Ottawa: Starting from Thursday, Canada’s business credit cards will be able to charge fees from their customers.
This change is due to the multi-million dollar settled class action lawsuit between Visa and Mastercard. This is also known as interchange or swipe fee.
This fee is what credit card companies, banks and payment processors charge traders with each transaction.
For cards, the fee can range from one per cent to three per cent and perks such as cash backs or loyalty points that reduces business profits.
According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, Visa and Mastercard had previously denied this, restricting merchants’ ability to have fee surcharges or high-priced premium credit cards.
Some companies like Telus have already announced new credit card processing fees.
This new rule, which allows traders to pay this fee to their customers, is going to be effective from October 6. In this regard, traders will have to provide a written notice to Visa and Mastercard.
Under the settlement with companies, Canadian businesses will also be able to claim up to $ 5,000 as credit card fee rebate.