Remarks by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance announcing lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses

Brampton, ON - May 18, 2023

I would like to begin by acknowledging that we are gathering here today on the Treaty Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Huron, and Wendat.

I am so happy to be in Brampton today with my colleague, Sonia Sidhu, who is an incredible voice for the people of Brampton, and with Minister Mary Ng, our fantastic Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business, and Economic Development.

And I am especially glad to be here at Knowledge Bookstore with Sean and Carolette—this is an invaluable resource and a treasured community space, particularly but not only for the Black community here in Brampton.

Small businesses like Knowledge Bookstore are so important to our local economies and communities.

For small businesses like this one, every dollar counts—for growing their business, for paying employees, and for contributing to their community every day.

Right now, small businesses in Canada face steep credit card interchange fees.

When we buy something with our credit cards, small businesses pay a fee on that transaction—and the largest component is the interchange fee paid to the credit card issuing financial institutions, such as banks.

Canadians pay some of the highest interchange fees in the world, and that lowers the profit margins for small businesses and drives up prices for Canadians.

With more Canadians using credit cards than cash—a trend that we have seen especially since the pandemic—those fees can really add up for small businesses like this one.

And that is why I am so happy to be able to announce today that our government is delivering on our commitment to lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses.

We have reached agreements with Visa and Mastercard which will mean 90 per cent of credit card-accepting businesses are going to see lower fees, starting next year.

In fact, eligible small businesses, like Knowledge Bookstore, will see their fees reduced by up to 27 per cent.

Specifically, businesses with annual Visa sales below $300,000 will qualify for lower interchange fees from Visa, and those with annual Mastercard sales below $175,000 will qualify for lower fees from Mastercard.

So let me give you an example: if you own a small store with $300,000 in annual credit card sales, the agreements we are announcing today mean you could save $1,080 to your bottom line.

For a small business, that is money that you can use in so many ways—to advertise, to buy some more books, to buy new equipment, or to just give yourself a little extra breathing room.

Over the next five years, these agreements will save eligible Canadian small businesses about $1 billion.

And, we are doing this while protecting and preserving the rewards points Canadians receive from their credit cards.

Today’s announcement is great news for small businesses across Canada—for Sean and Carolette here at Knowledge Bookstore in Brampton, and for people like them from coast to coast to coast.

So before concluding, I’d like to thank the many, many people who worked really hard to secure these new agreements.

In particular, I’d like to thank Dan Kelly, the President and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Dan is with us today and we worked very closely with him to get this deal done.

Your hard work and advocacy really make a difference for small businesses across the country, and I really appreciate the work that we’ve been able to do together with you.

Today is a great day for Canada, it’s a great day for the small businesses that many of us depend on, and I’m very glad to be here with Sean, Carolette and some other local Brampton businesses to celebrate.

Thank you all very much.