Marsiling store imposes ‘service fee’ of 1% for e-payments, says boss
A store in Marsiling has drawn the ire of some customers due to a “service fee” it charges for electronic payments (e-payments).
However, staff told Shin Min Daily News that the S$0.50 charge applies only to cigarettes.
Source: Google Maps
Woman claims Marsiling store charges S$0.40 for each item bought via e-payment
Last Thursday (12 March), a woman took to Facebook to complain about MyHome Mart, a minimart in Block 132 Marsiling Rise.
She claimed the store charged S$0.40 for each item bought via PayNow — meaning the fee would go up to S$1.60 for four items, even though a single payment was made.
“Doesn’t make sense at all,” she said.
In October 2025, another netizen made a similar complaint about this store in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group.
He claimed it charged an extra S$0.40 for PayNow or QR code payment, with staff saying their boss had imposed the fee.
“Does it make any sense,” he asked.
S$0.50 surcharge only on cigarette purchases
When Shin Min visited the store, a female employee clarified that a S$0.50 charge was levied only on cigarette purchases via PayNow.
Customers are clearly informed of this by a notice in English and Mandarin put up near the cashier, according to the reporter’s observations.
It advised them of the surcharge applicable to e-payments via NETS, PayNow, credit cards, UnionPay, WeChat Pay, and Alipay due to “service provider charges”.
Customers were encouraged to pay for their cigarettes in cash to avoid the extra fee.
Source: Oleg Gospodarec on Unsplash
Owner says store is charged 1% for e-payments
The minimart’s owner, named only as Mr Chen (transliterated from Mandarin), later told the Chinese daily that the store is charged a fee of 1% for all e-payments.
His cigarettes are already S$0.70 to S$0.80 cheaper than other shops, and he makes just S$0.15 in profit per pack, he claimed.
Thus, if he did not charge the S$0.50 extra, he might even lose money on the more expensive cigarettes, after deducting the bank fees, he alleged.
Some customers find charge acceptable
Mr Chen also claimed that aside from some complaints, most of his customers found the charge acceptable.
Some customers even bought a carton of 10 cigarettes via PayNow and were okay to pay S$5 extra, he said.
32-year-old nearby resident Hafiz told Shin Min that it wasn’t a big deal, as other items in the store were cheaper than in other stores.
For example, soap and other essentials cost S$0.10 to S$0.20 less, so he could make up the difference by buying five items.
Source: Don S Rive via Complaint Singapore on Facebook
But a 45-year-old deliveryman named only as Mr Lin (transliterated from Mandarin) said he does not buy cigarettes at MyHome Mart due to the extra fee, even though he occasionally passes by the area.
That’s because he usually buys two or three packs at a time, meaning the charges will add up to more than S$1, which is “quite expensive”, he added.
Merchants not allowed to impose surchage for PayNow transactions
The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), which owns the PayNow scheme, prohibits merchants from imposing a surcharge on customers who wish to make payments via PayNow, said Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong.
In a written reply for a Parliament sitting in Oct 2025, he added that major retail banks had waived transaction fees for payments received by merchants from end-consumers.
However, a “minimal fee” is charged if the merchant uses additional services, such as notifications for funds received, noted Mr Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry.
Shortly after the exchange, Singapore Pools said last November that it would absorb transaction fees for all e-payment methods after word got out that it was charging S$0.10 per transaction.
ABS clarifies that surcharge is not applicable to PayNow transactions
Speaking to MS News, ABS said that it is “unclear” if the 50-cent surcharge at MyHome Mart for e-payments is related to PayNow.
It pointed out that the payment method used at the store is NETS, not PayNow, as indicated by the QR code displayed at the cashier in a photo shown by ABS.
The QR code did not feature the PayNow logo, which distinguishes PayNow from other payment methods, ABS said.
ABS also reiterated its stance that PayNow transactions should not incur any surcharge. It explained that PayNow is intended to be a free and convenient payment method for consumers, and merchants are prohibited from charging processing fees when payments are made via PayNow.
An ABS spokesperson added, “If a payment is to be made via the PayNow platform, banks would have informed merchants that they are not to charge consumers a processing fee.”
For further clarification, ABS also said that the same Singapore QR code can be used by multiple e-payment platforms, including NETS, and that the store’s QR code was specifically for NETS payments.
Also read: Hougang minimart charges S$0.30 for PayNow payment despite new rules prohibiting extra fees
Hougang minimart charges S$0.30 for PayNow payment despite new rules prohibiting extra fees
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Rido on Canva. Right image for illustration purposes only.
