TORONTO, July 12, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) welcomes today's decision by the Competition Bureau to approve Interac's restructuring plans.
"The Bureau's decision will allow Interac to remain competitive in the rapidly changing payments market," said CFIB president Dan Kelly. "CFIB believes the improved governance structure and abilities to innovate will ensure Interac remains a low-cost, flat-fee payments system for the future."
In recent years, CFIB has led efforts - such as the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card System - to bring fairness to the card processing industry. "For a small business to process a $50 sale, a credit card can be 20 times more expensive than an Interac Debit Card," added Kelly. "Without a strong Canadian-owned Interac, merchants and consumers would be left to the big multinational credit card giants and their much higher fee structures."
With this important decision from the Competition Bureau, CFIB's attention turns back to the impending decision of the Competition Tribunal in the case against Visa and MasterCard. "We are waiting anxiously to learn if merchants will be granted the powers to surcharge or refuse certain high cost cards," concluded Kelly.
CFIB is Canada's largest association of small and medium-sized businesses with 109,000 members across every sector and region.
SOURCE: Canadian Federation of Independent Business
To arrange an interview with Dan Kelly, please call Eli Schuster at 416-222-8022 or by email at [email protected]
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