This week, the debate between Walmart Canada and Visa over merchant fees escalated once again. Now, the retail giant has stopped accepting Visa at its 16 Manitoba locations.
This follows Walmart’s mid-July refusal of Visa credit cards at its three stores in Thunder Bay, Ontario. At this time, the retailer argued that the financial services firm charges too much in service fees to merchants. However, Visa says it offered Walmart one of the lowest rates for any merchant in the country.
In June, Walmart announced that it would expand its phase-out of Visa to all of its Canadian stores. However, it is unclear which locations will come next.
The Retail Council of Canada notes that the average merchant fee of 1.5 per cent charged by Visa and MasterCard is higher than rates charged in other countries.The council has called on the federal government to review the situation, intervene, and lower fees for all merchants.
The review will take into account the impact of Visa and MasterCard’s recent voluntary fee reductions, the adoption of a code of conduct for the country’s credit and debit card industry, and approaches in other jurisdictions.
As of now, 19 Walmart locations have stopped accepting Visa across the country: three in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and 16 in Manitoba.
