'll be calling for similar rules here. The cost of your coffee shouldn't increase by that much, if at all. If merchants choose to increase their prices to cover their payment costs, any increase should be very minimal because interchange is being lowered which will reduce the cost to businesses of accepting payments.

RNZ News

3 days ago

RNZ News

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and trade concerned about Thailand-Cambodia conflict

Royal Thai Army soldiers are pictured on armoured vehicles on a road in Chachoengsao province. Photo: LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA / AFP The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has updated its travel advice, saying it's concerned by the exchanges of fire on the land border between Thailand and Cambodia. New Zealand supports the efforts by ASEAN to de-escalate the dispute, and calls for restraint, diplomacy and dialogue, MFAT said in a statement. At least 12 people, including civilians, are reported to have died since violence broke out on Thursday. Both sides accuse the other of firing first. Cambodia said it fired rockets, while Thailand launched an F-16 fighter jet that later dropped two bombs on a road leading to a Cambodian temple . Thailand said a soldier had lost his leg in a landmine. A Thai government spokesperson said it had expelled Cambodia's ambassador and withdrawn its own envoy from Phnom Penh. MFAT's SafeTravel website now advised the land border between the two countries was closed and travellers should avoid the affected area. In a statement, a MFAT spokesperson said, "travellers are advised to monitor the situation and to check the status of the border with local authorities." "New Zealanders travelling in Thailand and Cambodia should register their details with SafeTravel," they said. New Zealand had received consular inquiries since tensions between the two countries escalated on 28 May, but there were no current consular cases, the spokesperson said. That skirmish left a Cambodian soldier dead. Thai and Cambodian officials met in June to try and ease tensions over the long-running dispute across the 820-kilometre border area, which both sides have laid claim to for decades. - RNZ/Reuters

NZ Herald

3 days ago

NZ Herald