Canadian processor Moneris Solutions has hit
back against claims it is flouting the payment industry’s code of
conduct, deeming comments to be “inaccurate” and “misleading”.
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC) investigation
into Moneris’ conduct stems from complaints over notifications sent
to thousands of merchants, advising them of changes to payments
processing fees, due to come into effect in April 2011.
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According to Canadian newspaper, the Globe and Mail,
the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) accuses
Moneris of leaving retailers in the dark about whether the changes
will amount to an increase in their total fees.
It is reported that the CFIB claims Moneris’ “jargon-filled
letter is incomprehensible” and that the changes, in actual fact,
could lead to a “substantial” rise in processing fees.
In a statement, Moneris slams these comments as being
“inaccurate” and “misleading”. It says it is committed to
delivering clear and concise communication to all its
merchants.
“We recently informed merchants of a revised
pricing structure, in complete compliance with the code, which
introduced an interchange differential fee to better align a
merchant’s cost of processing payments with the types of cards they
accept,” said Moneris in a statement.
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By GlobalData“The introduction of premium cards has
increased pricing complexity in the Canadian market place and as
such processing costs for merchants may trend higher because
premium cards attract a higher interchange rate, as set by the
payment networks, such as Visa and MasterCard.”
Moneris then accuses the CFIB of underhand
activities, claiming a conflict of interest in which the Federation
directs its members to consider other payment processing options
with an emphasis on Chase Paymentech – a company in which it has a
partnership arrangement with.
The statement highlights that Chase Paymentech
introduced the same pricing structure “well before” Moneris.
Annette Robertson, press secretary for Finance Minister Jim
Flaherty, told the Globe and Mail an investigation into
Moneris’ conduct is underway but added the FCAC has no plans to
make its findings public.
