October 17 No to Mastercard

But first!

There is a pink bus which is touring Dubai over the coming days. On board will be Dr. Sawsan al Madhi to screen women for breast cancer.

Lets encourage our listeners to use this free service while it is available.

Please give mention to the following places where the pink bus will be parked with thanks to Proctor and Gamble for sponsoring the service.

• Thursday, October 18^th Uptown Mirdiff 3:00-10:00
• Friday, October 19^th The Dubai Autodrome – Peddle in Pink event 4:00-8:00
• Monday, October 22^nd American University of Sharjah 9:00-3:00
• Tuesday, October 23^rd Friends of cancer patients in Sharjah 10:00-1:00
• Thursday, October 25^th Ras Al Khaima Women’s College 9:00-3:00
• Sunday, October 28^th AbuDhabi Ladies Club 1:00-10:30pm
• Wednesday, October 31^st The Market in Jebel Ali 2:00-7:00

So credit cards are to be banned at service stations!

Your thoughts?

Ban on credit cards means residents have one more queue to deal with

By Emmanuelle Landais and Shakir Husain, Staff Reporters Published: October 15, 2007, 23:03

Dubai: Residents have said the ban on credit card use at petrol stations was an additional bother they do not need and is bound to create longer waiting times at the pumps as people will be unprepared. Starting Saturday all Emarat, Enoc and Eppco stations will not accept credit cards for payment. Only self-branded store credit or smart cards will be accepted as well as cash. According to industry sources, banks and petrol stations are in discussions about Emarat and Enoc's decision to ban credit cards at their outlets while a Ministry of Economy officials has said no laws have been broken. Abdullah Al Saleh, an undersecretary at the Ministry of Economy, said the issue has nothing to do with consumer protection as there is no legal provision to force companies to accept credit cards. "I do not see a conflict with the Consumer Protection Law. It is their [companies] policy how they want to sell their services," he said. Rima Hassan, 21, a student from Lebanon said she has trouble keeping up with her Salik payments so topping up a pre-paid card for petrol will be a hassle. "In the beginning it will be a problem before people get used to it. People depend on cards as it is not often that you have cash on you," said Hassan. Dubai resident Golda Arthurs, 39, from India said the new system will not help consumers at all. "It's ironic because they develop parking meters you have to pay with a card and then they make you pay for petrol with cash. Using a credit card generally facilitates everything you do but banning it is going to make life a bit more difficult," said Arthurs. According to a bank official the increase in fees levied for accepting credit card payment has only risen 0.2 per cent. "The fees increased about a year ago for petrol stations from 1.35 per cent to 1.4 per cent for each transaction and petrol stations were fine with it for a year. It was recently increased again by 0.2 per cent to 1.65 per cent," said a banking source. "Petrol stations are not supposed to charge customers because it is not part of the agreement between banks and petrol stations. Now all concerned parties are in talks," he said. Spokespersons for some of the major banks in Dubai were unavailable for comment yesterday whilst some banks remained closed. Officials from petrol companies were also unavailable.

September 4 1.65% to use plastic!

What is using plastic to pay for your purchases worth to you?

Major service centers in the UAE are adding 1.65% to your bill if you use plastic for purchases.

Last night the talk was that this is just another cash grab.

The real issue says others is the fact that the banks are creating service charges and not really giving you a service at all!

The banks are to blame!

Maybe we really are a long way from the cashless society?

Plastic money is convenient, but...

By Rania Oteify, Features Editor Published: August 25, 2007, 00:24

I don't remember a place which didn't accept my standard credit cards since I moved to Dubai. From fast food restaurants to beauty salons, I hardly carry cash any more. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) isn't an exception. They do accept credit cards, but from my first visit to them, when I had to open an account and make a deposit of Dh1,000, I was warned by the customer service agent that if I opted to pay by credit card they'd collect 1.65 per cent extra. Only Dh16.5. Yes, it isn't much, but it is just the principle: Why should I - the customer - pay for what they are supposed to pay in fees to the bank? I decided then to run to a nearby ATM and come back with cash. We don't have much choice with Dewa, do we? There is no other seller of water or electricity, which may be the reason they are not concerned about making their payment methods any attractive. But last week I was surprised when I found Emarat, the petrol station, posting a notice, that starting September 1, they will also be charging 1.65 per cent on card transactions. Aren't they concerned about their competitiveness? For one, my first thought was: Fine, I won't be fuelling from here any more. Again it is a matter of principle even if it doesn't cost much. Say Dh1.65 if your average weekly fuel bill is Dh100. It is cheaper than a bubble gum pack. Yes, but this is their agreement with the bank, why should the fees be transferred to customers? No concern It seems that credit card companies and the banks cannot care less as long as they are getting their money. When I tried to contact a couple, the answer - when I got one - was "no comment". So I decided to call the customer service at my bank given the fact that it is in their benefit that I keep using my card. At first, the agent said he had no idea what I was talking about. After a few minutes of holding, he came back with the most informative statement. "We are the bank. Nothing changed from our end. If you've a problem with Emarat, you should be sorting it out with them." In a way, I can understand Emarat's move. While other retailers have room to hike their prices, and we may be paying for their bank fees and more without noticing, petrol stations don't have similar flexibility. They may be betting that while some people will play the choice game and head to a different station, many others will just opt to pay in cash or won't even worry about it since the each individual fee is negligible. So who will be paying for the convenience of using credit cards? [For cash payment fans, here is good news for you: you finally win even in a society supposedly moving to plastic alternative. Yes, you take more time to find your money, the cashier has to count it, and give you your change, which you have to check. Then the money has to be secured, checked and double checked at the end of the day, and transferred to where it goes until it get deposited in a bank. Your cash payment creates jobs and costs for so many people, but still you seem to get a better deal in some places.]