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Speaking to The Straits Times after meeting with Nets officials yesterday, Mr Ong San Jin of the Bras Basah Merchants Association said that his organisation had refused to accept the offer, and asked that the special rates be applied regardless of whether or not retailers offered customers other forms of electronic payment.
Mr Chua Ser Keng, president of the Federation of Merchants Associations, said Nets' latest act was just a tactic used to string retailers along. He called on his 3,000 members to boycott Nets to show their displeasure.
Last week, Nets informed retailers verbally that they could enjoy lower transaction fees if they either did not have alternative cashless modes of payment or were willing to give up these facilities.
The announcement in December that Nets planned to raise its transaction fees for merchants from this month - from 0.35 per cent to 0.55 per cent of purchases up to a maximum of 1.8 per cent - angered retailers. They were further incensed when Nets said that the transaction fees could not be passed on to consumers.
On Sunday, four merchant associations told The Straits Times that Nets had offered them a better deal - transaction rates at 1.05 to 1.15 per cent of purchases - provided they did not offer customers alternative modes of cashless payment.
In response, the Competition Commission of Singapore, which had earlier cleared Nets of charges that it had abused its dominant position, said that it was seeking more information from the electronic payment operator.
Two lawyers and an economist told The Straits Times that such an offer from Nets is at risk of flouting the Competition Act. However, this assumes that Nets is ruled to be in a dominant market position.
Nets declined to reply to questions from The Straits Times on the deal offered to heartland retailers. The company put a fresh statement on its website on Tuesday, but it remained unclear whether retailers would still be required to stop offering alternative payment options in order to enjoy a discount on transaction fees.
The statement did not mention the need to give up alternative forms of cashless payment. Instead, it said that 'all' of Singapore's small and medium-size retailers which have been Nets customers for 'at least 12 months' can apply for the special rates.
