CRFA commends financial watchdog for catching on to payment network shell game

TORONTO, Feb. 13, 2013 /CNW/ - Today the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) issued a report indicating payment card network operators are not adhering to the Code of Conduct for the Credit Card Industry in Canada.

This is welcome news to the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA) and its members who have long complained about lack of transparency and inappropriate business practices by credit card companies.

"Commissioner Ursula Menke and her team should be congratulated for following up on industry objections and taking credit card networks to task," says CRFA President and CEO Garth Whyte. "These companies have been getting away with blatantly unfair actions that completely ignore the terms of the Code agreed upon. It's a shell game that confuses our members and costs them a lot of money."

Restaurant operators are frustrated by a slew of unfair practices, such as:

• fees and rates differing from what they signed for;
• contract terms changing without notice; and
• multiple service provider agreements in one contract.

CRFA is calling on government to take further measures to restrict high fees, as well as unscrupulous sales and business practices by credit card networks.

CRFA is one of Canada's largest business associations, with more than 30,000 members representing restaurants, bars, caterers, institutions and other foodservice providers. Canada's restaurant industry employs more than one million people in communities across the country.

SOURCE: Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association

Prasanthi Vasanthakumar, 1-800-387-5649, ext. 4254 or [email protected].