Walmart vs. Visa: Canadians side with retail giant in fee dispute, poll says

Canadians are behind Walmart in the battle against Visa, but they might not put their money where their mouth is, a new poll shows.

Last month, after lengthy negotiations, Walmart Canada announced stores in Thunder Bay would be the first to implement the new blacklist on Visa, with the rest of the stores across Canada following suit.

The poll from the Angus Reid Institute released Thursday showed that nearly 6 in 10 respondents (59 percent) agreed with Walmart and say Visa’s fees are too high; on the other hand, nearly half of the respondents with Visa cards say they will shop elsewhere when Walmart stops accepting their cards.

And since 43 per cent of Walmart’s customers use Visa the retail giant stands to lose one fifth of its customer base, the poll states.

WATCH:Walmart will no longer allow its customers to use Visa cards at the checkout starting next month. As Sean O’Shea reports, the dispute is about how much the world’s largest retailer had to spend for those transactions.

2:30 Customers giving Walmart no credit for Visa decision

The poll said 80 per cent of Canadians are aware of the issue, with one in seven following the developments closely.

Those who are following closely, tend to side with Visa.

And those who shop at Walmart regularly side with the retailer.

Even though the majority of the public sides with Walmart, that doesn’t mean they think that cutting a deal with Visa will lead to more savings for them: 65 per cent of respondents believe Walmart will pocket the extra money.

“They buy Walmart’s argument… But they don’t think that Walmart is being altruistic in pursuing this goal,” Ian Holliday, research associate at Angus Reid said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They buy Walmart's argument… But they don't think that Walmart is being altruistic in pursuing this goal," Ian Holliday, research associate at Angus Reid said.

The ongoing battle will affect a huge chunk of us: 93 per cent of Canadians say they have shopped at Walmart in the past year.

READ MORE: Walmart Visa battle will have unknown consequences for Canadian small businesses

“Basically everybody in Canada has shopped at Walmart … and that is quite the surprise,” Holliday said.

“That speaks to the potential this has to become a big issue.”

As such, the battle is being watched closely by Canadians.

The poll, paid for by ARI, surveyed 1,527 members of the Angus Reid Forum from July 4 – 6, 2016. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.