OTTAWA – Canada’s small businesses have big concerns about so-called mobile wallets.
A spokesman for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says they fear they’ll provide banks and credit card companies another way to gouge them and their customers.
Many European, Asian and African countries have adopted systems that allow payments over smart phones or other digital means — but many have also imposed caps on fees.
A task force recommended nearly a year ago that Ottawa introduce legislation to give Canadians and businesses better tools to make payments digitally.
The task force estimates that delaying a move to digital payments is costing the economy 32 billion dollars annually.
But a committee set up by the Finance Department to study the issue has been told businesses worry they’ll be hit with new fees as consumers adopt payment systems designed for their mobile devices.
The Competition Bureau is expected to issue an edict this fall on the rules imposed on merchants by credit card companies in this country.
Those rules include forcing businesses to accept all credit cards, but prohibit those businesses from adding surcharges to try to recover those costs.
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