Visa will no longer be accepted at WalMart stores in Canada in the coming months. WalMart has stated that this decision is a result of the high transaction fees.
All credit card companies charge stores a fee based on the transaction amount. These fees range anywhere from 1 to 2 and a half percent. WalMart says that the fees charged by Visa are unacceptably high compared to other credit cards.
However, Visa says that it offers one of the lowest rates to merchants in Canada.
MasterCard, on the other hand, offers retailers discounted fees based on the total amount of transactions.
Stores in Thunder Bay will be the first to phase out Visa on July 18th, with the rest of WalMart stores in Canada phasing them out soon after. WalMart isn’t the first store to stop accepting the popular credit card – No Frills and Costco have done the same.
There are more than 400 stores in Canada, and the retailer will continue to accept MasterCard, American Express, and discover cards.