An early Christmas present for retailers
Posted Dec 15, 2010 4:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canada’s competition watchdog is taking Visa and Mastercard to task.
The Competition Bureau alleges fees and other rules imposed on retailers by the credit card companies go against competitive rules.
Store owners are charged between 1.5 per cent and three per cent per credit card transaction, but the “no-surcharge” rule prevents them from tacking on a surcharge to offset the extra amount.
Richard Truscott of The Canadian Federation of Independent Business calls it an early Christmas present.
“The Competition Bureau has finally come out of the weeds and is challenging Visa and Mastercard to honour the rules and prohibitions on surcharging and so forth, and that’s really great news.
Visa is fighting the decision to send the issue to a tribunal.
It says the no surcharge rule was created to protect consumers from stores that try to impose checkout fees for those who choose to use credit cards instead of paying by cash or cheque.
