Canada’s Competition Bureau rejected Interac Association’s request for for-profit status because the country’s sole debit card network’s business has not yet been affected by the intentions of Visa Inc. and MasterCard Worldwide to enter the country’s debit card market.
“Visa and MasterCard have not significantly entered the debit card marketplace,” says a bureau spokesperson. “And their intention to enter the market has not affected Interac’s ability to raise funds.”
Visa and MasterCard have announced plans to introduce their own PIN-debit initiatives to Canada, possibly as soon as the second quarter of this year.
Interac operates Canada’s sole PIN-debit network, and since 1996 has operated under a consent order governing its structure and how it collects and sets fees. Interac requested a change to the consent order, but the Ottawa-based bureau rejected the application on Feb. 12 (
The bureau, an independent government agency that enforces competition, however, left the door open to review its decision should the PIN-debit market change.
If the competition bureau eventually approves Interac’s request, it will forward its decision to the Ottawa-based competition tribunal, a five-member board. The tribunal would make the final decision, says the bureau spokesperson.
