As people continue with their celebrations in welcoming the New Year, today also marks the beginning of a number of government initiatives including no charges for people when using ATM cards at EFTPOS machines around the country.
Last month government and the Association of Banks in Fiji announced the agreement on the initiative that will see consumers no longer charged transaction fees for paying by debit card at outlets that use EFTPOS machines.
This is in line with government’s initiative announced in the 2018-2019 National Budget, where member–banks will be offering unlimited free EFTPOS purchase transactions for ATM access card holders.
Chairman of the Association of Banks in Fiji Rakesh Ram says that this initiative will assist in terms of promoting cashless and paperless banking in Fiji and support a Green Society.
Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission CEO Joel Abraham says that people can now shop using debit cards without the burden of added transaction costs adding that this results in more saving for Fijians and their families.
Meanwhile, the member‑banks also acknowledge government’s initiative to pay 50 per cent of the cost to purchase EFTPOS machines for small businesses.
The Minister for Economy and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed‑Khaiyum earlier highlighted that this will enable all the banks to increase the number of EFTPOS machines in sub rural and rural areas to ensure that everybody has access to electronic transactions.
