Thank you for the question, Monsieur Thibeault.
I think that small and mid-size retailers will be back here in short order to talk about the costs associated with accepting mobile payments. The challenge is that they have very little leverage.
As I mentioned earlier with regard to the code of conduct, because VISA, MasterCard, and their issuing banks were unable to circulate those cards at the point of sale, merchants said, “No, it's too expensive. We want Interac debit. We'll take your credit card. We like it, but we can't afford anything else.”
Our concern is that the code does not protect the online world and the mobile world. They're kind of ignoring the bricks and mortar and are moving their VISA and MasterCard debit, with the different issuers, into the other world. As you know, the costs are substantially higher for merchants to accept VISA debit versus Interac debit.
What's interesting, in closing, Mr. Chairman, is that they always talk about more competition, that Interac has a monopoly. It's funny that a monopoly is cheaper than the competition. It's odd how that's working. Until such time as they can really bring a competitive product to the market and there's an association between the cost we pay and the service provided, I think the code needs to continue to be refreshed so that we can ensure that they are transparent and competitive.