I will summarize. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We went over some documents during our last presentation.
I'm not sure they were circulated today, but I certainly will not go over those notes. I thought it was important to be invited again—and thank you—to comment on the voluntary code of conduct for credit and debit cards, and particularly the misleading comments made by VISA and MasterCard during their testimony. I don't use my words lightly.
We thought we would go on record to ensure that the committee understood the point of view of small, mid-sized, and large retailers in this country. Let's be clear: Retail Council of Canada only speaks for merchants; it does not speak for other businesses. Its membership represents
80% of total retail sales in Canada.
So this is from the retail perspective.
We believe the code did serve the retail community well by ensuring that retailers could say yes to VISA credit or MasterCard credit, but be allowed to say no to VISA debit or indeed MasterCard debit. That was extremely important. As we heard Kirkland discuss, there's a huge difference between the price of accepting a credit card and a debit card, specifically an Interac debit card.
We believe, however, that the code now needs to address fair competition in the mobile and online world, so that transparency and choice are still available to merchants, specifically small and mid-sized merchants.
We also believe that the Competition Bureau needs to move on the Interac restructure, to ensure that there's a healthier and more effective governance model, so that Interac can reinvest and be competitive in the mobile and online world.
Mr. Chairman, I'll end by just adding a few comments in French.
Retail electronic debit and credit card services benefit two parties: merchants and consumers. Consumers enjoy payment choices and the ability to buy goods instantly through debit cards or credit lines. But while consumers are free to choose their method of payment, merchants must absorb differing costs.
A 2010 Competition Bureau press release suggests that the purchase of $400 worth of tires costs a merchant 12¢ if the customer uses a debit card, and $12 if the customer uses a credit card that carries a 3% fee. And it goes without saying that the costs are also a reality when it comes to mobile and online technologies. So we are here to ensure that the Interac system continues to be available in stores, as well as online and in mobile payments.
Thank you.