Ankit Bansal: Dairy and Business Owners Group chair on the Government banning in-store card surcharges

The Government's recent ban on on payment card surcharges has been met with criticism from the retail and hospitality sectors.

The Government's announced it will scrap extra in-store card fees by next May.

The Commerce Commission has already reduced bank interchange visa and master card fees for businesses.

Dairy and Business Owners Group chair Ankit Bansal says these proposed changes are 'unfair' as the banks can still charge whatever transaction fees they like.

"These will likely have to be passed on to the consumers - the problem is, we would have to do it across the board. So even if someone was paying with cash, one way or another, we're paying for these charges."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Small retailers are pushing back at the government's move to
bank credit card surch charges from next year. The Commerce Minister,
Scott Simpson told us he is doing a good thing.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
What we want is to have transparency of pricing. Well,
if a retailer doesn't want to take a payWave, they
don't have to. There are other ways.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Of pay and Bansal is the chair of the Dairy
and Business Owners Group and with us high An.

Speaker 3 (00:23):
Kit Well, hi, heither, thanks for having having me on
the show.

Speaker 1 (00:26):
Yeah, do you like this idea of banning the surcharges?

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Oh? Look, Rita. The retailers already concerned by the dis
proposed changes as the banks can still charge us whatever
the tanjection fees they're like, or we can't pass it on,
so that seems unfair to us.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
How much do you get charged in your merchant fees
every year?

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Well, well, on our average small retail is a payer
somewhere on between seven and ten grand are you on
depending on which banks they're with.

Speaker 1 (00:53):
And is it going to get past is it just
going to simply be built into the prices that we pay? Now,
what are you going to do? Are you going to
absorb it?

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Absolutely? Now it has to be passed them to the
consumers and the problem is we have to do it
across the board, so even if someone who was paying
with cash will still one way or another will pay
for these charges.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Did you did you warn the government before they did
this that that would be the likely impact.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
We were like, we were taken by surprie. We had
no idea that this is coming. So but we will
be definitely working with our minister and we will be
raising these issues with him.

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Okay and Kit thanks very much, really appreciate it. And
kid ban Cell Dairy and Business Owners Group. For more
from Hither Duplessye Alan Drive, listen live to news talks.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
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