Walmart drops Visa over fees

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. ― Walmart Canada announced this weekend that it will phase out acceptance of Visa cards in its stores, citing “unacceptably high” card fees. Visas charges fees to retailers roughly comparable to its main rival MasterCard, but the latter offers lower rates for large retailers like Walmart. Retail analyst Doug Stephens told the Canadian Press that there will be downsides to the move for both parties. “If you can’t walk into a mass merchant and use a Visa card, that’s going to seem very strange,” he said, pointing to the card-issuer’s “tremendous market share.” Still, he added, if “Walmart ceases to do business with you, you can’t help but feel that.” The new policy will be rolled out beginning July 18 in Thunder Bay. Walmart joins the ranks of retailers including No Frills, which also pointed to high fees as a factor, and Costco, who don’t take Visa.