CRTC refuses Telus request to add credit card processing fee to certain bills
OTTAWA –
Canada’s telecommunications regulator refused a request from Telus Corp. to cost some clients a bank card processing charge.
While Telus did not want the CRTC’s approval so as to add the surcharge, the regulator mentioned Thursday that it was involved about its impacts on affordability, shopper curiosity and “the most vulnerable consumers, who rely on credit cards to pay their everyday bills.”
“The CRTC is sending a clear message to Telus and other telecommunications service providers that are thinking of imposing such a fee on their customers,” the regulator mentioned in a news launch.
“Should the practice continue, the CRTC will explore all available regulatory options.”
Telus didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the refusal.
The Vancouver-based firm first broached the charge with the CRTC over the summer time, saying it might apply to bank card funds made in Alberta and B.C. for regulated dwelling phone companies.
Telus started to cost a 1.5 per cent charge to shoppers paying by bank card in October in areas the place companies should not regulated by the CRTC, together with its wi-fi and web clients outdoors of Quebec.
Telus was free so as to add the surcharge as of Oct. 6 after a class-action lawsuit from retailers in opposition to Visa, MasterCard and banks which concern playing cards was settled.
The settlement over charges charged and restrictions set by banks and bank card corporations was reached in 2017 however took time to wind via provincial approvals.
The settlement included $188 million in payouts from banks and bank cards, of which about $131 million is offered to be paid out to Canadian retailers, in addition to the removing of the surcharge restriction from Visa and Mastercard.
The removing of the restriction permits retailers to probably recoup processing charges for bank cards that vary from as little as round one per cent for fundamental playing cards to just about three per cent for playing cards that provide rewards corresponding to money again or loyalty factors.
Prior to the settlement, companies accepting bank cards needed to take in the prices related to such funds.
The CRTC’s potential to information practices round surcharges just like the one Telus wished to cost is restricted as a result of the group solely regulates companies in sure markets the place there’s not sufficient competitors to guard the pursuits of customers.
Telephone companies in rural and distant areas and web companies working via terrestrial services within the Far North are among the many most typical the CRTC regulates.
The CRTC doesn’t regulate different companies, together with wi-fi and web companies, which means they don’t want the CRTC’s approval to change their charges, phrases and situations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Dec. 8, 2022.
