Government inaction on promises to reduce credit card fees is putting pressure on small businesses, The Globe and Mail reports. The increase in card payments during the pandemic has heightened the urgency of the situation. The Liberals campaigned on a pledge to reduce the cost for retailers in the 2019 and 2021 elections.
“The government is committed to lowering the cost of credit card fees in a way that benefits small businesses and protects existing reward points for consumers,” a spokesperson for finance minister Chrystia Freeland told the Globe by email. But with no legislation tabled to that effect, business groups are growing restless.
“The question the small-business community is left asking is, are we looking at a broken promise?” said Gary Sands, VP of government relations at the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.
