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RHB revises its DuitNow QR merchant fee: 0.35% and 0.60%

At RHB's rates, a RM100 payment costs RM0.35 or RM0.60 — charged to the shop, not the customer.

Xiao Hai · HiGo Corner JournalTrendingLast checked 25 October 20264 min read

A photo used as the cover: the wooden counter of a small shop on a tropical morning. A hand holds up a phone towards a blank acrylic stand on the counter, with no text or mark on it; the shopkeeper has their back to the camera, busy at the shelves, with palm trees and street daylight outside the shopfront. Text is laid over the photo. Text: a rounded badge at the top reading “Trending · Malaysia”; large type in the middle reading “0.35% and 0.60%”, and a line under it reading “Merchant fee · RHB”; a dark band at the foot reading “Every corner, everywhere.”, “HiGo Corner Journal” and “higo.shop”.
Illustration: AI-generated (ChatGPT).
Last checked25 October 2026

Will paying by QR cost you more? Not as a customer. The fee is taken from the shop: on each DuitNow QR payment a shop accepts through RHB's channels, a merchant fee is deducted at a rate that depends on how the customer paid.

RHB announced on 3 October 2026 that from 26 October 2026, DuitNow QR transactions processed through card terminals, DuitNow QR Sound Box / Sound Box+, and Reflex Mobile and tent cards will carry a merchant discount rate (MDR) based on the source of funds: 0.35% for current or savings accounts and e-wallets, 0.60% for credit cards. RHB announcement

The counter of a small shop in Malaysia. A customer stands at the counter holding up a phone towards a blank acrylic stand on the counter, with no text or mark on it. The shopkeeper, in an apron, waits on the other side of the counter, face not visible. Tropical daylight comes in through the open shopfront, with shelves and goods blurred behind.
The customer scans, the shopkeeper gets paid. Illustration: AI-generated (ChatGPT).Image: HiGo

What it means for you

If you are the customer: PayNet's personal page says paying by DuitNow QR is “completely free with no extra charges”, and Bank Negara Malaysia said on 29 September 2023 that individuals paying by DuitNow QR would not face any additional charges. The MDR comes out of what the shop receives.

If you run a shop: this reaches you only if you collect through RHB, on one of the three channels below. The fee comes off as a percentage of the transaction value, and the percentage depends on how the customer paid. The three channels RHB names are: a card terminal; a DuitNow QR Sound Box or Sound Box+; and Reflex Mobile and tent cards. For questions, RHB says to go to your own home branch.

If you run a small shop: on 29 September 2023, Bank Negara said the major banks and some non-bank providers, which together handled 75% of the businesses accepting DuitNow QR, would keep waiving the transaction fee for micro and small businesses. It also said QR fees for businesses stayed at or below debit card fees. That was those banks' own commitment in 2023; this RHB announcement does not say how it treats small merchants.

The counter of a coffee shop. A small square payment sound box with no markings sits on the counter, next to a saucer of loose change and a stack of receipts; a half-open roller shutter and daylight from the street are behind.
The sound box on the counter. Illustration: AI-generated (ChatGPT).Image: HiGo

What comes off a RM100 payment

The ringgit figures below are worked out from those rates, on a RM100 payment:

  • Current or savings account: 0.35%. RM0.35 comes off and the shop keeps RM99.65.
  • e-Wallet: 0.35%. RM0.35 comes off and the shop keeps RM99.65.
  • Credit card: 0.60%. RM0.60 comes off and the shop keeps RM99.40.

What RHB has not said

  • What the rate was before.
  • Whether small merchants stay exempt.
  • Whether other banks will follow — RHB speaks only for RHB.

If a poster claiming a service charge on QR payments from 1 November 2026 turns up in your group chat, note that according to a report on RTM's news portal on 18 October 2026, the Ministry of Finance said on Facebook that day the poster was false and that it had issued no such official announcement. RHB's own date is 26 October 2026, set out in its announcement of 3 October 2026. RTM report

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