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Category: General

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest General Retail news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Covid shuts HCMC’s biggest wholesale market

    Covid shuts HCMC’s biggest wholesale market

    HCMC’s biggest wholesale market, Binh Dien, which has a growing number of Covid-19 cases linked to it, will shut down on Tuesday.

    Authorities in District 8, where it is situated, said they made the decision after the infection began to spread to other areas from the market. As of July 4, 56 Covid-19 cases have been found to have linkage with Binh Dien market.

    From 8 a.m. no goods can be delivered, and by 8 p.m. all the stocks have to be liquidated.

    The closure will continue until further notice.

    Vendors are starting to change their sales method, instead of meeting customers in the market they will deliver directly to them, market managers said, adding that they have set up a website prior so customers can buy from it.

    With Hoc Mon Wholesale Market shut last week, two of the three major wholesale markets are closed in the country’s Covid epicenter, which has over 6,900 cases confirmed in the latest wave.

  • AirAsia Indonesia To Suspend Flights For One Month

    AirAsia Indonesia To Suspend Flights For One Month

    On Saturday, July 3rd, AirAsia Indonesia announced that it would be suspending its operations for at least a month due to the worsening COVID-19 situation in the country. The airline has called its suspension a form of support for the Indonesian government’s efforts in tackling the virus.

    According to a statement issued by the AirAsia Group subsidiary, all scheduled flights on the airline’s domestic Indonesian and international routes will temporarily stop operating from July 6th to August 6th, 2021.

    “AirAsia remains committed to serving charter and cargo flights to support repatriation missions, delivery of goods and other essential interests by implementing strict health and safety protocols.”

    AirAsia is taking a flexible approach to existing bookings and reservations on canceled flights. For bookings on flights during the suspension period, passengers can convert tickets into a credit account which is valid for up to 730 days (two years). They can also change their flight schedule to another date until 31 October 2021, which can be done an unlimited number of times at no additional cost.

    While new daily case counts had been ‘stabilizing’ around five to six thousand during the month of May, this figure has significantly jumped over the month of July. New daily case counts are now exceeding 20,000 and continue to climb. Indeed, case counts began to climb in late May and early June – weeks after many Indonesians traveled and celebrated in marking the Islamic holiday Eid al-Fitr.

    A prominent epidemiologist from the University of Indonesia, Dr. Pandu Riono, describes the situation in the country as “herd stupidity.”

    This label was given due to what Dr. Riono calls mixed messaging and poor decision-making from the government, combined with the general public’s refusal to follow health protocols and reluctance to receive jabs.

    As we’ve seen in many other cases around the world, the suspension of flights could be extended further, depending on the country’s COVID situation. If case counts and hospitalizations continue to rise, we can expect more canceled flights in an effort to contain the situation.

    “AirAsia always puts the safety and security of every passenger and all of its employees first. We will continue to evaluate the development of the situation and are ready to re-open our scheduled flight services at any time if the situation improves.”

    With this in mind, AirAsia customers are advised to periodically monitor the airline’s travel advisory information, available on the AirAsia app, as well as on the airline’s social media channels.

  • Japanese retailer Muji opens first store in Hanoi

    Japanese retailer Muji opens first store in Hanoi

    Japanese chain retailer Muji opened its first store in Hanoi on Saturday after opening one in HCMC last November. The store, which spans 2,000 square meters at Vincom Center Metropolis on Lieu Giai Street, is the second to be opened in Vietnam.

    The flagship store in Hanoi provides around 5,000 products, ranging from fashion, cosmetics to household items, interior design and food.

    Tetsuya Nagaiwa, Muji’s head of Vietnam business, said the chain spent two years searching for a suitable location for the Hanoi store, a much longer process compared to its HCMC endeavor.

    The southern metropolis’s downtown District 1 is a no-brainer when it comes to choosing a location for a store. But Hanoi has multiple locations with different capacities for attracting customers, Tetsuya explained.

    Vincom Center Metropolis was eventually chosen since it is in an area with a big Japanese population and is wide enough to host a large store.

    Tetsuya said Muji’s current strategy is to take hold of Hanoi and HCMC, both major cities, to boost brand recognition. Afterward, depending on factors like economic development and population, Muji would consider opening more stores in other cities.

    Vietnam is among the world’s most promising retailer markets right now, Tetsuya said, adding the country has attracted a large number of investors thanks to its ever-growing economy and a young population with a middle-class income.

    Certain Muji products sold in Vietnam would be cheaper than other markets’ as they are produced by domestic manufacturers, he said, without revealing exact information regarding the domestic factories.

    Muji, founded in 1980, has over 1,000 stores in 33 countries and territories.

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  • Construction steel prices fall further

    Construction steel prices fall further

    The price of Vietnamese construction steel dropped to below VND17 million ($732) per ton, but contractors said this was still high.

    The Viet Duc Steel Company said it has lowered prices of steel bars and coils by VND300,000 per ton from July 1, while the Thai Nguyen Iron & Steel Joint Stock Corporation reduced the prices of steel coils by VND300,000 to around VND16.7 million per ton.

    The prices of a ton of steel coils produced by the Hoa Phat Group and the Vietnam-Italy Steel Joint Stock Company are VND300,000-600,000 lower than in June.

    The decline in prices of construction steel in the Vietnamese market over the past few weeks has been attributed to lower prices of steel billets in the world market.

    The most-traded steel rebar on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, for October delivery, closed down 2.9 percent at 5,014 yuan ($774.60) a ton.

    Another contributing factor is weaker demand for construction materials in some localities that have already entered the rainy season.

    However, many construction contractors said the prices of domestic steel products were still high, cutting deep into their profit, leaving them with smaller profits. Steel costs account for 10-30 percent of a construction project.

    Vietnam produced nearly 12 million tons of steel products of different kinds in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year rise of more than 38 percent while exporting nearly 2.8 million tons, up 80 percent.

    The country exported 1.1 million tons of steel to China in the five-month period, twice that of last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

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  • Instagram is getting an Exclusive Stories feature

    Instagram is getting an Exclusive Stories feature

    Instagram has been busy with a string of initiatives lately to boost its social media platform and capitalize on monetization techniques. The latest of these is a new “Exclusive Stories” feature, which was discovered by reverse engineer and full-stack Android developer Alessandro Paluzzi. The code Paluzzi found shows the layout of the future option to post paywalled content, much like Twitter’s upcoming Super Follows feature. This will allow certain Instagram users to deliver paid content to fans who are paying a regular fee for access to it.

    Although Instagram hasn’t made any official announcements regarding Exclusive Stories, they’ve acknowledged that it is something they’re working on after news of Paluzzi’s discovery spread. Public testing hasn’t started yet, nor have any details been released, as Instagram still seems to be preparing for an effective launch.

    Тhe leaked screenshots of the “Exclusive Stories” feature show an advanced stage of development, which means that it’s sure to arrive to the platform sometime in the near future.

    As per the screenshots, these paywalled posts will be set apart from regular stories by a marked purple color. And if you haven’t paid your dues to the creator yet, you will see a message across the story stating that “Only members of x can see this story.” Naturally, these exclusive stories will not be able to be screenshotted even by paid members.

    Creators of Exclusive Stories will be prompted to share their story as a Highlight as well, so that “fans always have something to see when they join.”

    There is currently no other information on Exclusive Stories circulating beyond this.

    Alessandro Paluzzi has also caught on to a “collectibles” NFT feature, the details around which are even less clear as of yet. Essentially, it’s another way to allow Instagram users to sell certain virtual goods (NFTs, or non-fungible tokens) in exchange for money, increasing Instagram’s revenue as well.

  • Twitter shows off a trio of design concepts that might be added to the app some day

    Twitter shows off a trio of design concepts that might be added to the app some day

    Twitter has revealed three different design concepts that it is thinking about adding to its regular social media service. One is called “Trusted Friends” and would allow a Twitter subscriber to limit the number of people that can access a particular tweet to a small group of buddies and relatives. “Facets” would allow users to categorize the tweets that they are interested in, and the third feature allows users to choose which phrases they would prefer not to see in their replies.

    None of the three features are considered to be inactive development which means that they are not available to Twitter users at the moment. With “Trusted Friends,” users can choose via a toggle switch whether a tweet they send is for public consumption or just for friends and family. Facets will allow a Twitter subscriber to separate tweets into different categories such as “professional” tweets, “personal” tweets, and tweets divided up by hobbies or other interests.

    With Facets, Twitter says that you’ll be able to choose to follow tweets from Twitter users only when they are related to a specific topic that you’re following; this way you won’t have to follow every tweet disseminated by someone you’re following. Think about how much time you might save by restricting the tweets you receive to only those of interest to you.

    The last feature, as we noted in the first paragraph, allows a Twitter subscriber to block certain phrases. In an example released by Twitter, the author of a tweet has asked Twitter to block profanities from the responses he receives from his tweets including the phrase “asshole.” Twitter says that profanity can be harmful and following the requests of the user, tweets including profanities are moved to the bottom of the conversation, out of view for most people.

    Twitter is hoping that by releasing this information about potential new design concepts well before they are being actively considered, feedback from Twitter uses can be generated to help the social media firm determine whether they are on the right track when it comes to improving the app. Note that the images released by Twitter say “Concept only” on the top.

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  • 7-Eleven settles franchisee class actions

    7-Eleven settles franchisee class actions

    7-Eleven has agreed to settle franchisee class actions following mediation. A statement from the convenience chain confirmed the settlement but gave no insight into the details of the agreement.

    “7-Eleven can confirm that a non-binding in-principle agreement to settle the class actions has been reached, subject to terms of a settlement deed being agreed and subject to the approval of the Federal Court of Australia.

    “The settlement follows mediation between the parties on 24, 25, and 29 June 2021,” said 7-Eleven.

    It’s been a rollercoaster ride since the class actions were mooted back in 2017.

    In February 2018 Stewart Levitt, senior partner at Levitt Robinson Solicitors which was acting for the franchisees, filed a claim in the Federal Court.

    The group of current and former franchisees alleged misleading and deceptive conduct, unconscionable conduct, and contract breaches by 7-Eleven, and alleged the ANZ bank had provided loans that were unsustainable.

    Levitt Robinson believed “substantial damages” could be available.

    However, the law firm had its knuckles metaphorically rapped when it was forced to retract statements made to franchisees in 2017.

    In 2019 the class action hit a roadblock when the court accepted an undertaking from the convenience chain.

    According to Lawyerly, an in-principle settlement was approved in August 2020 between ANZ and the applicants.

    The class actions against 7-Eleven continued with a trial set for winter 2021. Lawyerly reported in May this year a judge rejected a proposal by the convenience chain for a pre-trial ruling and mediation took place in late June.

  • Tokyo 2020 Olympics Updates: Spectators May Not Be Allowed

    Tokyo 2020 Olympics Updates: Spectators May Not Be Allowed

    The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was set to take place in July of last year but the pandemic has caused the postponement of this major sports event. This year, however, Tokyo 2020 president Seiko Hashimoto said that he is 100 percent certain that the Games will be able to push through even if a state of emergency is raised in the city.

    The 2020 Olympics is scheduled to take place in the capital of Japan from July 23 until August 8. The Paralympic Games will then take place from August 24 until September 5. While there are people who are looking forward to these sports events and are already checking sites like 10CRIC India to check where they can place their bets, many are questioning why the Olympics is still taking place despite the pandemic risks.

    Well, many are sure that the Olympics proceeding has something to do with how much money the IOC will lose for another postponement. Based on reports, there are billions of dollars at stake here. Japan has declared that they have spent over 15.4 billion USD on the said sports events but government audits suggest it’s even bigger than that.

    It is estimated that if the Olympics will be canceled once again, the IOC could lose as around 3 to 4 billion USD in broadcast rights and income which is already 91 percent of their total income. Reports also suggest that at least 40 percent of the IOC’s total income is coming from the American network, NBCUniversal.

    And so, there is a lot at stake here and it will be hard to once again cancel the sports events. A political scientist from Sophia University spoke about the situation and said, “It’s a bit like a gambler who already has lost too much. Pulling out of it now will only confirm the huge losses made, but carrying on you can still cling to the hope of winning big and taking it all back. Public opinion is indeed unlikely to be kind even if Suga decides to cancel at the last minute.

    He might as well take the chance and hope for the best by going ahead with it. At least there is some chance that he can claim the games to be a success — just by doing it — and saturating the media with pride and glory might help him turn the negative opinion around.”

    Many are questioning this including The Lancet, a medical journal, and The New England Journal of Medicine. The second-largest selling newspaper in Japan is also saying that the Olympics should be canceled instead and this is supported by the other regional newspapers.

    Will Spectators Be Allowed?

    Despite the criticism, the Olympics is still pushing through and no official announcements are announced just yet about the banning of live audiences. However, the Japanese medical experts led by top health adviser Shigeru Omi issued a statement last week that the least risky option and desirable one regarding this matter are to hold the Games without spectators.

    This is something that Hashimoto is agreeing with. She said, ”Earlier today, chairman Omi gave us his opinion about the risk of novel coronavirus infection in the Games. Based on Chairman Omi’s proposal, I’d like you to actively discuss how to realize ‘security and safety from the expert’s point of view.”

    She also explained how the Tokyo Games will be managed and said, “The Prime Minister announced the lifting of the state of emergency and the government’s basic policy on holding events from now on. As we have been saying, the Tokyo Games will be managed under these government policies.”

    She did say that the approach of allowing no fans in the stadium would reduce the infections. However, she still said that they would like to explore ways to allow spectators. What’s sure right now is that international spectators will be banned and only the locals will be able to watch the games live if they will be allowed. The final decision regarding this matter is set to be released this week.

    If spectators will be allowed to watch the games live, experts advise that they should go straight to the venues and straight home after watching the live events. They are also urged to keep a safe distance away from everyone except, of course, from their family members and close friends. No group drinking and eating shall be allowed in the venues too.

     

     

     

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  • Malaysia’s AirAsia applies for digital banking license

    Malaysia’s AirAsia applies for digital banking license

    Malaysian budget airline AirAsia Group Bhd said on Thursday its fintech unit has bid for a digital banking license in the country as part of a consortium.

    BigPay, the unit, has partnered with Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Berhad – a unit of the country’s largest asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd – and private equity firm Ikhlas Capital.

    Singapore-based Ikhlas was founded by Nazir Razak, the former chairman of CIMB Group Holdings.

    The consortium also includes a foreign conglomerate with fintech expertise, AirAsia said in a statement.

    Citing sources, Reuters reported earlier on Thursday that AirAsia and its partners were among the bidders for up to five digital banking licences that the Malaysian central bank has said it will issue by early 2022.

    Other bidders include a joint venture between ride-hailing-to-fintech group Grab and Singtel, telecoms operator Axiata and a consortium backed by Chinese tech firm Tencent.

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  • Instagram is trying its best to keep up with TikTok

    Instagram is trying its best to keep up with TikTok

    After TikTok shook the social media market and fundamentally changed the name of the game, western companies quickly rushed in to grab a piece of the pie. As per usual, Instagram was quick to follow up with a similar feature with the release of Reels in 2020.

    On June 30, the head of Instagram shared a video on his Twitter page about upcoming changes in the social media platform. In his post, he mentions the addition of fullscreen mobile-first video to the app.

    We’re also going to be experimenting with how do we embrace video more broadly — full screen, immersive, entertaining, mobile-first video.

    These videos will appear in your feed in the form of recommendations, even if you don’t follow the account that’s posted them. Adam Mosseri explained the need for such changes by addressing the increasingly competitive environment in which Instagram finds itself.

    Let’s be honest, there’s some really serious competition right now. TikTok is huge, YouTube is even bigger, and there are lots of other upstarts as well.

    The days when the app was primarily photo-centric are long gone. It used to be a place where people would casually share photos of their everyday life with their friends and family. It then became a creative place for professional artists to showcase their work and promote it to a wider audience. Some would say that was the golden age of Instagram.

    In the last couple of years, however, Instagram evolved into a platform that also focuses on retail, instant entertainment, and product advertising. “We’re no longer a photo-sharing app or a square photo-sharing app,” said Mosseri. He then cemented his message, saying that “people are looking to Instagram to be entertained, there’s stiff competition and there’s more to do. We have to embrace that, and that means change.”

  • Facebook’s mobile cloud gaming service now covers the entire US

    Facebook’s mobile cloud gaming service now covers the entire US

    Just like other giants in the industry (Microsoft, Google, NVIDIA), Facebook has its own cloud gaming service. Announced last year, the closed beta of Facebook’s cloud gaming platform promises to offer a decent catalog of games that can be played instantly, with no installs, while on the move.

    The service was launched with just a handful of cloud-streamed games on Android and web in select US regions. Today, Facebook announced that its cloud gaming platform is accessible to over 98% of people in the mainland United States.

    Also, the company revealed that it’s on track to hit 100% by fall of this year and that it will start rolling out the service in Canada and Mexico. By early 2022, Facebook plans to reach Western and Central Europe with its cloud gaming platform.

    The announcement includes one other highlight that involves a new partnership with a major game developer: Ubisoft. Under the new partnership, Facebook’s cloud gaming platform will add more titles to its catalog starting with Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, which was launched as a cloud-streamed game on Facebook Gaming.

    Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed game can be played on the Facebook app on Android and the web (via fb.gg/play). In addition to Rebellion, Facebook has added two other Ubisoft titles to its portfolio of streamable games: Hungry Shark Evolution and Hungry Dragon. Two others will be added in the coming months: Mighty Quest and Trials Frontier.

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  • Google Assistant is secretly listening to you, it turns out

    Google Assistant is secretly listening to you, it turns out

    In a strange turn of events, Google allegedly confirmed that Google Assistant on your phone or smart speaker may be recording your audio without your knowledge, but just “at times”.

    Google representatives on Tuesday told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology that Google employees listen to some recordings of conversations between users and Google Assistant.

    Back in 2019, Google confirmed that its employees occasionally listen to conversations between users and Google Assistant. “We take a number of precautions to protect data during the human review process-audio snippets are never associated with any user accounts and language experts only listen to a small set of queries (around 0.2 percent of all user audio snippets), only from users with VAA turned on,” Google stated at the time.

    That’s all in the fine print but as it turns out, sometimes audio was recorded by the Google Assistant on a smartphone or smart speaker even when a user had not triggered the AI by saying Ok Google. IndiaToday sources claim that in response to a question from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, the Google team confirmed the aforementioned.

    Google’s privacy policy states, “Occasionally, the Assistant will activate when you didn’t intend it to because it incorrectly detected that you wanted its help. If that happens, just say Hey Google, that wasn’t for you, and the Assistant will delete the last thing it sent to Google.”

    That’s all fine and dandy but there’s nothing about the times when Google Assistant is secretly listening to your conversations. How would you know in the first place? It’s a major scandal that has the potential to blow way out of proportion! We’re monitoring the situation closely and we’ll keep you posted if there’s any further information.

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  • WhatsApp gets View Once messages in its beta version

    WhatsApp gets View Once messages in its beta version

    Last year, Facebook introduced Vanish Mode to Messenger and Instagram, a feature that allows users to send ephemeral messages. Now, the company is extending the feature to WhatsApp, and it is already available in the app’s beta version.

    The Vanish Mode in WhatApp has been dubbed “View Once”. Before you send a photo, video, or text, you have the option to tap on a little circle icon with the number one inside. That way, your message will automatically delete itself once viewed by the recipient. Additionally, you will receive a notification when your media has been opened.

    However, there is a crucial caveat to take note of. Unlike Messenger’s vanish mode, if the person on the other end of the conversation decides to screenshot or screen record your message, you will not be notified. Unfortunately, in its beta WhatsApp still does not support screenshot detection. We will have to wait and see if it gets added.

    There are also a couple of details in regards to disabling read receipts. Firstly, if read receipts are disabled, the person you’re chatting with will still be able to see whether you’ve opened View Once content. However, you won’t know if they have opened yours.

    On the other hand, you will still have the ability to see who has opened your message in group chats despite having read receipts disabled. Another important detail for group chats to remember is that blocked users can open the photos and videos you send to them. You can view who’s looked at the content by going to “Message Info”.

    View Once will work even for those who haven’t received it yet. Facebook hasn’t reported when View Once will graduate from the beta version to the stable one. Currently, it is available only on Android and will be introduced to iOS at a later date.

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  • Waze adds cats and dogs voices and moods, car icons to its app

    Waze adds cats and dogs voices and moods, car icons to its app

    More voices are coming to one of the most popular navigation app, Waze. This time we have something special to talk about, as Waze is adding cats and dogs voices to its mobile apps. So, regardless of whether you’re a cat or dog person, Waze now has you covered.

    From today for a limited time, Waze users can choose between two navigation voices that personify a dog or a cat. But we’re getting a lot more than just two voices, as each is themed toward a different mood.

    The dog voice is upbeat, positive, encouraging, and excited (distracted too!), while the cat voice is c, but also funny and irreverent. So it’s up to each user to choose the theme they like.

    In addition to the new voices, Waze introduces new car icons that can be used on the live map, such as the Meow Mobile and the Woof Wagon. There are also meant to show the user’s pet preference as they’ll have to change their mood to Cat or Dog.

    Keep in mind that the Cat & Dog theme will be available in English, French, and Spanish for a limited time, so make sure to download them before they’re gone.

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  • Cebu Pacific cautiously optimistic on 2022 recovery

    Cebu Pacific cautiously optimistic on 2022 recovery

    Budget carrier Cebu Pacific, operated by Cebu Air, Inc., is sticking to its forecast of returning to pre-pandemic levels next year, saying it is “cautiously optimistic” given the current pace of vaccine rollout in the country.

    “To be honest, initially, when it started rolling out and we were monitoring the inoculation rate, we were pleasantly surprised with the 130,000 a day. Now, with the A4 (priority) and private vaccinations, we’re cautiously optimistic,” Candice A. Iyog, Cebu Pacific vice-president for marketing and customer service, said at an online briefing on Thursday.

    “We’d like to stick to what we’ve said before, 2022, but again so many things can still happen,” she added.

    Cebu Pacific currently operates flights to 32 domestic destinations.

    To recall, the number of flights Cebu Pacific had in 2020 was 71% lower at 41,804. The number of passengers it carried last year also dropped 78% to five million.

    Ms. Iyog said flights from Manila to Boracay will be five times daily starting June 21, while flights to Bohol will also operate daily.

    As of June, it operates flights to Dubai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Singapore.

    “When demand comes back, there will be higher expectation from us to be more digital and to provide more contactless options for our passengers because we understand that ‘contactless’ is somehow part of safety,” Ms. Iyog noted.

    “Yesterday (June 16), we successfully launched our new website and our iOS and Android booking channels,” she added.

    The airline has partnered with GCash, GrabPay, and PayMaya for cashless payment options for new bookings.

    The budget carrier will be implementing starting July this year a new policy for passengers who want to make voluntary changes to their flights.

    “Starting July 1, the travel fund option for voluntary flight changes will only be available for passengers who pre-purchased the CEB Flexi add-on during initial booking as this new and improved product allows passengers to cancel their flights for free, up to two hours before departure, and store the value of the booking in a Travel Fund for as low as P499,” Cebu Pacific said in a statement on Wednesday.

    “The amount in this virtual wallet is valid for two years and may be used to book new flights or purchase other add-ons such as seat selection, additional baggage allowance, or travel insurance,” it added.

    As for passengers who want to change their bookings voluntarily without purchasing CEB Flexi, the budget carrier said: “They can make use of the Unlimited Rebooking option of CEB and rebook as many times as they want up to two hours before their scheduled time of departure.”

    The low-cost carrier said it permanently removed change fees since March.

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