THE National Action Council on Cost of Living will discuss the imposition of a transaction fee for payments made via DuitNow QR in a special meeting on Tuesday, Deputy Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Fuziah Salleh said.

She said the meeting, to be chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, would be attended by representatives of Bank Negara Malaysia.

“Some 1.874 million people use the DuitNow QR platform (for cashless transactions). If nearly 1.9 million people use DuitNow, how much money does the bank make? We (the ministry) are afraid that users will be affected,” she told reporters after officiating the Malacca-level Rahmah Sales today.

Also present were State Entrepreneur, Cooperative Development and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Allex Seah Shoo Chin and Malacca Domestic Trade and Living Costs Ministry director Norena Jaafar.

Fuziah also expressed concern that the imposition of the transaction fee would impede the implementation of country’s digitalisation programmes as outlined under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

She said the ministry had previously implemented the Retail Sector Digitalisation Initiative to help small entrepreneurs, especially in making digital payment methods more accessible to consumers.

“We are worried that the transaction fee will have a negative impact on these (micro and small) traders and consumers,” she said.

Meanwhile, Fuziah said the public can get supplies of local rice at the Agro Madani Sales event and subsidised imported rice through the Rahmah Sales programme.

She said information about the locations of the sales can be obtained on the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry and Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority websites. – Bernama, September 30, 2023.