---
title: "‘Is this allowed?’: Stomper baffled by 1 per cent credit card fee after buying $45 worth of cakes at VivoCity shop"
url: "/singapore-seen/allowed-stomper-baffled-1-cent-credit-card-fee-after-buying-45-worth-cakes-vivocity-shop"
published: "2026-10-21T04:45:47.000Z"
updated: "2026-10-21T04:45:47.000Z"
section: "Singapore Seen"
authors: ["Cherlynn Ng"]
tags: ["money","payment","Singapore Seen","credit card","surcharge","fee"]
---

# ‘Is this allowed?’: Stomper baffled by 1 per cent credit card fee after buying $45 worth of cakes at VivoCity shop

Are retailers allowed to pass on credit card surcharges to consumers?

That was the question on Stomper Alan’s mind after he visited artisan cake shop Cakebar at VivoCity on Sept 28 during lunch at around 1pm.

He was about to pay for his purchase when he saw a “payment notice” at the store counter. The sign stated that there would be a one per cent processing fee “for all cards payment” starting from Sept 1.

“Kindly note that this fee is charged by the credit card provider,” read the sign.

![Credit card surcharge at VivoCity shop baffles shopper](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/stomp/fe8eee90959fb6d87285aef9ed3cbe6af5356e86ab3f2145da149851adcbcbfc)
*The Stomper questioned if retailers are allowed to pass on credit card surcharges to consumers.*

There is apparently no extra fee if shoppers pay by:

- PayNow
- Alipay
- WeChat Pay

“I needed to pay by card, so I paid the fee. It was 45 cents extra because I bought $45 worth of cakes,” said Alan, adding that he asked the shop’s staff about it.

“They said it’s charged by the vendor,” the Stomper recounted. “I told them I don’t think they’re allowed to do this, but they just shrugged.”

According to Alan, the sign was still there when he walked past the store again in early October.

He questioned: “Is this allowed? I recall that retailers are not allowed to charge extra for credit card use or did I remember incorrectly?”

Stomp has contacted Cakebar for comment.

## Who should bear credit card processing fees?

The high cost of accepting card payments is a global problem, reported The Straits Times in 2021, after Amazon announced that it would impose a 0.5 per cent surcharge on Visa credit card transactions on its Singapore website.

When asked why the surcharge was being imposed only in Singapore, the e-commerce giant declined to comment. However, Amazon said the cost of accepting card payments continues to be an obstacle to providing the best prices for customers.

In response, Visa told ST: “Visa maintains that the simplest, most economically efficient and consumer-friendly approach is for merchants to not surcharge consumers for using cashless payment methods.

“Consumers who choose to pay with cards should have to pay for only the cost of the service provided or purchased item.”

Visa said it also believes that merchant surcharging has a negative impact on consumers and businesses.

According to finance platform SingSaver, major local banks such as DBS, OCBC and UOB frequently maintain strict rules within their standard merchant terminal agreements that explicitly forbid adding a visible surcharge to customers at checkout.

“Violating these bank clauses can result in your business losing its POS terminal or merchant acquisition accounts entirely,” the website said.