Visa hits back at Walmart

TORONTO ―Visa has responded to Walmart’s announced discontinuation of the card in its store transactions, accusing the retailer of using customers as pawns in a public battle. “Walmart is unfairly dragging millions of Canadian consumers into the middle of a business disagreement that can and should be resolved between our companies,” the card-issuer wrote in an open letter which ran in several Canadian newspapers. Claiming that it gives Walmart one of the best rates in Canada, Visa said that the merchant is demanding more, seeking an “unfair advantage” due to its size. The dispute has to do with security as well as money: in the U.S., Walmart is suing Visa to force it to require chip-and-PIN security on all cards, while Visa prefers to offer it as an option to customers.