Collective action with credit card
The Canadian Press – May 30, 2022 / 09:23 | History: 370353
Photo: The Canadian Press
Businesses in Canada may be eligible to claim hundreds of dollars in credit card processing fees following a multimillion-dollar collective action agreement with Visa and Mastercard.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses says traders can now request discounts on so-called slip fees charged on transactions dating back two decades.
The deal comes as the pandemic accelerated the shift from cash to digital payments as more consumers shopped online.
Corinne Pohlmann, CFIB’s senior vice president of national affairs, says credit card commissions have become a growing problem for small businesses in Canada.
Credit cards charge merchants so-called exchange rates, a fee that is charged on each sale and paid to credit card companies, payment processors, and banks.
The CFIB says that while the settlement does not change rates, it will give merchants the option to pass these charges on to customers starting this fall.