Canada has finalised a deal with Visa and Mastercard to lower credit card interchange fees for small businesses.
From next Autumn, small businesses and non-profits with less than $300,000 in Visa sales and less than $175,000 in Mastercard sales will qualify for fee cuts of up to 27%.
Bringing in-store transactions to an annual weighted average interchange rate of 0.95% is expected to save eligible Canadian small businesses about $1 billion over five years, says the government.
In addition, the deal sees Visa and Mastercard provide free access to online fraud and cybersecurity resources.
Rechie Valdez, minister for small business, says: "Reducing costs on small businesses will enable them to further invest in their business and its growth, while helping support their success now and into the future."
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says the agreement "brings some welcome relief," but called for the addition of other credit card providers and a rise in the thresholds.