Samenta urges 20% cap on delivery platform commissions

 Its president, William Ng, says delivery platforms currently impose merchant commission rates of up to 32% per transaction.

The government and Grab introduced a RM160 million package to boost driver and delivery rider net incomes in the 2027 budget.

PETALING JAYA:

The Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta) has urged the government to cap delivery platform commissions for merchants at 20%.

Samenta president William Ng said delivery platforms currently impose merchant commission rates of up to 32% per transaction, on top of delivery surcharges, advertising packages and “arbitrary” fees.

“Samenta calls on the government to introduce a merchant commission ceiling of no more than 20%, inclusive of all ancillary charges,” Ng said in a statement.

He was commenting on the 2027 budget, which introduces a RM160 million package by the government and Grab Holdings Ltd to boost driver and delivery rider net incomes.

He said that while Samenta fully supports fair social safety nets for gig workers, this income adjustment must not be cross-subsidised through higher fees to merchants.

“Micro and small food operators and retailers constitute the majority of platform merchants.”

He said the proposed commission cap would help prevent platform operators from shifting the cost of driver incentives to merchants through higher commission rates or additional fees.

On another matter, Ng said the association is relieved by the government’s announcement of a 1% income tax reduction for micro, small and medium enterprises.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, when tabling the 2027 budget, said the government agreed to reduce the tax rate to 14% on the first RM150,000 of taxable income and 16% for the RM150,001 to RM600,000 bracket.

This reduction translates to an additional income of up to RM6,000 for over 300,000 MSMEs.

“This measure provides businesses with immediate liquidity for reinvestment,” Ng said.

He also welcomed the government’s decision to exempt SMEs with an annual turnover below RM50 million from the new RM2,000 minimum wage effective June 2027, saying it will provide breathing space for smaller firms to build productivity and automate.

Improved credit access

Ng also welcomed the increase in financing and guarantee facilities from RM50 billion to RM57 billion, including RM32 billion in guarantees from Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan and Credit Guarantee Corporation Malaysia Bhd.

He said the initiative will help SMEs with limited or no collateral access credit.

“The RM30 million Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation allocation targeting 4,000 SMEs to adopt AI and automate operations will accelerate grassroots technology adoption.

“Furthermore, the allocation of RM60 million to Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation and RM1 billion in Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd export financing are timely in supporting SMEs to scale up their export footprint,” Ng said. - FMT