Malaysia Limits Foreign Credit and Debit Cards at Gas Stations, Singapore Residents Can Still Buy RON97

The Malaysian government restricts the use of foreign credit cards in buying bbm. (Antara)

JAKARTA - Malaysia has started to tighten the purchase of fuel by foreign vehicles since April 1. However, according to The Straits Times quoted on Thursday, April 2, Singaporean drivers in Johor Bahru can still pay for RON97 gasoline with a Singapore origin card directly at the pump, despite the ban on the use of foreign-issued credit and debit cards.

The findings were seen at Petronas, Shell, Caltex, and Petron gas stations. If payment at the pump is rejected, drivers can still pay at the cashier with the same card or cash.

This new restriction targets RON95, subsidized gasoline which is prohibited for foreign-plated vehicles. Malaysia also prohibits the use of foreign debit cards or credit cards at pumps for the purchase of RON95. This step is taken to tighten supervision and curb the misuse of subsidized fuel by foreign vehicles.

The Straits Times reported that a Singaporean-plated motorist who introduced himself as Chen admitted that he could still pay with a Singapore debit card at the pump. He didn't even know about the new rules.

Similar information came from officers at the Caltex gas station near Medini Educity. According to the officer, foreign cards can still be used at the pump to buy RON97. The same practice was also found at a number of other gas stations in the city.

At the Petron gas station on Jalan Yahya Awal, a nurse from Singapore, Syafiq Mohamed, was seen filling RON97 into his Honda SUV. He said the officer gave him the option to pay directly at the pump or at the cashier. Because he was used to paying at the cashier, he chose that way with the help of the officer.

Still according to The Straits Times report, gas stations closer to the Causeway seem to face tighter supervision. A pump supervisor at a Petronas gas station near the Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex said Ministry of Trade, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs officers had come to check on the implementation of the new rules. According to the supervisor, if payment with foreign cards is completely stopped at the pump, the queue at the cashier could make the station jammed.

This policy is part of Malaysia's steps to crack down on the illegal purchase of RON95 by foreign-plated vehicles. According to Malaysian law, subsidized RON95 is only for Malaysian-plated vehicles. Malaysians who drive Singapore-plated cars are also prohibited from buying it.

The ban has actually been in effect since 2010 through the Control of Supplies Act. This year, the Malaysian government is preparing new rules to expand legal responsibility, not only to gas station operators, but also to buyers. This step, among others, is to close the loophole of misuse of the BUDI95 scheme which since September 2025 allows certain Malaysians to buy RON95 for 1.99 ringgit per liter.

Still referring to The Straits Times report, on January 14, a Singapore permanent resident was fined 9,000 Malaysian ringgit by a magistrate's court in Kulai, Johor, after being caught filling subsidized RON95 into a car with a Singapore plate with a partially covered number plate.

The price difference keeps the flow of Singaporean drivers to Johor Bahru high. In the midst of the spike in oil prices due to the war in the Middle East and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the price of RON95 in Singapore is now around 3.40 Singapore dollars per liter. Meanwhile, Malaysia's RON97, the cheapest type that is legal for foreign vehicles, is priced at 4.95 ringgit or around 1.58 Singapore dollars per liter. The price is even cheaper than Singapore's RON92 which reaches 3.38 Singapore dollars per liter.