Finance committee  Again, it could be in our future plans. We will take into account the feedback we hear in the market in determining future interchange rate changes. What I would point out is that the system already delivers significant benefits to small merchants, in that it creates what we li

Industry committee  We think the system is working in some ways with the current debit products in Canada, but we think there are additional ways that consumers could use those cards. For example, they could use them online and when travelling around the world. We also think there is an issue with

Industry committee  Thank you for the question. It's not in our current plans to offer a preferential rate to members of the CFIB. It's something we could evaluate down the road. We always take into account what's happening in the market, the feedback we're hearing, and then incorporate that into f

Industry committee  Again, it could be in our future plans. We will take into account the feedback we hear in the market in determining future interchange rate changes. What I would point out is that the system already delivers significant benefits to small merchants, in that it creates what we li

Industry committee  Perhaps I'll just add to that. I've also spoken with all of the major acquirers in the Canadian market about those contracts, asked them that question, and as I understand it, none of the contracts out there currently prohibit them from offering discounts on cash.

Finance committee  Perhaps I'll just add to that. I've also spoken with all of the major acquirers in the Canadian market about those contracts, asked them that question, and as I understand it, none of the contracts out there currently prohibit them from offering discounts on cash.

Industry committee  I think clearly, with the debit product in markets today, which has zero interchange and low fees, they feel it's—as you mentioned—the lowest-cost form of payment. We like to look at payment more broadly, and competition more broadly, in that we look at the value a product provid

Industry committee  Ours is a hybrid fixed fee and percentage fee. It's a bit of both. It's a different model.

Industry committee  We disclose all those rates on our website.

Industry committee  We can provide some statistics to the committee.

Industry committee  Yes. We believe these are the highest-valued consumers to merchants. We set very specific spending or income thresholds for the cards to ensure that they are the most valuable customers. They spend the most and deliver the most value for retailers.

Industry committee  It's part of it. These cards deliver more value--the primary factor we consider in setting interchange rates on the merchant side. We also mandate a higher level of features to banks. We require banks to put in additional features, which costs money on these cards, and because of

Industry committee  A number of studies show that rewards drive consumer spending higher.

Industry committee  We disclose our interchange fee structure on our website. Any consumer or merchant with access to the Internet can see it.

Industry committee  A merchant's specific arrangement would be between it and its processor, it's acquirer. I'm not sure what their contracts require them to do in terms of confidentiality.