By : Minderjeet Kaur
KUALA LUMPUR: Don't be surprised if some petrol stations do not accept payment by credit cards any more.
Association president Abdul Wahid Bidin said following the increase in fuel prices, petrol station operators could no longer be burdened by the charges imposed on them by credit card companies.
"It is a business decision. After the fuel price hike, petrol station operators have to cut costs."
He said some of the stations had stopped accepting credit cards since yesterday.
"While our members have agreed not to accept credit cards, there might be some who will accept them. But we hope all members will cooperate with us."
On the proposal for a two-tier pricing of fuel, one for local vehicles and another for foreign-registered vehicles, Abdul Wahid said strict enforcement would be needed to make sure that foreigners adhered to the ruling.
"A vehicle's number plate can be changed. They might do so with vehicles at the Thai border."
However, he said having separate pumps would boost sales at petrol stations.
He said he hoped the government would implement the policy as soon as possible.
On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that a two-tier pricing system, for foreign and local vehicles, would be fairer and save the government money.
Abdul Wahid said the association appreciated the government's move to allow petrol stations to operate only from 6am to 11pm, instead of the present 24 hours a day.
"It is a cost-effective move because we do not have many sales outside these hours."
Fung, KL: The charges imposed by banks are nothing compared to the profits they are making. These petrol stations and companies are really cut-throat businesses. Kumar, Penang: Credit Card is convenient, not to mention discount of 2-2.5%. Having separate pumps for foreign vehicles is great. Enforcement & heavy fines for those cheating with false number plates or malaysian friend transferring fuel to foreigner will be effective deterrent Daniel, Kuala Lumpur: It will be another big & dangerous burden on the rakyat. We will need to carry extra cash in our wallet. Are we moving backwards? We are suppose to go towards cashless transactions as encourage by the government i.e. e-payment, etc. Shamini, Johor Bahru: Many of us are paying for petrol by credit card only because we have to. The raising of fuel price came at a time when it was at the end of the 2-week school holidays and many parents had left their children with their grandparents, usually out of state or we have spent our money during the holidays. Therefore, the travelling costs hit us pretty hard. I am sure to boycott stations that prohibit the use of credit cards to purchase fuel. In JB there is no public transport to speak of, there seems no end to our woes down south. Pat, Kuala Lumpur: The Association president mentioned that after the fuel hike, petrol station operators have to cut costs. Shouldn't they be making more money when what they are selling increases in price? I don't really understand. Any petrol station owners want to sell their business since they are running at a loss? Please advertise. Merlvyn, KL: I suggest 2 different prices then; one price for Cash and another via Credit Card payment. Let the rakyat decide on the payment mode then. Karl, KL: Denying customers the use of their credit cards and refusing to accept them is morally bias. I say do away with petrol stations altogether and let the government control distribution of petrol to the people. Abdul Razak, JB: I concurred with Shamini's comment. I would definitely boycott petrol stations which do not accept credit cards. In this world which is full of uncertainty regarding security, plastic money helps to minimise the cash transactions. Thus it allows the operator to handle less cash, which translates to better security for the public as well as themselves. Let's hope we do not see in the news a rise in petrol station robberies due to the association's suggestions of not accepting credit cards. Koh: Paying cash first will inconvenient too many motorists. Even shopping malls etc., accecpt credit cards. With snatch thieves on the prowl, it is not advisable to carry much cash. The station operators should be considerate & not think of themselves just to make more profits. Kuala Lumpur: Petrol kiosk operators earn a fixed commission on each litre of petrol sold, irrespective of the petrol price. But bank charges for credit card transactions depends on the ringgit amount transacted. When petrol price increase, we pay more (hence more bank charges) but we buy the same, if not less, amount of petrol in litres (so, they don't earn more commission than before). To be fair to consumers and the operators, the petrol companies (i.e., Petronas, Shell, etc) should absorb the bank charges instead of causing inconvenience to consumers. After all, it's these giants that earn the highest margins, not the petrol kiosk operators. Terrence , Kota Kinabalu: What else is next?? Why can't bank negara sort this out with the banks? Why is the association president Abdul Wahid Bidin taking advantage of this difficult situation? I suggest petrol stations which are not willing to accept credit cards CLOSE their stations! What are you going to do about this Shahrir Abdul Samad? Anna, Penang: It is not practical to revert to the old system especially now that the price hike is an additional burden to most. While many (like myself) are living from pay check to pay check, relying on credit cards for fuel purchase is all that we can afford to do. With the poor public transportation, there is barely any other option to move around. This will only add on the burden that we are trying to adjust to. Din, Kuala Lumpur: The action taken by the Petroleum Dealers Association is plain arrogant, and doesn't consider the public's woes in having to juggle with their money due to the higher cost of living. The use of credit cards at petrol pumps allow the public to free up their cash for other use. To the members of the Petrol Dealers Association who refuse to accept credit card transactions, please get out of the business! Kevin, Kuala Lumpur: To PAT and FUNG, Petrol station is not earning enough. WHen the fuel price increase to RM 2.70, they need to pay as much as consumers do. On average, they only earn about RM650 for each tanker of petrol and diesel. With the increase of fuel price, they will need more liquid cash to earn the same profit. For example, in old days, a tanker of petrol will cost them RM20,000++ and their profit was RM650 and currently it cost them RM 70,000++ for the same amount of profit. I am one of the retailers myself. Please ask before you simply make sweeping statements. We only earn from selling tidbits. GnokGnok, Kuala Lumpur: In these trying time, everyone is cutting cost to stay afloat. I won't blame them in not accepting credit cards. But we consumers are always the one who suffers. What above credit card companies? They are part of the equation and they should reduced the charges too & pass the benefit back to the consumers. If not maybe we can start cancelling our credits cards instead of cursing Petroleum Dealers Association for thier action. Samsul, Tawau: Not is the right time for the government to do away with control. Let the petrol stations decide what they want to do, be it opening up 24/7, or accepting cash only. Let's support free competition. Mark, Kuala Lumpur: There are two issues that should be considered before implementation. One is inconvenience: I would not dare leave my children in the car when I make payment at the cash counter. The other is safety: Robbers would now target petrol station - lots of cash. Please reconsider your move. Kota Bharu: What's next? It seems there is no end to our woes. Petrol Price hikes, Barang Naik dan Naik. And now credit cards ta laku. The need to use bicycles may become a reality. This is a testing time for the Raayat Tan, Kuala Lumpur: Petrol stations' margin of profit are small - main earners are the petroluem companies. Banks should only impose a fixed charge e.g. 30 sen or 50 sen for each transaction and should not charged by % of sales. Banks are already making fantastic profit through card renewal fees and interest charges. Banks also making more money from cards effective 1 July 08 with change in interest pricing policy e.g. no interest free period if payment not made by due date. Nik, Kuala Lumpur: I am shock by this decision. It doesn't make sense. It's like moving against the times. Prepare to face some consequences from the people! We can no longer tolerate unnecessary burden! Nash,KL: When you take a loan from the bank, the bank imposes processing & legal fees, but when you borrow money from the credit card system, the processing fees are paid by merchants, the credit card system is not fair and unjustified as they encourage your to borrow at someone else expense. Meanwhile, the banks just garner the windfall profit and give hefty raise to their employees. Ruby: Read carefully past articles before jumping to conclusions. Who said the petrol stations are making a lot of money? The ones who make a lot of money are the banks and the oil companies. Currently, the petrol station dealers are facing high working capital, and thus have to inject more money into the business, making their business not a viable business anymore, their commission is based on literage, not by percentage of the ringgit, as the value of oil increases it does not make any difference to their profit. Many dealers now are at the brink of closing down their business, and some who are short of cash have closed down their business. It would be wise if they invest their money elsewhere. The dealers are customers too, they have to basically pay cash on every load of petrol/diesel. The dealers who survives at the end of the day, are the ones who got lots of cash, not dependent entirely on the business. Everytime there is a hike in petrol, they have to come up with extra money. Adding salt to the wound is that when the business transactions is in credit card they have to generate more capital and the worst is being imposed a fees by the bank. Dealers who take in more loans into their business are trapped, and are selling themselves and their family future. Therefore, please correct your perception towards the dealers. However if the petrol station do not want to accept credit cards anymore other alternative is ATM cards, whereby we should be able to use our ATM card which can be debited from our savings account. We should be able to see our balance when using the card at petrol stations. It is cashless and a means of controlling our spending. This will allow us to budget, and control our expenditure, reduce credit card usage, and save on interest payments and late charges. We need to prepare ourselves for this sort of situation due to fuel increase. People concern should start thinking of alternative ways to overcome problems and to solve rakyat difficulties. Great to read ideas and solutions. |
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