Feds still plan to act on credit card fees as merchants worry over pandemic delays
Published December 24, 2021 at 12:17 pm
OTTAWA — The Finance Department says the federal government hasn’t abandoned a Liberal pledge to lower the fees merchants pay every time a shopper pays with a credit card.
The Liberals promised in the spring budget to run a consultation on the proposed changes, which it did over the summer.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland was supposed to outline next steps, including any legislative changes needed to regulate fees, in her economic update earlier this month.
But the update didn’t mention the merchant fees.
Freeland’s department says it is continuing to talk with all those affected by any change and that any update “will be provided in due course.”
Business associations say they’re looking for federal action to ease costs on already-strained small and medium-sized businesses, and hoping the plan to lower fees doesn’t drop down the government’s agenda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2021.
The Canadian Press
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