A Liberal private member's bill (Bill C-236) to amend the
Payment Card Networks Act (Canada) (the PCN
Act) went through first reading in the House of Commons on
February 25th. The bill would amend the PCN Act to
provide for a limit on "credit card acceptance fees".
The bill does not specify an actual rate limit and does not
define the term "credit card acceptance fees". These
matters are left for regulations, which will not be published
unless and until the bill is passed. It is clear, however, that the
intention of the bill is to give the Minister of Finance the power
to impose a cap on the interchange fees that are charged to
merchants on credit card transactions.
Here is a short history lesson to put this proposed amendment
into context. In 2010, in response to concerns raised by merchants,
the Government of Canada established the Code of Conduct for
the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada (the
Code, which was amended in 2015). The Code applies
to payment
