AirAsia accused of bypassing surcharge ban with ‘processing fee’
MDECA secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah says AirAsia carried over 27 million passengers in 2016, with 20 million paying online.
PETALING JAYA: AirAsia has been accused of bypassing Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BN) prohibition of surcharges for payments using debit or credit cards by imposing “processing fees” for online ticket bookings.
The Malaysian Digital Economy Consumer Association (MDECA) claimed the budget airline could be making an extra RM80 million annually from travellers based on a minimum “processing fee” of RM4 per booking.
“Such a practice by AirAsia imposes additional costs on unsuspecting consumers,” MDECA secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah said in a statement today.
BNM recently revealed that retailers are not permitted to impose surcharges for payments using debit or credit cards.
It said consumers who encounter merchants that impose surcharges should lodge complaints with their respective banks or payment card issuers.
Sha’ani praised BNM for prohibiting any form of surcharges for payments using debit and credit cards.
However, he pointed out that AirAsia could be contravening this restriction by imposing handling fees.
He quoted the airline’s fees table listed in its website as ranging from RM4 to RM30 per booking using direct debit, debit, credit and charge cards.
The charges are also subject to 6% goods and services tax (GST), according to the website.
“BNM has been encouraging traders and consumers to move to cashless payment mode.
“Often the practice of surcharges for the use of cashless payment is an unfair trade practice to those merchants who bear the card charges by the card issuing banks.”
He said AirAsia carried over 27 million passengers in 2016.
About 20 million passengers also paid online, providing 72% of the airline’s revenue, he said.
“(As a) simple calculation, we are speculating that AirAsia is making over RM80 million with a ‘processing fee’ of RM4 per booking,” he added.
Sha’ani called on BNM and the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) to protect consumers and traders who adopt the cashless payment mode “which is convenient, saves costs, promotes sustainability, lowers risks and has many more advantages”.
Sumber AirAsia accused of bypassing surcharge ban with ‘processing fee’