Industry committee  I'll respond to the security issue. That is misleading because the security facet of the card exists regardless of the type of card. So it could be a regular card or a premium card. As we all go toward chip cards, all the different credit cards as well as the debit cards will have the chip card as the security feature.

Finance committee  In fact, they are from one of our colleagues. It's from their numbers, so I'll let Madam Chayer respond, if you don't mind.

Finance committee  I'm sure there are, Mr. Rajotte. The problem is we are not clear on what all the fees are or what is charged in that bundle of fees. I think the best way to do that is to provide you with statements. We have been asking the processors to unbundle the statements so that people know what they're paying for.

Finance committee  I'll respond to the security issue. That is misleading because the security facet of the card exists regardless of the type of card. So it could be a regular card or a premium card. As we all go toward chip cards, all the different credit cards as well as the debit cards will have the chip card as the security feature.

Industry committee  That is correct.

Industry committee  Thank you. Well over two-thirds of the discount merchant rate is comprised of the interchange. The larger amount is usually the interchange, or what I would call the Visa or MasterCard rates, which would include interchange, their assessment fee, and any other fee they charge where you cannot negotiate.

Industry committee  Thank you. In fact, I want to echo a comment that Catherine made a bit earlier on to Ms. Coady's excellent question. The problem is that for merchants, not only are they dealing with this interchange fee that Visa and MasterCard have published, but they are also dealing with an assessment fee.

Industry committee  The only negotiation the merchant can make is on the processing fee and not on the fees charged by Visa and MasterCard.

Finance committee  That is correct.

Finance committee  Thank you. Well over two-thirds of the discount merchant rate is comprised of the interchange. The larger amount is usually the interchange, or what I would call the Visa or MasterCard rates, which would include interchange, their assessment fee, and any other fee they charge where you cannot negotiate.

Finance committee  Thank you. In fact, I want to echo a comment that Catherine made a bit earlier on to Ms. Coady's excellent question. The problem is that for merchants, not only are they dealing with this interchange fee that Visa and MasterCard have published, but they are also dealing with an assessment fee.

Finance committee  The only negotiation the merchant can make is on the processing fee and not on the fees charged by Visa and MasterCard.

Industry committee  In fact, no one knows the reason. It also obviously supports the argument that there's no correlation between the service provided and the cost charged to the merchant.

Finance committee  In fact, no one knows the reason. It also obviously supports the argument that there's no correlation between the service provided and the cost charged to the merchant.

Industry committee  In fact, yes. If a retailer signs a contract with the processor to accept either Visa or MasterCard, the contract itself is very specific. They cannot inform the consumer of the fee they're paying to accept a card. They cannot encourage the consumer to change the card, in fact, to sway them to another product.