Shopper apparently charged $0.20 PayNow surcharge 3 times for buying 3 packs of cigarettes at Jurong supermarket
A shopper who bought three packs of cigarettes at a Jurong supermarket said they were charged a 20-cent surcharge three times, describing the practice as “unreasonable”.
An anonymous user uploaded a photo of the receipt on Sept 14 on the Complaint Singapore Facebook group, recounting that they had visited the minimart on Sept 13 at around 1.40pm.
When they requested to pay via PayNow, the cashier apparently informed them that there would be a 20-cent surcharge.
The shopper acknowledged that it “isn’t easy to run a business nowadays, with the rising cost of living and increasing operating costs everywhere”, accepting the surcharge and proceeding with payment.
However, when they reached home, they felt something “didn’t quite add up”. Checking the receipt again, the shopper realised that they had been charged the 20-cent surcharge three times.
The photo of the receipt shows a “Nets charge” of 20 cents listed thrice, along with three packs of cigarettes priced at $18.70 each, bringing the total bill to $56.70.
“This is where I feel it has gone too far. If I purchased three items, does that mean I’m charged three x 20 cents? What if I had purchased 20 items — would I then be charged 20 x 20 cents?” the shopper asked.
“I was willing to accept a 20-cent surcharge even though I believe it shouldn’t be imposed, but charging the surcharge for every item is something I find unreasonable.”
They added that they hoped the post would raise awareness for fellow patrons to check their receipts before leaving the store.
“It certainly doesn’t feel right. At least to me,” they concluded.
Netizens rally behind shopper
According to a statement by the Association of Banks in Singapore on Nov 10, 2025, merchants are prohibited from imposing any form of surcharge on consumers for PayNow transactions.
In the comments section, several netizens felt the surcharge should not be applied to individual items, while others urged the shopper to raise the issue with the supermarket.
Stomp has reached out to the supermarket for more information.
In a separate incident, a customer raised concerns about a 30-cent surcharge imposed by a Tuas coffeeshop for payments made via NETS QR for purchases below $5.
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