The credit card companies will probably tell you that consumers don't pay the interchange. In fact, I would like to remind the committee that a representative of the Mouvement Desjardins, which is both issuer and acquirer, told the Senate Committee on Banking and Commerce, and I quote: “Consumers always end up on the hook for all costs associated with the payment service.”
The coalition obviously isn't opposed to payment by credit card. This payment method is practical, secure and particularly valued by consumers. As businesses living from customer service, merchants must accept the payment methods that consumers choose. Merchants also understand that no service is free.
However, looking at the table that we are presenting to you, Table 6, you see that a very small portion of the fees paid by merchants go to processing of the transaction itself, only 13%.