The fluckers crooks.
Fed up with paying as much as $1,200 a month in credit card fees, restaurant owner Jean-Jacques Texier began asking customers to pay with cash or debit. The move slashed his credit card processing bill to about $500 a month, which he says helps keep his prices in line even as food and other costs soar.
“My credit card fee is higher than my gas bill, a lot higher. It's higher than my water bill, and I use a lot of water. And it's higher than my electricity bill,” said Texier, who owns Le Batifole, a French bistro in the heart of Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood.
Such fees are taking an estimated $5 billion a year out of consumers pockets, the federal competition watchdog said Wednesday, due to “restrictive” and “anti-competitive rules” imposed on merchants by Visa and MasterCard.
In a dramatic move, the bureau of competition policy said it has asked the Competition Tribunal to strike down the rules, which it alleges effectively eliminate competition between the two multinational credit card giants.
“Visa and MasterCard's anti-competitive behaviour hurts businesses and consumers alike,” said commissioner Melanie Aitken. “It is particularly harmful for small- and medium-sized businesses, key engines for economic growth in Canada”
A $400 set of snow tires can cost a merchant as much as $12 in credit card fees but only 12 cents in debit card fees due to differences in the way the products are priced, the bureau said.
“Without changes to the rules, merchants will continue to face high costs for credit card acceptance, while consumers, even those who use lower-cost methods of payment like debit or cash, will continue to pay higher prices,” Aitken said.
Fed up with paying as much as $1,200 a month in credit card fees, restaurant owner Jean-Jacques Texier began asking customers to pay with cash or debit. The move slashed his credit card processing bill to about $500 a month, which he says helps keep his prices in line even as food and other costs soar.
“My credit card fee is higher than my gas bill, a lot higher. It's higher than my water bill, and I use a lot of water. And it's higher than my electricity bill,” said Texier, who owns Le Batifole, a French bistro in the heart of Toronto’s Riverdale neighbourhood.
Such fees are taking an estimated $5 billion a year out of consumers pockets, the federal competition watchdog said Wednesday, due to “restrictive” and “anti-competitive rules” imposed on merchants by Visa and MasterCard.
In a dramatic move, the bureau of competition policy said it has asked the Competition Tribunal to strike down the rules, which it alleges effectively eliminate competition between the two multinational credit card giants.
“Visa and MasterCard's anti-competitive behaviour hurts businesses and consumers alike,” said commissioner Melanie Aitken. “It is particularly harmful for small- and medium-sized businesses, key engines for economic growth in Canada”
A $400 set of snow tires can cost a merchant as much as $12 in credit card fees but only 12 cents in debit card fees due to differences in the way the products are priced, the bureau said.
“Without changes to the rules, merchants will continue to face high costs for credit card acceptance, while consumers, even those who use lower-cost methods of payment like debit or cash, will continue to pay higher prices,” Aitken said.
