Majority of B.C. businesses not expected to pass on credit card surcharges to customers
One of the most popular ways Canadians pay for just about everything may be getting more expensive.
Starting Thursday, businesses will be able to pass on credit card transaction fees to customers.
The fees can range from 1.5 to 2.5 per cent for cards with perks like cash back or loyalty points. Local businesses are concerned that those additional costs could drive customers away.
“We're hearing from some of our members, ‘How should I stay in business? How can I stay in business?’,” said Anita Huberman, President and CEO of the Surrey Board of Trade.
Huberman says many businesses are already operating on razor-thin margins and can’t afford to lose any customers.
“It's so difficult to be an entrepreneur these days, in the face of so much bottom line erosion and economic challenges. This credit card piece is yet another nail in the coffin for some of our businesses in our community,” said Huberman.
Credit card companies are raking in between $5 billion and $7 billion a year from processing fees. Telus has already announced it will start charging a fee for paying with credit.
However, some small retail shops are hesitant to do the same, for fear of losing business.
“They don't want to burden their consumers, but they don't feel that they should wear that burden of paying that additional fee to these credit card companies,” said Huberman.
The new rule comes after Visa and Mastercard settled a multi-million-dollar class action lawsuit. But it appears most B.C. businesses will not be passing their fees on.
“The vast majority of our own members, around 80 per cent, said that they're really, really not interested in implementing this in their business. And 20 per cent – only one in five – are actually looking at this as an option,” said Annie Dormuth, provincial director of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business for British Columbia and Alberta.
She would like to see Ottawa take action to help businesses.
“Something that the federal government can do is honor its 2021 election promise, and that is lowering credit card fees,” said Dormuth.
Businesses are required to notify their credit card network at least 30 days before starting to surcharge.
They must also post notice they are surcharging, and the amounts of any surcharges at point-of-sale, as well as clearly itemize any surcharges on receipts.
“Business owners are also consumers themselves. They're British Columbians themselves and I think they're all recognizing, of course, the challenging times that are being placed on consumers right now,” said Dormuth.
With files from CTV National’s Kevin Gallagher
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.