(Ottawa) The telecommunications giant Telus wants to pass on to its customers outside Quebec the fees imposed on it by the credit card networks by charging them a “processing fee” of 1.5%, as of October 17, if they pay their invoice in this way. Bell, Rogers and Videotron remain silent on their intentions.
Posted yesterday at 8:31 a.m.
The surcharge is intended to “cover the processing costs incurred by credit card payments” and would apply to the total bill of current and future customers, Telus says in a letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). .
The document, which is dated Monday, seeks permission from the regulatory body to add the fee to the section of its terms of service. The Vancouver-based company says these fees would themselves be taxed.
In a statement provided to The Canadian Press, Telus says “the average cost will be around $2” and that its customers can avoid these fees by selecting another bill payment option, such as one-time bank payments, bank payments ATMs, and Visa Debit, Visa Prepaid and Mastercard Prepaid.
Telus also clarified that the fee will not apply to customers in Quebec or those of the Koodo subsidiary.
In Quebec, the Consumer Protection Act (LPC) prohibits charging a price higher than that advertised. In a 2015 judgment, the Superior Court of Quebec confirmed that the possibility of paying an invoice by debit card is not a service distinct from the service or good that is paid for, but a method of payment.
“Demanding transaction fees from a consumer who pays by card is illegal under section 224 c) of the CPA. The merchant who adopts such a practice exposes himself to criminal prosecution and possible civil actions on the part of the customers concerned,” said the spokesperson for the Consumer Protection Office, Charles Tanguay.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) wants Quebec companies to be able to charge such fees, summarized in an interview its director of provincial affairs for Quebec, Francis Bérubé.
The grouping of 95,000 SMEs across the country says it especially believes that payment networks should reduce the amount they charge merchants, which eats away at their profitability, particularly when the use of credit cards has been growing since the beginning of the pandemic.
Telus refused to answer many questions, including whether it will reduce its rates in return, to explain why the announcement to customers is made before the CRTC’s decision or even what proportion of the revenues generated by individuals are paid by credit card at this time.
Telus recalls in its letter to the CRTC that a 2018 class action lawsuit against Visa and Mastercard ended in a settlement under which the payment networks agreed to change their rules and will allow merchants to charge surcharges as of October 6.
Credit card issuers charge merchants interchange rates, which is a commission charged on each sale. These fees can range from around 1% of the purchase amount for basic cards to almost 3% for cards offering rewards such as cash back or loyalty points.
Telus tells the CRTC that it plans to issue fee notices to its existing customers beginning in mid-August.
Still, the organization said citizens can raise their concerns by filing an “intervention” to Telus’ request within 30 days of receiving the request, or by September 7. The process provides that the company will then have ten days to respond to comments. The file will then be studied and a decision will be made.
At the time of publication, and more than 24 hours after being questioned, Bell, Rogers and Videotron had not responded to a request from The Canadian Press to find out if they intend to follow in the footsteps of their competitor. The CRTC had also not received a request similar to that of Telus.