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03/11/2009 -
Visa has announced that it will make its entrance into the Canadian debit card market in the first quarter of 2010, despite the flurry of criticism that the proposed entry has stirred up in the payment processing industry as well as among merchants across the country.Visa chairman and CEO Joseph W. Saunders told reporters that, in regards to introducing Visa debit cards to the Canadian market, "we expect to gain traction and begin issuing cards," Digital Transactions reported.
The move was likely bolstered by the latest earnings report from Visa, which found that debit card transactions comprised a large portion of the 10 percent increase in the company's net operating revenue in the fourth quarter.
Canadian merchants are wary of Visa's entry into the debit card market, fearing it will disrupt the current status quo of low debit card processing fees provided through the Interac network. The proposed Visa debit card payment processing fees will be higher than those offered by Interac, Torstar news service reported.
As a result, Interac has appealed to the federal Competition Bureau to change its status from a not-for-profit company to a for-profit one, which may improve its ability to compete with Visa and MasterCard's new debit card offerings, the Toronto Star reported.
