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(Oct. 20/09) The Senate Banking Committee’s unanimous support of CRFA’s calls for greater government oversight of credit card companies and swift action in reforming Canada’s credit card system was cause for celebration this summer. CRFA wrote to the Minister of Finance and other key Members of Parliament, Ministers, Senators and stakeholders, urging the government to implement the Senate report’s recommendations.
Members of Parliament and the federal Minister of Finance also heard from over 700 restaurant operators through a CRFA petition.
Recently, Senator Ringuette from the province of New Brunswick introduced two bills in the Senate to regulate MasterCard and Visa.
The first would designate Visa and MasterCard as payment systems under the Canada Payments Act, and the second would amend the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Act to provide for an oversight body to monitor and make recommendations relating to use of credit cards and debit cards in the country. Restaurant Caucus MP Shawn Murphy has indicated he will champion these bills in the House of Commons.
At the same time, the Minister of Finance has been working on a voluntary code of conduct for credit card companies—an announcement is expected soon on what this code entails. CRFA views this development as an important step, provided the code establishes appropriate rules of play and has some ‘teeth.’ Expediency is key, as both Visa and MasterCard are launching new debit products this fall.
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