Mr. Speaker, as announced in the 2022 fall economic statement, the government is working with the payment card industry and businesses to lower credit card transaction fees for small businesses in a manner that does not adversely affect other businesses and protects existing reward points for consumers. The government is moving quickly and has initiated discussions with payment card networks, financial institutions, acquirers, payment processors and business associations.
Concurrent with the fall economic statement announcement, the government released draft legislative amendments to the Payment Card Networks Act and indicated that should the industry not come to an agreement in the coming months, it would introduce legislation at the earliest possible opportunity in the new year and move forward with regulating credit card transaction fees.