Finance Minister announces Code of Conduct for Debit and Credit Markets
November 19, 2009
Update:
Today (November 19), Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced today a code of conduct for Canada's debit and credit card industry. RCC has advocated strongly on behalf of retailers over the past year and we are encouraged that a number of provisions RCC proposed were included in the Code. If properly implemented, the Code will help ensure merchant choice, increased competition and transparency in a market dominated by only a few large players.
The Department of Finance will be consulting industry as it moves toward implementation and RCC will continue to be front-and-centre to ensure your concerns are included in the final Code.
> Click here to access the Minister's press release and backgrounder.
> Click here to access the code in it's entirety.
Key principles of the Code include:
- Ensuring that merchants are fully aware of the costs associated with accepting credit and debit card payments thereby allowing merchants to reasonably forecast their monthly costs related to accepting such payments.
- Providing merchants with increased pricing flexibility to encourage consumers to choose the lowest-cost payment option.
- Allowing merchants to freely choose which payment options they will accept.
To gather information relevant to the Code and the payments market in Canada, RCC has established a new oversight body, the Payments Accountability Council (PAC), which will act the retail industry's watchdog as we move through the implementation period. The PAC website will provide merchants with news, updates and a forum for you to give us your feedback to take straight to Ottawa.
The site can be found at: www.creditanddebitwatchdog.ca. Further updates will follow in the coming days and weeks as the consultation process unfolds.
If you require further information, please contact Ruth Thorkelson at (416) 922-0553, ext. 234 or rthorkelson@retailcouncil.org.