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Matua Kahurangi
Just a bloke sharing thoughts on New Zealand and the world beyond. No fluff, just honest takes.
The National Party’s move to ban PayWave surcharge fees is being spun by them as a win for everyday Kiwis, but the reality is anything but. It’s a shallow attempt to appear helpful at the checkout and voters are beginning to see right through it.
Customers already have the option to avoid PayWave fees by simply inserting their card and entering a PIN. It takes less than 10 seconds. This isn’t a policy that changes lives, it’s just another National PR stunt, plain and simple.
Under National’s plan, businesses won’t be able to pass on PayWave costs, but the money still has to come from somewhere. It’s no mystery where that will be – higher prices baked into everyday goods and services. The fee doesn’t disappear. It just gets hidden. The government is pretending to remove a burden while quietly shifting it somewhere else.
If Christopher Luxon and the National Party genuinely cared about helping people with the cost of living, they’d remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables. That would immediately ease pressure on families doing it tough. But National has stubbornly refused to go down that track, dismissing it as too complicated, despite widespread public support and clear evidence that it would help at the checkout.
It’s yet another example of how out of touch this government is. While people are struggling to afford the basics, National is fixated on headline-chasing distractions that won’t put a single extra dollar in anyone’s pocket.
Even long-time National voters are starting to question the party’s direction. Many expected a government that would deliver smart economic management and practical relief. Instead, they’ve been handed hollow gestures and arrogant posturing.
This PayWave policy isn’t about helping people. It’s about trying to claw back political support that is slipping by the day.
This article was originally published on the author’s Substack.
