Credit cards shown on in Halifax on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. Small business owners are praising a measure in Tuesday's federal budget to lower credit card interchange fees, but some industry representatives argue the move will do little to save money for consumers.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
OTTAWA – Small business owners are praising a measure in Tuesday’s federal budget to lower credit card interchange fees, but some industry representatives argue the move will do little to save money for consumers.
Ottawa says it reached deals with Visa and Mastercard to lower such fees by up to 27 per cent from their current average rates for more than 90 per cent of credit card-accepting businesses.
The government estimates this will save businesses $1 billion over five years.
Canadian Federation of Independent Business president Dan Kelly calls it the “biggest win” of the federal budget but says details are still lacking about which small businesses will qualify and when.
Meanwhile, the Retail Council of Canada is downplaying the move, saying households pay an average of $600 a year in credit card interchange costs and the announcement might only reduce that by $12 annually.
The government says it expects lower interchange fees for small businesses would not mean other businesses have to pay higher fees.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 29, 2023.
