Canadian Federation of Independent Business urges credit card issuers, banks to adopt a Code of Conduct

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is calling on credit card companies and local banks to sign up to a Code of Conduct for small business.

The code includes ten practices which are meant to strengthen the collaboration between credit card companies, card processing companies and banks on the one hand and their small business customers on the other.

According to the proposed Code of Conduct, Credit card companies should not introduce a "percentage of sale" fee in case they become active on the debit card marketplace, premium cards should never be distributed without the request of customer, while merchants should be aware of the total fee associated with a card before accepting it. They also should have the possibility to exit a contract without penalty in case of modified contract terms.

The organization has had this initiative as "small firms across Canada are outraged with the dramatic rise in credit card merchant fees and the introduction of new premium cards by Visa, Mastercard and Canadian banks" according to Dan Kelly, the organization's senior vice-president of legislative affairs, cited by Yahoo! Finance.

Canadian Federation of Independent Business is an alliance of Canadian independent small and medium-sized businesses which has been giving small firms a voice in the public arena.

Statement from MasterCard Canada re: CFIB Proposal

TORONTO, /CNW/ - MasterCard Canada agrees with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business that a non-regulated solution to small merchant concerns about credit and debit card acceptance is best.

MasterCard has already been in discussions with the CFIB and made proposals to address issues of concern and has requested and received details of the CFIB proposal today. MasterCard looks forward to continued productive discussions in upcoming meetings.

Canada has a dynamic and well-functioning payments system where merchants and consumers enjoy unparalleled access to numerous payment methods.  "Any consideration of changes to the system needs to look at therealistic impacts on consumers and their ability to make safe, secure and convenient purchases and merchants to conduct business effectively," said Kevin Stanton, President MasterCard Canada. "We applaud the CFIB's proposal as a good start toward reaching a commercial solution that addresses small merchant concerns without harming or disrupting a payments system that flawlessly facilitates over $260 billion in Canadian commerce each year. 

MasterCard continues to work with the retail sector towards practical, meaningful solutions that serve the best interests of both consumers and merchants."

For further information: Jennifer Reed, MasterCard Canada, (416) 365-6664, jennifer_reed@mastercard.com