Retail Council of Canada welcomes report of Payments System Review task force

TORONTO, March 23, 2012 /CNW/ - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) President and CEO Diane J. Brisebois welcomed Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's release of the report of the Task Force for the Payments System Review.

"The report contains a wide range of recommendations which could, if implemented, lead to a fundamental reshaping of Canada's payment system," said Brisebois. "RCC will continue to work with the finance minister to ensure that our members' voices and business needs are of primary consideration."

RCC actively participated in the consultations that led to the development of the report Moving Canada into the Digital Age. The task force was established to review the payments system to ensure the system's framework remains effective in light of new participants and innovations.

"RCC is particularly pleased with the finance minister's commitment to update the 2009 Code of Conduct," said Brisebois, adding that the code was designed to allow merchants to understand and manage costs associated with debit and credit card payments.

Brisebois noted that RCC has strongly advocated that the code's relevance depends on it being updated to reflect the coming introduction of mobile payments," she added. "RCC applauds the minister's action and thanks him for his support of  RCC's call to update the code."

Brisebois also congratulated Task Force Chair Pat Meredith on the committee's work and recommendations. She noted that RCC applauds the governments' commitment to further review the important recommendations of the task force.

"This report contains many substantive recommendations that will fundamentally impact the way Canadians pay for any transaction," Brisebois said.

'RCC looks forward to continuing to work with the government to ensure that Canadian retailers' needs are reflected in the government's response to the task force recommendations."Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. Founded in 1963, RCC is a not-for-profit association which represents more than 45,000 stores of all retail formats, including department, grocery, independent merchants, regional and national specialty chains, and online merchants.

Sally Ritchie
VP Communications and Marketing, RCC
416 922-9700 ext. 228
416 574-2552 (Mobile)
[email protected]