We refer to the abovementioned subject matter and would like to thank Dr. Thanaseelen for highlighting as well as sharing his concerns on this matter. The Association of Banks in Malaysia (ABM) would like to state that it is not a standard practice for merchants to set a minimum transaction value for payments using debit cards. Such practices are not endorsed by the banks.

In this regard, our member banks do take action against any merchants that are found to be imposing a minimum charge for card transactions, be it debit or credit cards. They will continue to monitor and perform random checks on the merchants to ensure that non-sanctioned practices which may be an impediment to the use of card payments are discontinued.

ABM would like to reiterate that our member banks are strongly committed to transforming the Malaysian payment systems to be highly efficient in terms of speed, security, convenience and cost. Towards this end, the banks have, among other things, lowered the cost for merchants to accept payments via debit cards through the introduction of differentiated and declining merchant discount rates (MDR)[1] to further encourage the usage of debit cards in Malaysia.

The writer is welcome to contact us to provide us with fuller details of the issues highlighted in the letter so that we can better address the same.

For further enquiries, members of the public can contact us at our ABMConnect hotline by dialing 1-300-88-9980, or through eABMConnect by logging on to our website, www.abm.org.my.

[1] MDR is a fee paid by a merchant to an acquirer for facilitating a payment card transaction. Acquirers are required to charge differentiated MDRs that reflect the cost structure of different payment card types.