Malaysia’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) has denied claims that QR payments will incur a new service charge from 1 November 2026, clarifying that it has made no such announcement.
In a Facebook post on Sunday (18 October), MOF described a circulating poster making the claim as false and urged the public to verify information through its official channels before sharing it.
The poster appeared on Facebook and Threads and did not identify any specific QR payment scheme, bank or e-wallet.
The clarification comes amid changes to merchant fees for DuitNow QR, although these charges are separate from the alleged service fee.
DuitNow QR payments remain free for consumers
PayNet, which operates DuitNow QR, states that consumers can make payments without additional charges.
However, merchants may incur a merchant discount rate (MDR), calculated as a percentage of each transaction.
Banks and other payment providers that process these transactions determine the applicable rates.
The distinction previously caused confusion in 2023, when a temporary MDR waiver introduced in 2019 ended on 1 October.
Following public concerns, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) clarified that consumers would not face additional DuitNow QR charges. Major banks and selected non-bank providers also agreed to continue waiving merchant fees for micro and small businesses.
Together, these providers served approximately 75% of businesses accepting DuitNow QR at the time.
Merchant charges vary across payment providers
More recently, RHB Bank announced revised DuitNow QR merchant fees effective 26 October 2026.
Under the new rates, merchants will pay 0.35% per transaction for payments funded through current accounts, savings accounts or e-wallets, and 0.60% for credit card payments.
The charges cover transactions accepted through RHB’s card terminals, DuitNow QR Sound Box devices, Reflex Mobile and QR tent cards.
Other providers apply different rates. UOB Malaysia, for example, lists no merchant charges for DuitNow QR payments funded through current accounts, savings accounts or e-wallets until 31 December 2026, while credit card-funded payments carry a 0.25% fee.
These merchant-specific charges differ from the blanket QR service charge alleged in the circulating poster, which MOF has denied announcing.
Featured image edited by Fintech News Malaysia based on an image by freepik on Magnific
