The Canadian government is supporting a lowering of credit card processing fees, as Canadian retailers reportedly pay some of the highest fees in the world. According to Bloomberg, Finance Minister Joe Oliver is supporting credit card companies MasterCard Inc. and Visa Inc. to decrease the fees by 10 per cent. For banks like the Bank of Montreal (BMO) and Royal Bank of Canada (RY), the reduction in fees could lead to a reduction of card-holder benefits or elimination of cards.
According to Bloomberg, Oliver promised to address the issue in the budget for lowering merchant fees.
“We are looking at months, not years,” he said, when asked when an agreement will be reached on the matter. CJ
