Businesses can now pass on credit card fees to customers in Ontario
Businesses in Ontario are now allowed to pass on credit card fees to customers.
The change comes as part of a settlement in a recent multimillion-dollar class-action lawsuit involving Visa and Mastercard.
While it was never illegal in Ontario for businesses to pass on credit card fees to customers, Visa and Mastercard had their own rules against surcharging, which merchants were required to follow.
The Canadian Federal of Independent Businesses told CTV News Toronto there are a few things businesses and consumers in Ontario "need to know" about the new rules that came into effect on Oct. 6.
Firstly, businesses must 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.
According to the CFIB, the maximum surcharge customers can be charged is capped of 2.4 per cent.
Businesses are also required to clearly itemize in a dollar figure the cost of the surcharge on receipts.
The CFIB said a recent survey of its members in Ontario found that 19 per cent of merchants intend to use the new power to surcharge. A further 24 per cent said they will surcharge only if their competitors or suppliers do.
According to the survey, forty per cent of small firms in Ontario told the CFIB they are not sure if they will begin adding a surcharge and 17 per cent said they don't intend on doing it.
“We’ve asked the Ontario government to not stop small merchants from surcharging to cover the high costs of accepting credit cards,” Julie Kwiecinski, CFIB’s Director of Provincial Affairs for Ontario, told CTV News Toronto in a statement. “Each individual business should be able to decide on their own whether surcharging is right for them by weighing factors like competitiveness against the need to address rising operating costs.”
Kwiecinsk said she believes many smaller merchants are still "on the fence" about including a surcharge because they don't want to lose customers.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bloc Quebecois set to begin talks to topple Liberal government after deadline passes
The Bloc Quebecois is poised to begin talks with other parties to bring down the minority Liberal government, which has not met its deadline to pass two key bills.
Canadian identical twins go head-to-head for the first time in NFL history
For identical twins Sydney and Chase Brown, football has always been an expression of their brotherly love and a shared family experience.
Final count: B.C. NDP wins 2024 election, with judicial recounts pending in 2 ridings
The final count has been completed in B.C.'s nail-biting 2024 election, with incumbent Premier David Eby managing to clinch another victory for the NDP.
'We promise to be better': N.S. firefighter club criticized after group in KKK costumes attends Halloween dance
A group of Cape Breton firefighters are apologizing after four people showed up at a Halloween dance dressed in what appeared to be Ku Klux Klan costumes.
Only 2 races too close to call on Sask. election night, despite close finish
The Saskatchewan Party secured its fifth straight majority government Monday, with only two constituencies too close for CTV News to call as night turned to morning.
opinion Five things to watch for between now and U.S. election day
With U.S. election day now a week away, Washington political analyst Eric Ham highlights five pertinent issues to watch for as the curtain comes down on this dramatic and spellbinding drama.
Trump ally Steve Bannon is released after serving 4 months in prison for contempt of Congress
Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon was released from prison early Tuesday, after serving a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Coffin Cove? Dead Creek? Here are Canada's scariest town names
With Halloween around the corner, you might be surprised to learn that Canada is home to some very scary places, with towns having names that mention coffins, death and blood.
Fewer young Canadians own homes but majority planning to buy within five years: poll
A new report says that while fewer young Canadians own a home compared with three years ago, a majority of millennials and Gen Z adults still plan to purchase one in the next five years.