Small business owners in Canada are calling on consumers to use cash and debit cards instead of credit cards and are hoping to be able to post signs to that effect.
At the forefront of the campaign is the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which said that it planned to give its business members signs which read “Would you consider paying with cash or debit?” the Toronto Star reports. However, the signs have yet to be posted because the federal competition bureau said that encouraging people to use cash violated "anti-competitive rules."
Small business representatives defended the proposal, saying that credit card companies charge high rates to use their cards. Dan Kelly, the CFIB's senior vice president, said that business owners should be able to post the signs.
"We would like to know of any Visa or MasterCard rules that would disallow a merchant from encouraging lower cost payment options," Kelly wrote in a letter to the companies, the Star reports.
Kelly made other small business news when he raised concerns about hydroelectric bills. In an interview with CTV he said that businesses needed to take steps to lower their usage.
