The Consumer Council of Fiji (CCoF) commended the BSP Financial Group Ltd for removing surcharge fees on all locally issued Visa debit cards transacting on BSP EFTPoS terminals and is calling for other financial institutions to follow suit.
CCoF chief executive officer Seema Shandil said the Fijian economy was transforming into a more cashless and digitised economy, and accessing services which promote this initiative must be inexpensive for consumers or it would delay this transformation.
“Such initiatives resonate with the shift towards a more convenient electronic payment method for consumers and to help drive financial inclusion across the country.
“Therefore, other banks must consider following suit. However, banks must not stop here but continue to implement such initiatives which make going cashless seamless and inexpensive,” said Ms Shandil.
The removal of the surcharge by BSP means EFTPoS merchants will be able to process transactions from a wider group of local VISA Debit cardholders.
This will result in fee free transactions for cardholders and reduced transaction processing fees for merchants.
