For Immediate Release
April 2nd, 2015
Harper Senator controlled banking committee kills bill to lower credit card acceptance fees
Today, the Conservative controlled Senate Banking committee voted against Senator Pierrette Ringuette’s bill 2-202, An Act to amend the Payment Card Networks Act (credit card acceptance fees).
Bill S-202 sought to place limits on the acceptance fees charges to merchants for accepting credit cards on customer purchase, as well as payments made to charities and government organizations.
Currently, the fees can be as high as 3% of the total purchase, including tax; the bill would have lowered it to 0.5% for standard transaction, 0.3% for government, and 0% for charities.
Canada has some of the highest fees in the world, costing Canadian businesses and consumers over $5 billion annually.
Senator Ringuette has released the following statement;
“The Conservatives may feel that this issue is not important, but there are millions of Canadians and thousands of businesses who are paying these excessive fees. They deserve real action, not empty voluntary codes of conduct and friendly agreements.
Small and medium size businesses have always been the cornerstone of job creation is Canada. These excessive fees are taking more and more money out of the pockets of these job creators.
The profit margins of Canadian small businesses are getting smaller and smaller, while the profits of the big banks and credit card companies are getting larger and larger.
The Competition tribunal, in its decision on VISA and Mastercard practices, said that regulatory action is needed to address this problem and I have offered a solution to this government and they have only worked against it.
I will not give up on this fight. I will continue to push this government, and the next one, to take action on excess acceptance fees.”
For more information:
Tim Rosenburgh
Office of Senator Pierrette Ringuette
timothy.rosenburgh@sen.parl.gc.ca
(613) 943-2248