'Complicated' card surcharge fees need to be simplifed
Photo:
123rf
Retailers say managing card payment fees is complex and costly, with some struggling to keep up with rising charges.
Visa wants to
ban surcharge fees
, but many merchants argue these fees are necessary to cover the high costs of accepting various payment methods.
The Commerce Commission is reviewing card charges, aware that some businesses are overcharging consumers, but it's tough for shoppers to detect.
Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young told
Morning Report
post Covid, and with the arrival of new technology like Paywave, fees arrived in a heartbeat and are much more significant than they were previously, Young said.
The current regulations allow merchants to charge a surcharge that's equivalent to the fee they are charged, she said.
Young said the system was "super complicated" and Retail NZ has asked for this to be simplified.
"There are different fees depending on if it's a debit transaction, if it's a Visa or Mastercard transaction, it's different again if it's Amex, it's different if it's a card from overseas, it's different if it's Union Pay, it's different if it comes through a different bank - so it's very complicated.
"There are about five different players within the market that take a different fee than the merchant fee."
Retail NZ wants there to be the option to charge different fees for each purchase type.
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