[Verdict] CDG cabbies need not accept VISA from June 2013
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Stand-off over card surcharge escalates
Visa says that ComfortDelGro has said it will stop accepting Visa cards by early June, after the card company told the cab operator to remove a 10 per cent surcharge for fares paid with Visa cards. -ST
Jessica Lim
Mon, Mar 18, 2013
The Straits TimesTHE wrangle over credit card surcharges has intensified.
Even as the National Taxi Association (NTA) urged parties to sort things out for the sake of consumers, the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) has come out in support of Visa.
Last month, payment company Visa told ComfortDelGro it would pull out unless the cab operator removed a 10 per cent surcharge for fares paid with Visa cards.
According to Visa, ComfortDelGro replied that its cabs will stop accepting the cards by early June.
NTA adviser Ang Hin Kee, who is an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, urged the parties to find a solution. He told The Straits Times yesterday: "If a commercial deal does not work for you, work out a cost structure that does."
As it stands, commuters and taxi drivers will get the short end of the stick, he added. Consumers because they are worse off with one fewer payment mode, and taxi drivers because they will need to explain to passengers why they no longer accept Visa.
Other cab companies like Premier Taxi, TransCab and SMRT also levy a 10 per cent fee on card payments. Visa will be approaching other taxi operators as well, and has formed a 20-man team to conduct spot checks.
Other payment companies, including MasterCard Worldwide and American Express, did not want to say if they would follow Visa's lead, but they opposed imposition of surcharges by merchants.
Banks, including DBS, Citibank and OCBC Bank, also shared the same view.
"We understand and support Visa's decision to remove acceptance from ComfortDelGro taxis," said ABS director Ong-Ang Ai Boon. "We do not encourage the practice of surcharging because it unfairly passes the cost of acceptance onto the consumer."
OCBC Bank said it sent a letter to merchants late last year to remind them not to surcharge. The bank also imposes a US$1,000 (S$1,250) fine for a first violation, and up to US$25,000 subsequently. It declined to say how many merchants have been fined so far.
"The banks must be firm in penalising errant retailers. Some even allow the bigger merchants to bend the rules," said Consumers Association of Singapore executive director Seah Seng Choon.
He pointed out that DBS Bank, through which ComfortDelGro receives Visa's services, had allowed surcharging to go on for years.
Cabbies were worried that Visa's pullout may affect business.
"If customers ask if we accept Visa, and we don't, they may choose the cab behind us." said Mr Thomas Teo, 45, who has driven a ComfortDelGro cab for 18 years. He added that 10 per cent of his customers pay by Visa.
Several consumers The Straits Times spoke to were worried about not being able to use Visa cards in cabs, but some considered the bigger picture.
Real estate agent Cecilia Cai, 30, said: "I hope this will push shops to rethink surcharging. I don't think it's fair to us, especially when they are not allowed to (surcharge)."
ComfortDelGro did not respond to queries, but other merchants that imposed a surcharge on credit card transactions did.
CTC Travel charges customers an extra 2 per cent to buy an air ticket by card - the same amount the company has to pay banks for the service. Said its spokesman Alicia Seah: "Should consumers wanting to use their cards mean that merchants should be penalised for it?"
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Aiyo , no resolution ?
Then mastercard eventually will break the ties as well ..... amex also .....
left NETS ?
Something to rejoice .....
It's NETS or Cash .....
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Later NETS say cannot charge 30 cents extra, that time then can really celebrate
Cash is King
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The best is Cash ...... always is .
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Originally posted by Reliefdriver4u:
Later NETS say cannot charge 30 cents extra, that time then can really celebrate
Cash is King
Cannot be lah ..... NETS is monopolised by them .of course there always be a "if" ....
"if" got complaint
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But it's a step back for our industry .....
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Since changing to TransCab then Silver .
I realized getting lesser and lesser people using VISA to take taxis , esp Locals .
usually it's foreigners who use .
Mastercard got more user .
After that AMEX .... knn AMEX very strong one among corporate card user .....
my top user for Corporate card is AMEX Platimuim Corporate , follow by Citibank Corporate card .
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yah lor stoopiak CDG everytin also wan to earn..............
i support VISA even though i drive for CDG........
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CDG think their head bigger than Visa so boycott them.
All credit system payment like master,visa,amex back door all work hand in hand to be monopoly in this world.
In the end CDG will still lan lan siau siau use back their payment system
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Originally posted by Poolman:
Aiyo , no resolution ?
Then mastercard eventually will break the ties as well ..... amex also .....
left NETS ?
Something to rejoice .....
It's NETS or Cash .....
...and Ezlink card.. -
To be fair, this is a commercial issue, what transpired here is each business entity wants a pie of the Visa transaction, Visa want a gain of it card popularity and usage, end of the day, the TD plying the road will face the music, so are the consumer.
It is not that pax do not know the 10% surcharges required, as TD, when pax paid by visa, I will alway said, Sir, 10% surcharge apply. If silent or said it is ok, then swipe. So, I believe it is a mutual agreement that consumer are willing to pay that 10%, and TD, providing all the facilities, from GPS, to cashless equipment, to adminstration will certainly need revenue to operate and at the same time, to gain as a service provider.
Therefore, I believe Visa is out of the equation between the service provider (TD and TC) and the consumer (pax). It is merely a mode of payment.
TD are alway at the expense of commerical disagreement, any changes one way or the others will ultimately affect our livinghood, but then, who cares, any conflict of interests in business or social and economy politics will end up mostly TD losing out. SO if company is charging us 7% GST, can we charge our fare with 7%GST?
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Originally posted by ericgo:
CDG think their head bigger than Visa so boycott them.
All credit system payment like master,visa,amex back door all work hand in hand to be monopoly in this world.
In the end CDG will still lan lan siau siau use back their payment system
I think so too, but maybe they might yaya a bit because of Mastercard. Most ppl who hv Visa hv Master as well.
But if master issue same demand then CDG sure lan lan back down.
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If cdg paid for the cashless eqpt installed in their cabs, isn't it reasonable for them to recoup the capital outlay, defray admin expenses and make some profit?
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It just like asking a restuarant, please dun charge me your 10% service charge
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from the last 2years . I can see that the number of passenger using master card to pay for taxi fare has increase the other card which is American express Corp card also also can be seen in recent months Maybe visa feel the thread . that's why. just hope can standardise mode of payment for taxi, if not we see more passenger interview us whether we accept this or that card. than this scene will be mistakenly translated we taxi driver interview passenger
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But then on the other hand, some TD who like to interview paxs, if caught by LTA can alway use it as an excuse to say, I just remind them, all other cards acceptable except Visa and your name card
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Originally posted by bowah:
But then on the other hand, some TD who like to interview paxs, if caught by LTA can alway use it as an excuse to say, I just remind them, all other cards acceptable except Visa and your name card
ha ha ha. that's a good one excuse -
Look like after tunnel, there's light is true.......
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When elephants fight, the ants will die one lah.. you think all pax so nice one ar? If cannot pay by visa, some will not take your cab and some will $%^$## you. So TDs will bear the brunt of the $%^%$#!
Some will wait until end of journey, then say money no enough, can pay by VISA??? Then how???
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the only way we can charge gst is if our business earns over 1 million a year then we can apply iras, if i remember correctly.
just cos visa drop don't mean mastercard will drop. amex definitely won't, cards used mostly corporate cards. transactions between visa and amex sometime can fight.
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Most corporate card are AMEX, only a handful VISA/MASTER. Because my terminal cannot accept AMEX so pax will use their own VISA/MASTER to pay first just that they have to claim back from their company. So far I never encounter any problem when pax try to pay my AMEX and I tell them my stupid terminal can only do VISA/MASTER. Come on lah, if the pax is given a AMEX by their company they are no small fry loh. Dun have VISA/MASTER meh? Lol
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Originally posted by Terry Young:
the only way we can charge gst is if our business earns over 1 million a year then we can apply iras, if i remember correctly.
just cos visa drop don't mean mastercard will drop. amex definitely won't, cards used mostly corporate cards. transactions between visa and amex sometime can fight.
Not earn but revenue. Even out $7K TD dun qualify....Lol
Say $1m a year revenue means $2739 daily or $114 hourly collection...even our disposal king JDIL also cannot clock that kind of revenue....tio bo? Lol
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GST is a tax impose by our goberment......
is not to apply, is a MUST to registered your company with iras if your annual turnover is $1mil for consecutive 3 years.......
you earn money goberment will suck......
fail to register consequences very severe......
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Many company can siam, will siam register GST......
Jo bo eng, dang bo lang.....
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But most companies have millions of revenue turnover every years, so if you are driving for them, you are representing them in a way, and moreover, they are charging you GST for the rental, so how come you, (some wearing CDG shirt somemore) in the capacity of cdg, TC or any other companies cannot charge the pax to defray the GST?
Hawker rent stall from town council, no GST leh, so they can sell without GST, you rent or lent out a room also no charge GST mah, so how come TD have to aborb the GST, and as rental of taxis get higher, GST certainly goes higher?
Just a food for thought