Other ways to pay Astro bills without 50 sen service fee, says Annuar

Astro customers have other options to pay their bills without having to ​incur a service charge, including through the auto debit method that can be activated through the Astro Self-Service Portal or by visiting any Astro customer service centre branch, Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa said today.

He said customers can also pay their bills through Astro Quick Pay, My Astro application, the JomPAY platform or by tuning into the Astro 200 channel.

“Since January this year, a 50 sen service charge for Astro bill payments has been implemented by collection agents, while Pos Malaysia imposed the same charge on those who pay their bills at counters, beginning Sept 1, 2021,” he said at the ministers’ question time session at the Dewan Rakyat today.

He was responding to a question from Kasthuriraani Patto (PH-Batu Kawan) who wanted to know why the 50 sen charge is imposed on Astro customers who pay their bills manually at post offices.

Annuar explained that the charge was also a commercial arrangement between Astro and Pos Malaysia.

He said Pos Malaysia, which was corporatised in 1992 and listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2001, is now a subsidiary of DRB-Hicom Bhd Group.

Apart from providing basic postal services, Pos Malaysia has also expanded its business activities and become a leading integrated logistics and e-Commerce service provider in Malaysia, he said.