We need only look to the U.S. to see how the two card companies suppressed efficient debit card services similar to Interac. Fees have since skyrocketed, and now include both flat fees and ad valorem percentage rates. We ask the committee to consider the following: why should the debit fees bear any relation to the size of transaction at the point of sale? The money is transferred from the customer's account to the issuer in real time.
It's clearly not a loan or a credit advance. How can Visa and MasterCard justify charging an ad valorem percentage fee? The answer is simple: because they can. They're unregulated. It's odd that Canada would contemplate going over to an unregulated U.S.-style system here, since those who are familiar with the U.S. system have expressed admiration for the Interac system we have in Canada.
Diane will talk about the solutions.