RHB Bank sets 0.35% and 0.60% merchant rates on DuitNow QR and card payments in Malaysia from 26 October

RHB Bank has revised the merchant discount rates it charges on terminal and QR payments in Malaysia, and the new pricing takes effect on 26 October 2026. The bank gave merchants notice on 3 October in an announcement from its Group Transaction Banking unit. Under the revised schedule, payments funded from a current or savings account cost the merchant 0.35% of the transaction value, and so do payments funded from an e-wallet. Payments funded by a credit card cost 0.60%. The rates cover transactions processed through RHB card terminals, the DuitNow QR Sound Box and Sound Box+, and the Reflex Mobile app with its printed QR tent cards. The notice mentions no waiver or exemption for micro or small merchants and sends questions to each merchant's home branch. The change follows a separate scare. On 18 October Malaysia's Ministry of Finance said a viral poster claiming shoppers would pay a new QR service charge from 1 November was false. Consumers still pay nothing extra to use DuitNow QR. Merchant fees are a different matter: each bank or payment provider sets its own merchant discount rate, and the free treatment many small sellers enjoyed is being withdrawn provider by provider. UOB Malaysia, for comparison, lists no merchant charge on account- and wallet-funded DuitNow QR payments until 31 December 2026 and 0.25% on credit card-funded ones. For merchants, the point is that QR acceptance in Malaysia can no longer be assumed to be a near-free alternative to cards. A stall or small shop that steered customers to QR to avoid card costs may now pay a percentage on every scan. Because the rate depends on how the payment is funded, the real cost will turn on how many customers pay from a credit card rather than from a bank account or wallet.