In Case You Missed It: Canada Takes Aim at Visa & MasterCard’s Anti-Competitive Rules
As American merchants and consumers prepare for the Federal Reserve to announce its proposed rule regulating debit card swipe fees, the Canadian Competition Bureau is cracking down on the same anti-competitive practices that that were addressed in the Durbin amendment and the DOJ action.
The Bureau filed an application today to prohibit the anti-competitive behavior that hurts consumers and merchants. The Bureau found that “the anti-competitive restraints on merchants result in higher prices for all consumers, whether they pay by cash, cheque, debit or credit” and that “the rules challenged by the Bureau prohibit merchants from encouraging consumers to consider lower cost payment options like cash or debit.”
If the Bureau is successful in its application, it will allow merchants to offer consumer discounts to those customers who pay with less expensive forms of payment.
As governments around the world examine the practices of the credit card industry giants, they are all coming to the same conclusion: Visa and MasterCard have rigged the game against small businesses and consumers and that must stop.
Contact Rachel Wolf (202.331.2120 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) for more information.