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Credit card companies agree to reduce fees 10% in Canada

Card companies will reduce credit card interchange fees over five years by about 10 percent.

November 19, 2014

Restaurants Canada announced that credit card companies are reducing interchange fees.

Visa and MasterCard announced they would reduce credit card interchange fees over five years to an average effective rate of 1.5 percent, which represents a reduction in credit card fees of about 10 percent.

"This voluntary move to lower rates is a positive step for restaurateurs who pay among the highest credit card transaction fees in the world," said Garth Whyte, President and CEO of Restaurants Canada, in a press release. "However, the devil is in the details. We will carefully monitor how fees are 'averaged' and the impact on our members. Ultimately, it should be a win for consumers if the reductions are significant enough to pass on."

Restaurants Canada has been putting pressure on the government to reduce the fees, including meeting recently with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other members of Parliament.