9 October 2014

The Editor
ST Forum

Dear Editor

We thank Mr Lim Chye Hai (“Be transparent on extra charges”, 27 September 2014) and Mr Arthur Loh Siew Meng (“In the dark over cross-border fees”, 1 October 2014) for their feedback on the extra charges reflected on their credit card bills.

Banks generally charge customers a fee for transactions with overseas merchants, including those merchants who offer online goods and services priced in Singapore Dollars that use overseas payment processors.  These fees cover charges imposed by card schemes, such as Visa and MasterCard, for the additional costs associated with processing cross border payments.

The specific fees for transactions with overseas merchants are determined commercially by card issuers and disclosed as part of their terms and conditions of use.

We understand the concerns of Mr Lim, Mr Loh and other credit card users who may be unaware of the fees imposed for their cross border credit card transactions. MAS advises consumers to check up on the location of the merchant or its payment processor and the cross border transaction fees charged by card issuers before making a purchase.  Such information is usually available on the merchant’s and card issuer’s website or disclosed as part of their terms and conditions.  Consumers should contact the website operator if such terms are not available online or are unclear.

Bey Mui Leng
Director (Communications)
Monetary Authority of Singapore