Rogers says it will begin charging most customers across Canada a 1.6 per cent processing fee next year for bill payments made using a credit card.
Those changes will take effect starting Jan. 17, 2027, and do not apply in Quebec, according to the company’s website.
Separately, the company said Friday that it was looking for “alternatives” to cover a loss tied to a CRTC ban from earlier this year.
Rogers says charging a fee to process bill payments using a credit card is “increasingly common,” and it “reflects the fees we are charged by credit card companies.”
“When customers choose to pay their bill by credit card, we are charged a payment processing fee. These costs have gone up nearly 40 per cent since 2020, and we now pay about $150 million a year in fees,” said a Rogers spokesperson in a statement to Global News.
“It’s increasingly common across many sectors for a charge to apply when consumers choose to pay by credit card – and this change helps us recover our costs.”
The spokesperson also confirmed to Global News that if a bill payment is made using the Rogers Bank Mastercard, the same processing fee will still be charged.
To avoid being charged an additional fee, Rogers says customers can make bill payments using other methods, including a debit card or direct debit from bank accounts.
On Friday, Rogers reported earnings to shareholders from its most recent quarter, which included overall revenue of $5.44 billion, up from $5.35 billion in the same quarter last year.
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But revenue from its mobile division declined slightly.
The average monthly revenue per mobile user was $55.22, down from $56.70 a year ago, and the company’s chief financial officer Glenn Brandt pointed the finger at the CRTC, saying the regulator’s ban on fees to cancel or change plans had the “largest impact.”
“The purpose of those setup fees was exactly that — to offset costs of account changes or new accounts coming on,” Brandt told analysts on a conference call Friday.
“The charge disappeared (due to) the CRTC decision. The costs don’t.”
Brandt said Rogers put in place some “early initiatives” during the quarter to recover some of those costs, but “there’s still more work to do.”
He added: “We’re now moving back to finding alternatives for covering those costs.”
Is Rogers allowed to do this?
Telecommunications companies in Canada, for the most part, are allowed to charge these sorts of fees depending on the type of service that is being billed.
Rogers’ rival Telus, in 2022, faced pushback from the CRTC for requesting to charge similar fees to its customers, specifically for home phone services.
“We received a request from a company that wanted to charge a fee to customers paying by credit card for services we regulate. We refused that request,” the CRTC says on its website from 2024.
“For services we don’t regulate (such as mobile and Internet services and phone services in urban centres), companies don’t need our approval to charge a fee.”
It adds: “We’re very concerned about companies who charge their customers credit card processing fees on services we do not regulate. If companies start or continue this practice, we’ll explore means to take action since it affects vulnerable customers.”
Global News reached out to the CRTC Friday regarding the new credit card fees Rogers plans on charging its customers.
“Affordability is an important consideration for the CRTC. The CRTC has taken action to increase choice and competition and help lower the cost of telecommunications services for Canadians. We will continue to advance this work so that Canadians benefit from more affordable, reliable, and high-quality services.”
– with a file from The Canadian Press
crtc shall cancel Roger’s license and create a competition. Rogers has no shame charging the common people for credit card payments despite their huge profits. SHAME
Jack has no problem lying.
BTW, the government department to blame for this mess is the CRTC who have been PROTECTING this industry from AMERICAN companies offering better deals to Canadians and funny, when I phone them I notice that the 1 – 800 number they use is AMERICAN.
To Dee: Ditto. They did the same thing to me AND with all their dealings using other company names I have had to fight to get a deal like I used to get in the past by their other subsidury so now all I want to do is leave them after 20 plus years of using their service. No more fighting for a FAIR deal and always losing.
Agreed. 20+ billion per yr revenue quoted and the credit card fees are too much to absorb ? Incompetence in being a decent societal player, lack of morals or both ? With power and privilege should come responsibility in being a company that others can look up to & respect. I find Roger’s is the worst of the worst wrt PURE CORPORATE GREED taking advantage of vulnerable Cdns with exorbitant charges, steady price increases beyond their competitors, avoiding giving loyal customers who build their company appropriate payback, and being nonhelpful & deceptive in helping customers get a fair deal – relying on their part in the monopoly to fleece honest busy Cdns. Sadly – millions of Cdns pay yearly to pay into their & their shareholders significant profits and DISADVANTAGE THEMSELVES every month by accepting higher fees than they need to. (Got a 5 yr price guarantee and wickedly great deal with Telus with NO CHARGE to pay by credit card.)
Really – nickel and diming Cdns who struggle and need their credit cards to get by so they can buy food or pay for shelter ??? How much do people pay for all the advertising they do and why do they advertise so much ? Get the customers to pay !
Politicians and involved powers should have the balls to stand up to this and other similar behaviors + Cdns should vote with their wallets as I have !
Roger’s are crooks ..
look at what the company profited last year. Absolutely robbery. Thank god I have no dealings with them
Let’s hope someday Musk will be able to break this monopoly and get cell service that works in rural communities
The truth is that accepting credit card payments benefits Rogers’ bottom line tremendously because it ensures that a huge volume of bills are paid on time in full. So, now they want to charge you extra for using a payment method that already benefits them? If they find it too expensive, then they should stop accepting credit cards and see where that gets them. Robbers.
They raise the rates a few times per year and it’s driving people away. When we first signed up it was $80 +$40 for internet and home phone, and by the end it was $240/month and weere capping the internet speeds way, way below what they claimed. Absolutely ridiculous.
Got to pay for the NHL tv that no one is watching.
I wonder how many of their employees are TFW, or fraudulent immigrants with fraudulent certifications?
Does this mean customers will now qualify for reduced bills if they set up automatic payments using a credit card or will that still only apply to Rogers credit card holders?
Considering they jack the prices up every 6 months or so for no real reason, I can’t see why they would need to charge to cover the CC processing fee? When I started with Shaw my internet bill was around $60, Rogers managed to jump it up to $125 a month before I dumped them.
So, they give a discount to auto pay but take it back by charging a fee for credit card payments?
Just like everything else in Canada, our telecommunications industry sucks.
After openly encouraging it in an attempt to sell credit cards.
Jordan at 6:05 pm
Same! We had a contract with Shaw for $166/mo but Rogers changed it to $234/mo with no notice, explanation, etc. we had been customers of Shaw for years! When we changed our cell service to freedom, the phone calls from Rogers/Shaw was hourly. We can give you a deal, they said. Then why didn’t you? We have Rogers internet only because we don’t have another option where we live in Calgary.
That is the straw that breaks the camels back for me. I am tired of being screwed by Rogers. Poor service, unreliable service and exorbitant pricing. I have Bell at the cottage and they are dying for my home business. Rogers encouraged me to pay be credit card (gave me a discount to do it) and now that I have they are going to charge me for it. Bait and switch. Wonder what the cc companies and Competition Bureau will think of this.
Ben the socialist wants everything regulated. Typical loony tunes leftist
Ceo don’t need bloated salaries.
Time to cut all rogers services lines. This company is a criminal organization along with the CRTC. Burn them both down!
Open the market to U.S. providers…Let some competition in and give customers some REAL choices
I left Roger’s 20 years ago they only got to rip me off once, others should follow there are better options available.
Why not leave just the right amount your monthly charge is in your bank account every month and pay them through your account? I never allow a direct billing to take place. Have your bank set up your account for bill payments where you can transfer the money from your account to Rogers bill statement amount?
Oh look…another conservative screwing you again! What are the odds?!
Just stop giving them your money and switch to iptv, 3 bux a month for every channel and movie and show pn demand in existence.
I was any sporting event or TV show or even live news anywhere in the world off a simple firestick or even my phone.
Quit allowing these company to ana*ly r*pe you and tell you what you can and cannot access and where you can do it.
Expect Telus and Bell to come up with the same fee for paying with a credit card because they all work together as they have the monopoly and they know consumers have nowhere else to go
Send Rogers a check! FU rogers!
They incentivize people to sign up for automatic bill payment by credit card.
I have internet and tv and home phone with Telus. I pay my bill with visa and there are no extra charges.
Roger’s is clearly declaring their company choices with this fee. With millions +++ of Canadians struggling in this economy and a Q3 (3 month) profit of $482 million announced recently in the news (making a yearly profit of >1.5 billion) – this hits Canadians – in an industry where telecom company’s profit margins are extremely substantial & it appears Roger’s feels the need to recupe these charges in their judgment. People can judge for themselves what they think of this & who to do or not do business with but I find the gap between the ultra-rich and average Cdns has become quite a sad statement of the directions society is headed. Each person can of course make their own decisions/judgments – of what they support and why.
Boy, Rogers is really working hard at getting their customers to leave them. I am going after 25 years of service. Had no complaints until they tried to force me to give up my good phone for one of their piece of $hit plan phones.
MOO
It’s time for more regulation of the industry. This is a tax on the poor.
I’m on Rogers and they pumped up my bill $5.00 a month with no warning….small print on the invoice….But they sold me a 5G plan where the 5G is really bad…and they knew it…keep telling in new tower mid 2027…nice little service till next year. still will not lower my bill? keep saying it’s loctation? No very good service in the city, just the south end…..Every one in charge keeps pumping up the prices…Governments, cities, grocey stores, gas….Maybe we all should just go broke and see how long they last?
Time to begin looking at other providers.
Was a Shaw customer for years. When Rogers took over, they scrapped my contract and enacted a new one at a higher rate for less services. No penalty for them to cancel my Shaw contract, but 8 got hit with a $230 early cancellation fee when I left Rogers.
Best $230 I ever spent. To hell with Rogers. POS company who does all they can to hurt Canadians.
Canadians are paying their Rogers bill with credit cards because they have NO MONEY . Thank the Liberal government.
Ok. I understand. Aldkfmmsmamdndkalamdn103628?”@!!”
Freedom Mobile gives you a $5 discount for paying with your credit card. Rogers customers deserve what they get
Sure, just when people changed over to credit card to ENSURE THEIR BILLS GOT PAID ON TIME, TO THEIR BENEFIT, NOT OURS they decide to charge us all for using credit cards to do it. We changed from paper because of the constant threats of postal strikes and not being able to get our bills ON TIME to pay them. I guess we will be going back to paper and taking a chance on the CANADIAN POSTAL SERVICE once again. What is worse for Rogers, not getting a bill paid on time which loses you money or making sure that you DO GET PAID ON TIME by credit card?