The federal government announced Thursday, May 18-2023 fees charged to retailers for in-store transactions with credit cards will go down to 0.95 percent on average as part of a deal with Visa and Mastercard. (Jenny Kane/The Canadian Press)
Small businesses in Charlottetown, P.E.I., are happy to hear that Visa and Mastercard will charge a lower fee on credit card purchases.
The federal government announced Thursday that fees charged to retailers for in-store transactions will go down to 0.95 percent on average as part of a deal with the two payment-processing companies.
That has local business owners like Renita Gallant, who owns the animal accessory shop Two Beggars, feeling a sense of relief.
“Every little tiny bit helps for a small business. Our margins are pretty low as it is,” Gallant said.
“It’s just really nice to take what you actually earned.”
Gallant said with the reduced fees, she may consider lowering some prices. But for now, she said she’s just glad to know she won’t have to start charging more.
“It was definitely bad when we thought it was going to go up because we didn’t want to put our prices up,” Gallant said.
That’s something echoed by Madison Gallant, who owns Silver & Sage.
“You know, with inflation nowadays, I won’t have to raise my prices,” she said.
Keeping prices at a reasonable rate means returning customers, she added.