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
Arrest made, manslaughter charge pending in 2022 death of Calgary toddler
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson Airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Here's why experts don't think cloud seeding played a role in Dubai's downpour
Scientists say it's highly unlikely cloud seeding is responsible for the heavy rains that have caused flooding in the United Arab Emirates this month, and that climate change is the more likely culprit.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.