K-Net and Visa Fees
I am sure at one time or another you tried purchasing an item using your K-Net or Visa card and the merchant asked from you an extra fee because you are using one of these cards. They would give you the excuse that Visa or K-Net charge them a certain amount for every transaction using these cards and that you need to pay it. Well here is what you the consumer needs to know.
First lets start with K-Net. K-Net is owned by the local banks in Kuwait. They do NOT charge the merchant any transaction fee. So if an item costs KD10 and you pay using your K-Net card, the merchant will get KD10. They will not be charged a single fils by K-Net. This is a fact and you can contact 2431280 if you need any further information on this. If a store tells you that they will have to charge you extra because you are paying with K-Net then you need to report that store to K-Net using the number above.
Now Visa is a different story. Visa DOES charge the merchant 4% for every transaction. This means if you buy an item for KD10, the merchant receives KD9.600. Although the merchant pays 4% for every transaction they do NOT have the right to pass on that 4% to you. According to Visa the merchant should not charge the customer for a Visa transaction and neither are they allowed to set a minimum amount in which you could use your Visa card with. So even if the item you are buying costs 100fils, you can pay with you Visa card. In case a store does try to make you pay the 4% transaction fee, report them to your local bank and they will take care of it. If you would like more information regarding Visa, you will also need to contact your local bank.
Hope this information was helpful.
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39 Comments, add your own...
1. Bashir | October 5th, 2006 at 10:17 am
hey i really glad that you posted such as subject in fact ive been here in kuwait since two month and all i use was my visa credit card and all the stores in kuwait charged me 4 either 2 percent eccept the co-op’s sow from know on if some one ask me for a fee ill know how to answer !!! you rock
2. Guitarzzz | October 5th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Hey, thanks! That was very useful :)
3. Moey | October 5th, 2006 at 11:03 am
I love Knet
4. moe | October 5th, 2006 at 11:14 am
Imagine using ur card at the bakala or the barber shop where cash works .lols
5. moe | October 5th, 2006 at 11:15 am
In America, there are places which have set a limit to be put on the card. I know of many here. Strange that it doesn’t work there
6. Marzouq | October 5th, 2006 at 11:16 am
I remember posting about this a while back, but good point bringing up the remember for KNET! Im going to carry that around with me to complain from the start! And I will kick anyone’s ass when they say anything about the damn visa!
7. NaughtyButNice | October 5th, 2006 at 11:25 am
But where we will complain if NBK deducted from us?? this is what happened to me. i purchased something from police coparative using with KNET and next day NBK have deducted 50 fils from my account.
8. Mark | October 5th, 2006 at 11:26 am
NaughtyButNice call NBK up. They can’t deduct 50fils for Knet usage, must be something else…
9. Cajie | October 5th, 2006 at 11:42 am
NBK deducts 50 fils if you withdraw CASH from an ATM machine that is not operated by NBK.
Actually, that amount is the fee charged by KNET to process inter-bank transactions.
10. Fresh | October 5th, 2006 at 11:47 am
Please note that both K-Net and Visa do charge the merchant for every transaction. K-Net charge 1.5% whereas Visa or Master charge 2.5% Only and not 4%!! In any case the customer should always refuse to pay any extra amount and should report about the merchant to K-net or the issuer of the Credit Card.
11. Mark | October 5th, 2006 at 11:50 am
Cajie, all banks usually take 200fils if you take money from an atm machine that doesn’t belong to your bank.
Fresh, as I said above, K-Net do NOT charge the merchant for ANY k-net transaction, you can call K-Net and check yourself.
Also Visa charges 4% not 2.5%, you can call and check that also. Not sure if Mastercard is 2.5% though since I didn’t ask about Mastercard.
12. Cajie | October 5th, 2006 at 11:57 am
After I completed my post, I realized the amount is 200 fils and not 50 fils.
There should be no charge for KNET use - of course.
As for the credit cards, the amount varies based on the credit card company. One of the reasons that companies with wafer-thin margins refuse to accept credit cards.
13. Moey | October 5th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
our bakala behind fanar has KNET
14. Yazeed | October 5th, 2006 at 12:25 pm
a friend of mine works at KFH (credit card division), he says that they dont charge the merchant a single penny, cause it happened to me (merchant demanding extra cause i was using a CC) once infront of him, i got a BKME card, he was like if it was a KFH card, thet cant say that he is charged cause they get the full amount.
15. RaZ | October 5th, 2006 at 12:31 pm
What if the merchant gives a price. Waits till you either offer paper or plastic. If you offer plastic he keeps quiet and accepts, but if you offer paper then he says we have a special cash discount today?
I have always hated being told to pay the 4% and never accept even if dont make the deal. The reason is the principal not the 4%. If the merchant did not have a visa machine i would not be a potential customer (If i have no cash only plastic), so that 4% allows the merchant to use a buying power i have which otherwise would not be a sale. Also the card owner already pays annual fees and interest etc…
16. Mark | October 5th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
only places that have ever asked me for 4% (for knet and visa) has been the phone shops in sharq.
17. CyberRowdy | October 5th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
Mark…professional computers in sharq always charge 4%….
18. Mark | October 5th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
wow thats messed up. Proffesional Computers isn’t a shady store. Thats fucked up.
19. Financy | October 5th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Hey guys .. i used to work for nbk ..
i went to a shop once o wanted to buy something expensive o wanted to pay using K-net .. the guys told me nicely that i must pay 4% .. i told him why ? he said .. the bank charges YOU .. i acted dumb and told him the K-net machine you have is from which bank ? he said NBK ..
i said ahaaa .. listen u dumb ass mofo .. i work for nbk ..and u will not charge me anything . what ur doing is illegal .. o ana a3almik ..i told him ill make an official complaint on ur shop ur lying to people . he got scared and removed the 4% .. so any one tells they want to charge u .. just threat them
another thing .. VISA ELECTRON .. its very useful . u dont have to carry cash when u travel .. simply use it every where .. there is no charge when buying .. and the rate is cheaper .. why ? coz there are 2 rates for currencies .. Transfer Rate .. and Cash Rate .. and ur rate is the transfer which is cheaper coz there is no cash involved ..
and if you withdraw Cash using VISA ELECTRON . they will charge 3% or 4% .. depends ..
but BECAREFUL .. some times i tried using it in the US . and it got refused .. and one of the times it said ” CALL AUTHORITY ” .. it only happened like 4 times ..
my advice .. keep using the VISA ELECTRON .. but keep a VISA or MasterCard credit card .. just in case , coz they are widely accepted
20. Marzouq | October 5th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Cajie that isnt bad, in the states they charge 2.00 for using the atm, then your bank charges you another 2.00, so thats a total of $4 which is 1.3KD, but here its 50 fils!
21. Atsooo | October 5th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
you r right man it happened with in a travel agency. the full fees was about 500 KD they took 20 KD as a Visa extra fees.
22. Equalizer | October 5th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Correction, KNET does charge 0.5% to the merchant. It is not a huge fee, but nevertheless a charge!
23. Didi | October 5th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Lets start with KNet, Any Merchant will not have a direct contact with KNET, they will have to contact their corrospondence Banks. KNet is charging the Banks for each and every operating Point of sale machine around KD 7. In addition to the KD 7 the bank will charge the merchant operation fees depends on the profitability of the merchant and the overall profitability for the Bank (Like having credit facilities) which comes in the form of commission % from their sales, the more profitable the merchant the less commission % is given, Normally it comes between 0% and 2% depends on the merchant.
Now the VISA, VISA/MasterCard is charging 1.2% for the individual cards and 1.6% for the Corporate Cards (The Billing account will be a company) The Bank normally is charging between 2.5% & 4% in this case will get 2.8% and 2.4% spread over the % charged by VISA/MC respectively. Sorry for this detailed explaination :)
24. 767 | October 5th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Equalizer.. if 0.5% then how come when i order cinema tickets online (cinemescape) its the same price as paying by cash ? eg. if i buy one ticket its still gonna be 2.5KD either way
25. CyberRowdy | October 5th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Yeah mark…they are not ….they are pretty nice guys….I encountered this issue with them and also marzouq…but the sultan guys never complain…couple days back I got something below 1 KD and paid using card..! LOL…
26. Marzouq | October 5th, 2006 at 3:17 pm
LOL Cyber! hehehe u used a card to pay for something under 1KD! hehehe!
The thing is that they are nice guys so I feel bad threatening them.
Thanks Financy, I will do exactly as you say, ask from who then say you work there and threaten! hahaha!
27. michael | October 5th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
My usual travel agent charges me extra for using the card. They’ve got an old style imprint machine and call in for authorisation. Is this legal or illegal?
28. Hashim | October 5th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
Damn, that means I got ripped more than once! I used to order stuff from a store that charges with Visa and for several times they have added that fee to my transaction. One time I had to cancel my order and refund my money so instead of giving back all my money (KD 70) they gave me KD 69.800 claiming KD 0.200 as transaction fees. Buggers.
29. holla | October 5th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
they just need to adjust their pricing to include the charge without mentionning it to the customer.
if something sells for 2KD and knet charges 50 fils, make the price 2.050 to compensate. that way they don’t have to argue about the charge and even make a tiny bit more profit on cash transactions.
30. Meshoo | October 5th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
I know for a fact that if u purchase airline tickets from travel agents or even kuwait airways, they will pass on the 4% charge to you if you pay by visa or mastercard
no one has taken action against them yet!!!
31. forzaq8 | October 5th, 2006 at 5:05 pm
only place that told me that Knet nad Visa are charged was my travel agency , he told me 4% for VISA and 1% for knet , i went out and got the cash
most other places tell me its 4% for Visa but nothing for Knet
32. CyberRowdy | October 5th, 2006 at 5:29 pm
yeah…Marzouq….I did, but that was because I didnt had any money with me in my wallet….
and yes, I dont want to complain about professional guys coz they are the best and I dont want them to be in any trouble…I am happy to give them 4% extra for their super service and product range…
33. lol | October 5th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
I’m sure that when a shop gets an Knet or Visa acceptance machine, they sign documents that STIPULATES that they are not allowed to charge extra charges for its use!! Some how in Kuwait, the shops thinks that this service is an easier payment method for the customers, so they charge for this service.
If only VISA Knew what was going on in kuwait…. People are now less likely to use visa, thus less profit for the VISA company.
34. Aziz | October 6th, 2006 at 12:18 am
And here is another thing, Mais al Ghanem, Wataniya Telecom, Fast Telco, Jareer, or any other place have no right to write down the number on your credit card or your bank card you used to pay with. In the past few weeks those places did write my cards numbers down or simply swifly passed it through another device connected to their computers. i got in a fight with them everytime it happened. and non of them provided me with a real answer. im starting to wonder what kind of scam is going to surface in few months.
35. CyberRowdy | October 6th, 2006 at 2:41 am
Aziz, if you are so worried, call NBK and tell them you lost your card…you will get a replacement free of cost….but if you intend to use the card again in such places with same procedures…then no luck!
36. Aziz | October 6th, 2006 at 4:42 am
^^those places have no right to write down my credit card number.
if credit card companies wanted them to view my CC number in first place, they would’ve make it visible on the CC recipt.
37. Menon | October 6th, 2006 at 1:45 pm
My company has all these retailing stores under them
Ajmal perfumes,
Orient Express (Shop in the airport & couple of other places),
Coquette (ladies accessories shop in Mariam
Complex)
Pure Gold (Gold shop going to open up in Avenues)
Gulio Giannini(Italian paper & leather stuffs from Italy)
Sherle Wagner (hardware & bath accessories)
They charge us from 0.25% to 2%, in different shops depending on how much transactions a shop can’ve. The more the number of transactions,less the % KNet fixes.
38. Pink Moon | October 6th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Menon is correct. I have a retail shop too and there is no set percentage for Visa and K-Net. It all depends on your business and the number of transactions. Visa can range from 2-5%, and K-net from 0-1% depending on the kind of store. When the merchant applies to accept Visa card, the bank will evaluate their business and set a percentage.
Mark, you’re right though that you are not supposed to pass this cost on to the customer.
39. wayway | October 8th, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Knet charges 1-2 % and Visa/mx charges 3% Amex is 4% i know for a fact. and merchants pay a monthly and a yearly fee.
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