We notice you are visiting from a U.S. Internet provider. 
19/01/2010 -
With the feedback period for the credit and debit card code of conduct over as of Monday, the debate about the regulations - as well as the overall market competition - still rages on, the Globe and Mail reported.Visa and MasterCard are arguing that the competition will be good for merchants and consumers, and that the code of conduct is holding up this process. Meanwhile, small business and retailers are concerned about a rise in payment processing costs if major card companies are allowed to enter the debit card market - thereby challenging the low-cost Interac network for market share - without the proposed code of conduct.
"Without the code of conduct, merchants are essentially powerless," Dan Kelly, a spokesman for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, told the Globe and Mail. "These decisions will be made largely between the banks and the credit card companies, and average consumers and merchants will be nearly completely excluded from the debate and will very quickly see debit card costs rise to the level that they are in the U.S., which are, without any exaggeration, 10 times higher than what is paid in Canada today."
The code of conduct was proposed in November, to ensure clarity and fairness in the rapidly growing Canadian electronic payment processing industry.
