A PYMNTS Company

Visa, Mastercard hearing over merchant fees begins today

By  |  May 8, 2012

A federal competition tribunal hearing over Visa and MasterCard’s merchant fees begins in Ottawa today. The Competition Bureau has focused on two rules in particular. One is that merchants that accept either Visa or MasterCard must accept all of the cards. The other rule is that merchants are prevented from encouraging consumers to use lower-cost alternatives like debit cards or cash; furthermore, merchants are blocked from asking a surcharge from higher-fee cards. Commissioner Melanie Aitken points out that Canadians pay $5 billion a year in hidden card fees, one of the highest amounts worldwide.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    Full content: CBC

    We’d love to be your preferred source for news.

    Please add us to your preferred sources list so our news, data and interviews show up in your feed. Thanks!

    Add as Preferred Source

     

    Related content: Anticompetitive Regulation in the Payment Card Industry (Ronald Mann, Columbia Law School)

     

    Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.