LCBO not considering credit card surcharge ‘at the moment’

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) says customers at its stores won’t be paying more for the time being if they decide to use a credit card.

Last week, restrictions on adding a surcharge to credit card purchases lifted after a class action lawsuit against MasterCard, Visa and Canadian banks.

Businesses secured the right to add a surcharge, which they must clearly disclose, to credit card transactions.

Global News reached out to the LCBO to see whether or not the Crown corporation is planning to add additional charges for credit card purchases.

“At the moment, we are not considering charging surcharges for customers who use credit cards,” the LCBO said in a statement.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) recently revealed that nearly one in five small businesses are considering adding surcharges to credit card transactions to offset processing fees.

The survey of CFIB members indicated that businesses that sell to other businesses were most likely to apply a new charge, while those that serve consumers directly were less likely to.

The CFIB said 19 per cent of hospitality, 17 per cent of personal services businesses, and 12 per cent of retailers intended to add the charge.

Dan Kelly, president of the CFIB, said credit card processing can eat up about 1.5 to 2.5 per cent of every sale.

— With files from The Canadian Press