i'm disappointed by NETS latest move to raise the fees it charges to the merchants between 0.75% and 2% from the current 0.45% to 0.55%. NETS also stated clearly that the cost "will not be passed on to the customers" due to the internal agreement between NETS and the merchants..

technically, the raise in fees does not have a direct impact to me as i'm a consumer. however, i'm still very disappointed by NETS latest announcement. NETS is supposed to be a basic mode of payment for those without credit/debit cards and also to avoid the hassle of carrying tons of cash around. however the basis for NETS latest announcement is because banks have started demanding NETS to pay the 'interchange fee' which is similar of those charged to credit cards and NETS have to pass these cost to the merchants to stay afloat.

i dun see a reason why the banks should go against the very original noble notion of providing some basic financial services to the vast public at a very low cost. so many people in singapore are using NETS everyday for their purchases and i strongly believe that the current income generated is more than sufficient to make NETS a attractive venture. so does increasing the fees justifiable? has profiteering soiled the minds of them in this market economy? i'll say its simply exploiting the fact that cashless payment is a monopolistic market and our supply for such service is VERY inelastic, which simply means that an increase in price will have very little reduction in the quantity demanded, coz we have no other choices!

if NETS is going to continue with its fees hike, i'll seriously consider boycott using NETS from now onwards.. btw ever since the birth of debit cards and my eligibility to own credit cards, i've not been using NETS regularly since then...