(Toronto) Canadian businesses may claim hundreds of dollars in credit card discount fees following a multi-million dollar class action settlement reached with Visa and Mastercard.
Posted at 3:35 p.m.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says merchants can now claim rebates on so-called processing fees charged on transactions dating back two decades.
The settlement comes as the pandemic has accelerated the migration from cash to digital payments as more consumers shop online.
CFIB senior vice-president of national affairs, Corinne Pohlmann, said credit card fees have become a growing problem for small businesses in Canada.
Credit card issuers charge merchants what are called interchange rates, a commission taken from each sale and paid to credit card companies, payment processors and banks.
CFIB says that while the settlement doesn’t change fees, it will allow merchants to pass those fees on to customers starting this fall.