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18/03/2010 -
The forthcoming code of conduct for debit and credit card processing has been lauded by many as a positive step toward protecting merchants from unfair practices in the payment processing industry.However, some industry players are not as thrilled - such is the case with Visa, which is about to introduce its debit cards into the Canadian market.
Tim Wilson, head of Visa Canada, recently wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail expressing his concern about the code of conduct, saying that the code's provision allowing merchants to choose which network a transaction will be routed over "tilt[s] the benefits of the system disproportionately toward merchants at great expense to Canadian consumers and inhibit[s] Visa's ability to bring an innovative debit product to the Canadian market."
"Competition is the key driver to foster innovation, and the launch of Visa Debit cards will provide Canadians with the features they've been asking for," he continued.
Wilson believes customers should be the ones allowed to control which network will be used to process their transaction, though merchants think that this will cause their interchange fees to rise.
However, the Payment Accountability Council has lauded the code on behalf of Canadian merchants, saying, "PAC applauds [the] government's efforts to bring clarity, transparency and merchant choice to the debit and credit card market in Canada."
