CUSTOMERS and retailers will benefit from the single payment system that is expected to be tabled in Parliament soon.

The Standing Committee on Justice, Law and Human Rights chairman, Ashneel Sudhakar, says with the enforcement of the Fiji Interchange Network (Payments) Bill 2016, anyone with a commercial debit card can make payment at a uniform rate.

Mr Sudhakar said this would be good for the retailers as well.

“If someone has an ANZ Bank card only or Westpac and other retailers do not have the machine they would not want to shop there but would go to another shop,” he said during submissions yesterday afternoon.

Making their submission, WR Carpenter (South Pacific) Ltd executive director Daniel Whippy said they supported the licensing concept and fully agreed with its objectives.

“We support the Bill and hope it is supported in Parliament,” he said.

He said the company’s payment system did not fall on the ambit of the Bill.

The Flash and Gain card and MoneyLink program, he added, would not be included in the Bill because those cards were being used by their customers internally.

“This credit card allows customers to purchase with ease by swipe credit cards at Carpenters, MH, and Carpenters Motors.

“Customers can take their debit cards and use it at our cashiers and pay their FEA bills.

“We charge 25 cents per transaction and no associated fees to the customers.

“You can’t take that debit card called MoneyLink card and use it in restaurants outside Carpenters. We only allow it inside MHCC on selected tenants,” he said.