The CFIB said Friday that the credit card company has disclosed that it plans a 20% increase in its assessment fee to 7.7 basis points on July 1.

President and CEO Dan Kelly said that while the increase is smaller than the one announced earlier by Visa, his organization — the largest representing Canada’s small- and medium-sized businesses — is still dismayed by the decision.

“CFIB is very disappointed that MasterCard is choosing to increase its fees at a time when small firms are struggling with an uncertain economy,” Kelly said in a release.

He added that it was particularly surprising that both major credit card brands are upping their fees just before Canada’s Competition Tribunal is expected to rule in its case against the two credit card giants.

“Unfortunately, the only competition between Visa and MasterCard is to see who can raise prices the most for merchants and consumers and deliver the highest fees for Canada’s banks,” Kelly said.

MasterCard issued an email statement saying it has operated a “seamless and trusted” network for the past 45 years.

“We continuously work to balance the payments network so that all parties pay their fair share,” it said.

MasterCard said it will continue to work with merchants and institutions that issue the cards to deliver payment methods “that deliver consumers a valuable purchasing experience.”

The CFIB is among those arguing against industry rules that require businesses that accept Visa or MasterCard to treat all types of their cards equally, regardless of the cost of processing payments.

The CFIB, with 109,000 members countrywide, says shopkeepers and others who accept credit and debit cards as payment need the right to be able to refuse high-cost cards or to add limited surcharges.

It also argues Canada’s code of conduct needs provisions for new mobile types of payment, such as by cellphone.
Under a settlement reached in the summer, Visa, MasterCard and major banks agreed to pay retailers in the United States at least US$6 billion to settle a long-running lawsuit that alleged the card issuers conspired to fix the fees that stores pay to accept credit cards.

Under that settlement, which settled a dispute going back to 2005, U.S. merchants will also be allowed to charge their customers more if they pay with credit cards.

ORIGINAL SOURCE: The Canadian Press / MasterCard to hike fees for small businesses: CFIB

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday that it is calling for new rules that give merchants more flexibility in what they accept at their cash registers.

The group, which has more than 100,000 member businesses across Canada, wants changes to the federally regulated code that would allow retailers the right to refuse high-cost cards at their stores.

The CFIB also wants the ability for merchants to add limited surcharges that would counteract the transaction fees charged by some credit card companies when customers swipe their higher-end credit cards, which rack up points that can be used for travel or other bonuses.

“Merchants have had a 30-per-cent increase in their costs in the last two years because of premium [credit] cards,” Dan Kelly, the president and chief executive officer of the CFIB, said in an interview.

“Those additional costs are finding their way into their service. Consumers are paying these fees already, and they’re going up.”

The association is among those arguing against industry rules that force businesses who accept Visa or MasterCard to treat all types of their cards equally, regardless of the cost of processing the payments.

The issue has been of concern to the Competition Bureau, which argued in May that restrictive contracts put in place by Visa and MasterCard allow the two credit card companies – which represent 92 per cent of the market – to essentially dictate terms to merchants.

The tribunal has the power to force credit card companies to change their method of operations, but it cannot levy a monetary penalty in the case. A decision is expected later this year.

Last week, a landmark settlement in the United States between Visa, MasterCard and merchants thrust the debate back into the spotlight in Canada.

The two credit card companies, as well as several major banks, reached an agreement to pay U.S. retailers at least $6-billion (U.S.) to settle a long-running lawsuit that alleged the card issuers conspired to fix the fees that stores pay to accept credit cards. The dispute stretched back to 2005.

MasterCard defended its current fee structure as part of its “commitment to consumer protection.”

“MasterCard Inc.’s agreement to settle U.S. merchant litigation is strictly a U.S. matter and has no bearing on the Canadian market,” spokeswoman Deborah Rowe said in an e-mailed statement.

“We cannot speculate on the outcomes of the Competition Tribunal case.”

Visa did not return calls for comment.

Under last week’s settlement, the U.S. merchants will be allowed to charge their customers more if they pay with credit cards.

“It’s further recognition of the imbalance in the payments industry particularly around credit cards,” said David Wilkes, senior vice-president of the Retail Council of Canada.

“There is going to have to be protections built into the code of conduct to ensure the retailer has the ability to manage and control their costs,” he added.

The ruling has caused some concern that if the regulations are similarly changed in Canada, shoppers could be stuck with extra fees if they choose to pay with their credit cards.

That possibility concerns Laurie Campbell, the CEO of Credit Canada, a credit counselling service.

“I worry about those individuals that are carrying balances, that may need to use their credit cards,” she said.

“They’re living from one paycheque to the next. It’s just going to hit them even more. They need the break, they don’t need the transaction fees.”

Those are the types of stories that Mr. Kelly of the CFIB said he believes will cause both Visa and MasterCard to reconsider the fees they charge retailers, especially because customers will be fully aware of the new fees they’re being forced to pay.

“We believe [it] would change behaviour among the credit card companies and the banks,” he said.

“The fear they would have of merchants starting to either turn down cards or to surcharge for transactions, those are the two holy grails in the credit card industry.”

The CFIB also argues Canada’s code of conduct needs provisions for new mobile types of payment, such as by mobile phone.

Source: Globe & Mail

No one knows more about your own patterns and spending habits than you do. How credit cards affect you is a very personal thing. This article will try to shine a light on credit cards and how you can make the best decisions for yourself, when it comes to using them.

Pay your entire balance every month. If you leave a balance on your card, you’ll have to pay finance charges, and interest that you wouldn’t pay if you pay everything in full each month. In addition, you won’t feel pressured to try to wipe out a big credit card bill, if you charge only a small amount each month.

The key to securing the best possible credit card rates and terms is keeping a close eye on your credit report and making changes and corrections where necessary. Consumers with stellar credit histories have broad access to cards with low or zero interest, cards that boast rewards programs that can be truly worthwhile, and credit cards that do not come with costly annual membership fees.

Find out if the interest rate on a new card is the regular rate, or if it is offered as part of a promotion. Many people do not realize that the rate that they see at first is promotional, and that the real interest rate may be a significant amount more than that.

Do not use your credit cards to pay off any tax debt that you have with the Internal Revenue Service. That may be tempting, but it is a much better idea to get in touch with the IRS and let them know that you would like to set up a payment plan.

Before you choose a credit card company, be sure that you compare interest rates. There is no standard when it comes to interest rates, even when it is based on your credit. Every company uses a different formula to figure what interest rate to charge. Be sure that you compare rates, to ensure that you get the best deal possible.

Read the fine print on any credit cards you receive. There can be many hidden fees, rules, and penalties in tiny print that is often ignored by credit card users. Knowing what they are, can give you the power you need to manage your credit cards the best that you can.

Try your best to use prepaid credit cards when you are making online transactions. This will help so that you do not have to worry about any thieves accessing your real credit card information. It will be much easier to bounce back if you are scammed in this type of situation.

Even if you cannot make your minimum monthly payment on a credit card, you should pay something. No matter how modest the amount, this will tell your credit card company that you are trying to deal fairly with them. If your problems continue, you will find your company more inclined to work with you if you have been making at least some payments.

Make sure you are consistently using your card. You do not have to use it frequently, but you should at least be using it once a month. While the goal is to keep the balance low, it only helps your credit report if you keep the balance low, while using it consistently at the same time.

If you cannot pay your entire credit cards balance each month, at least strive to pay more than the minimum balance. Paying even a little more than the minimum balance, saves you a lot of money in interest charges. Try not to make additional charges during the month and pay off the balance on your next bill.

Take advantage of security features that your credit card company might offer. These might include things like adding your picture to your credit cards. This is an additional step that merchants can use to verify that you are the person using the card, allowing them to help you keep your card safe from criminal activity.

If you are new to the world of personal finance, or you’ve been in it a while, but haven’t managed to get it right yet, this article has given you some great advice. If you apply the information you read here, you should be well on your way to making smarter decisions in the future.

Credit Cards Rewards

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This makes sense and the link has a lot of other info and countries listed.

Read more about it

It has outlived the slogans of other global brands such as McDonald’s and Coca-Cola. Now, MasterCard’s 14-year-old “Priceless” positioning is serving as the springboard for yet another global marketing venture.

MasterCard Canada last week unveiled “Priceless Toronto,” part of a worldwide initiative called “Priceless Cities” that debuted in New York in July and expanded to London in October.

The program aims to give MasterCard users “priceless” experiences that are endemic to that market. The offers encompass six segments: culinary, sports, music and entertainment, shopping, travel, and arts and culture.

Lilian Tomovich, head of marketing for MasterCard Canada in Toronto, called the program the next “large-scale evolution” of the “Priceless” campaign, which is used in 110 countries and has spawned countless parodies.

“Priceless has been built on a foundation of observing priceless moments. We’ve been the conduit for people enjoying those moments, and now what we’re doing is moving to enable them,” said Tomovich.

Read More….

Their plans, if implemented, would represent not only a technological feat—tying people’s Internet lives with shopping activities—but also an erosion of the idea of anonymity on the Web. It’s an effort by the two companies to profit by selling access to the insights they gather about people with every credit-card transaction.

The technology is still evolving. According to ad executives briefed on some of the ideas, a holy grail would …

Read more….

Dan Kelly  Oct 3, 2011 – 10:15 AM ET | Last Updated: Oct 3, 2011 10:17 AM ET

Walk through an airport or watch your favourite televsion show and you’ll undoubtedly come across ads and offers for credit cards promising points toward a dream vacation, cash back or extra insurance. Some cards promise you a free trip just for signing the card and making your first purchase. But have you ever wondered how all these benefits are possible? Is it the annual card fee that pays for the points? Are the perks financed through the sky-high interest costs consumers pay when they carry a balance from month to month?

Few consumers realize that it is the merchant who swipes your card that carries the burden of most of the costs. The Competition Bureau has said that credit cards issued by Canadian banks carry among the highest merchant fees in the world, averaging 1.5% to 3% of the sale. Fees were made worse in recent years when Visa and MasterCard issued new, higher-merchant-fee cards to compete with costly American Express cards. Banks pumped out these premium cards by the thousands, each carrying 30%, 40% or sometimes more than 50% higher costs for the merchant to accept.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has tackled this issue for the past few years and made great strides in helping bring some stability to what was a Wild West of bad practices by credit card companies and some banks.

CFIB credits Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty for helping small businesses gain some clout in this marketplace when he moved on its recommendation for a voluntary Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry. Among its many accomplishments, the code saved Canada’s low cost, flat fee system of debit with our home-grown Interac system and mandated improved practices and information for small companies related to credit card merchant fees.

But even with this improved information, it remained virtually impossible for any business owner, store clerk or consumer to understand which card would cost what fee. That is until we at the CFIB started asking some tough questions and demanded additional data to help understand the costs associated with every card in the country. The good news is, with the co-operation of Visa and MasterCard, CFIB produced a list of more than 200 cards issued by Canadian banks outlining which cards carry regular fees and which ones cost small companies more to accept.

Take this test. Which MasterCard do you think would cost more to accept: a) President’s Choice MasterCard or b) Capital One Cash Back Gold MasterCard? For Visa, which is more costly: a) Royal Bank Visa Infinite Avion or b) CIBC Aerogold Visa? If you answered a) for each, then you did better than the merchants CFIB tested in a short telephone survey.

Read the rest of the article

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is giving its 108,000 member businesses signs to be placed at cash registers and tables across the country to promote the alternative method of payment.

“This consumer campaign is the next big step in a two year fight with credit card companies and banks on the rising cost of accepting credit cards,” senior vice president Dan Kelly said in a release.

Credit card fees spur protest – Business – CBC News.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has instructed the FCAC to expedite its probe and is again raising the prospect that he will bring down tougher, binding regulations if industry players do not voluntarily comply with the code.

Moneris, like other payment companies, acts as a middleman between retailers and credit- and debit-card networks like Visa, MasterCard and Interac, providing services and products such as the card terminals found near the cash registers of most stores and restaurants.

The FCAC’s investigation stems from a complaint by a business group over how Moneris is notifying thousands of merchants about upcoming changes to the fees it charges for processing credit cards. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business accuses Moneris of leaving retailers in the dark about whether the changes, which come into effect in April, will amount to an increase in their total fees.

Read more at the Globe & Mail

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