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ARTICLE · 25 SEPTEMBER 2013

Canadian Competition Tribunal Credit Card Ruling - An Update

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Recently, the Competition Tribunal publicly released the reasons for its decision issued on July 23 dismissing the Commissioner of Competition’s application against Visa and MasterCard.

CanadaAntitrust/Competition Law
Denes Rothschild
Denes Rothschild
Jeffrey Graham
Jeffrey Graham
Stephen Redican
Stephen Redican
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Recently, the Competition Tribunal publicly released the reasons for its decision issued on July 23 dismissing the Commissioner of Competition's application against Visa and MasterCard. The Commissioner had challenged Visa and MasterCard's rules under the price maintenance provisions of the Competition Act. The Commissioner alleged that these rules have effectively eliminated competition between Visa and MasterCard for merchants' acceptance of their credit cards, resulting in increased costs to businesses and, ultimately, consumers.

BACKGROUND

The Competition Bureau launched an investigation in response to complaints by merchants regarding the rules that Visa and MasterCard impose on merchants who accept their credit cards. In April 2009 the Bureau initiated a formal inquiry, and in December 2010, the Commissioner filed an application with the Competition Tribunal challenging the rules as anti-competitive. The application was brought under the price maintenance

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