LATEST: Act to criminalise three-tier pricing

Source: LATEST: Act to criminalise three-tier pricing | The Herald January 26, 2017

Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Correspondent

Retailers and other businesspeople charging extra for payments made in
bond notes or bank cards and less for US dollar transactions will be
prosecuted when the Reserve Bank Amendment Bill, which sailed through the
National Assembly on Wednesday, becomes law.

Responding to questions from Members of Parliament on Wednesday, Finance
and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa reiterated that bond
notes were interchangeable at a rate of 1:1 with the US dollar.

He said those apprehended for charging more for goods paid for using bond
notes will be prosecuted

The Bill now awaits transition to the Senate.

“The Reserve Bank Amendment Bill which is before this House, is addressing
those concerns,” said Minister Chinamasa. “It is coming up with a law to
penalise and criminalise that kind of conduct.”

Minister Chinamasa was responding to an oral question without notice from
Glen View North legislator Fani Munengami (MDC-T) on the “three tier”
price, whereby shops were selling the same goods at different prices,
depending on the method of payment.

Mr Munengami claimed that a product can cost $90 when using cash, $100
when swiping and if one is buying in bond notes, $120.

Government, Minister Chinamasa said, was making concerted efforts in
making sure that point of sale machines were readily available.

“As of now, we do not have sufficient point of sale machines to distribute
countrywide,” he said. “These machines have to be imported.

“Resources are being mobilised on a daily basis to ensure that we import
more point of sale machines, which eventually should be able to reach
every shop where there is connectivity.”

Minister Chinamasa said it was daylight robbery for banks to charge more
in transaction fees than the price for a loaf of bread and said he will
hold discussions with Reserve Bank Governor Dr John Mangudya so that the
anomaly is rectified.

He then called for tangible evidence to enable Dr Mangudya to enforce
punitive measures against any banks charging exhorbitant fees.

Minister Chinamasa said this after Buhera South MP Cde Joseph Chinotimba
(Zanu-PF) had expressed concern over high bank charges customers were
paying when buying goods using plastic money.

He said hiccups in network or interconnectivity where customers have to
wait for more than 10 minutes before a transaction is concluded had been
referred to the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal
and Courier Services.