On October 24, 2026, Visa Canada widens its Small Merchant Interchange Program. Businesses with up to $750,000 a year in Visa volume will qualify, up from $300,000, and the program's in-store rate on everyday Visa Classic, Gold and Platinum credit cards drops from 0.77% to 0.70%. Whether that saving actually reaches you depends on how you're priced, what your processor does with the cut, and whether you know where to look on your statement.

This matters most for self-checkout lanes, micromarkets and unattended stores. With no cashier, nearly every sale goes through a card reader. Here's a plain-English guide to how those fees work, what changes this month, and your rights under the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada.

Why unattended stores end up cashless, and what that costs you

Cash needs a person to make change, count the float and prepare deposits. In an office-lobby micromarket or a store that opens overnight through an app, nobody is there to do it, so most operators go card-only or close to it. Self-checkout lanes lean towards cards too, since a cash acceptor is extra hardware to buy and service.

Going cashless removes the cost and risk of handling cash, but card fees then apply to nearly every sale. The convenience sector already feels this. The Convenience Industry Council of Canada (CICC) said in its 2025 pre-budget submission that card fees are stores' second-highest cost, next only to payroll. Its 2026 submission says nearly 85% of gas purchases are now made by credit card and, because 47% of sales are taxes, retailers pay fees on the tax portion of every sale.

An unattended format removes the cash alternative entirely. The good news: "card fees" aren't one fixed number. They depend on the card type, your size and what you agreed with your processor, and you control more of that than you might think.

Interac debit vs. credit: two very different fee models

Credit cards are priced as a percentage. Most of the cost is interchange, set by the network and paid to the bank that issued the card, plus network assessment fees and your processor's markup. Premium cards cost more. Payment Review's September 2026 summary of the published schedules puts Visa's standard in-store interchange at 1.25% for a Classic, Gold or Platinum card and 1.57% for Visa Infinite. On Mastercard's side, it lists 0.92% for a Core card and 1.56% for World Elite.

Interac debit is priced per transaction. According to the same summary, Interac charges no percentage interchange. Chip-and-PIN carries no interchange at all; a contactless (Flash) tap costs 3.5¢ at a standard merchant (5.5¢ from $100.01 to $250), plus a network switch fee of about 1.6¢. The wholesale cost of a $100 debit tap is about a nickel.

What you pay is another story. Among the providers Payment Review compared, the published price of that same $100 tap ranged from about 5¢ to 82¢, with some charging a flat amount and others a percentage plus a fee. For your store:

• Ask exactly how your processor prices Interac, both tap and chip. Where many shoppers tap debit, that line can matter more than the credit rate.
• The small-merchant program doesn't touch debit. Every saving discussed below is on credit only.
• You don't have to accept both. Under the Code, you may choose to accept a network's credit cards, its debit cards, or both.

The small-merchant program: thresholds, automatic enrolment and what changes on October 24

Where it started. In October 2024, federal agreements with Visa and Mastercard cut in-store interchange on domestic consumer credit cards for qualifying small businesses to an annual weighted average of 0.95%. The Department of Finance said more than 90% of businesses that accept credit cards would get lower rates, with interchange reduced by up to 27%. Its example: a store with $300,000 a year in credit card sales could save about $1,080.

Each network sets its own threshold, so you can qualify with one and not the other.

• Visa: annual Visa volume under $300,000 until now, rising to $750,000 on October 24, 2026. According to Visa's program guide, as quoted by Payment Review, that volume includes Visa credit, debit and prepaid cards across all your processors.
• Mastercard: annual Mastercard credit volume under $175,000. As of September 21, 2026, Payment Review found no bulletin changing this threshold.

Enrolment is automatic. Visa's program guide says Visa and acquirers identify eligible merchants and enrol them automatically; you don't apply. Because volume is counted across processors, splitting it between two won't keep you under the line. Ask your processor which 12-month window it uses to measure your volume.

What changes on October 24 (Visa Canada's September 4 bulletin and Payment Review):

• Threshold: $300,000 → $750,000 in annual Visa volume.
• In store, Classic, Gold and Platinum: 0.77% → 0.70%.
• In store, Visa Infinite: 0.99% → 0.89%.
• Online, Classic, Gold and Platinum: 1.30% → 1.20%.
• Not a cut: the standard rate on Visa business credit cards rises from 2.00% to 2.15%; small-merchant rates don't apply to them.

A worked example. Payment Review takes a business with $250,000 a year in in-store Visa sales on everyday consumer cards. At the standard 1.25%, interchange is $3,125. In the program today it's $1,925; from October 24, $1,750. That's interchange only; network fees and processor markup come on top.

Two cautions: at least one major Canadian acquirer says merchants who surcharge don't qualify for Visa's program, and that savings can be reversed if a merchant is found ineligible at the annual check.

Flat-rate vs. interchange-plus: how to read your monthly statement

Interchange-plus. You pay actual interchange and network fees plus a set markup. When the network rate drops, your cost usually follows.

Flat or blended rate. One rate (for example, a single percentage for all credit cards) regardless of the underlying cost. Simple and predictable, but a network cut doesn't automatically change your price. After the 2024 cut, Payment Review found some flat-rate providers lowered prices and others didn't.

Either way, the Code entitles you to a monthly statement showing:

• Your effective merchant discount rate for each card type: total acquirer and network core fees for that card type, divided by your sales on it.
• The rate and total amount charged for interchange (or wholesale discount rates), for network assessment fees and for all other charges.
• The number and dollar volume of transactions for each type of payment.

On a flat or blended plan, it must also show the rate you pay per transaction (including any percentage and extra charges) and the rate and total for fees not included in it.

How to use it: keep your October statement and compare it with November's, card type by card type. On interchange-plus, a qualifying store's in-store Visa Classic line should show 0.70%. On a flat rate, check whether your rate moved at all.

Your rights under the Code: fee-change notices and the 70-day exit window

According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), the Code, revised in 2024, gives you these protections:

• Notice. Your processor must notify you 30 to 60 calendar days before the effective date of any fee increase, any new fee and any reduction in domestic network core fees that it isn't passing on to you.
• What the notice must say. Old and new amounts, who made the change, how much is passed on to you, and your right to give notice of your intent to exit within 70 calendar days after the change takes effect, including the date that period ends.
• Penalty-free exit. You can cancel without penalty if you didn't get proper notice, or within 70 days of the change if you did. The processor must then send cancellation documents within five business days.
• Exceptions. No notice is needed if your plan automatically passes on the full benefit of a network reduction, or for pre-agreed scheduled changes such as a promotional rate ending.
• Renewals. You can decline to renew with at least 45 calendar days' notice, and a fixed-term agreement can only auto-renew for periods of six months or less.

In practice: if you qualify for the October 24 cut and get notice that it won't be passed on in full, write down when your 70-day window ends.

Surcharging and payment-method discounts (and why Québec is different)

Outside Québec, you may add a surcharge to credit card transactions, but only within the card networks' rules. FCAC lists requirements such as:

• giving advance written notice to your processor and/or the network,
• a maximum cap of 2.4%, and never more than your actual cost of accepting the card,
• not surcharging on top of a service or convenience fee, and
• displaying surcharge information at the point of sale, at the store entrance and on every receipt.

The surcharge must be disclosed before the transaction is completed, and customers must be able to cancel without penalty and pay another way, such as debit or cash. Some networks forbid surcharges on prepaid cards or debit. For an unattended store, that means door signs, an on-screen message before payment, the surcharge on the receipt and a non-surcharged way to pay. It may also cost you the small-merchant rate.

In Québec, the answer is no. Québec's Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC) says merchants can't charge fees for paying by debit or credit card, and a sign or verbal warning doesn't make it legal. Set up Québec kiosks with no payment-method fees.

Discounts are a different tool. Under the Code, you may offer discounts for different payment methods (cash, debit or credit) and between card networks, for example a small debit discount to nudge shoppers towards a cheaper payment type. In Québec, check with the OPC first how its advertised-price rules apply.

A checklist before you sign with a processor for a new lane, market or store

If you're adding self-checkout lanes, ask early whether the POS supports Interac tap and chip plus all major credit cards on your processor of choice. Then work through this list:

• ☐ Every quote includes the Code's Cost per Transaction Disclosure and Disclosure of Fees, with the card mix and volumes assumed.
• ☐ Pricing model (interchange-plus or flat-rate) is clear, and you have in writing whether network reductions are passed on in full.
• ☐ You have the Interac price per tap and chip, and pricing for premium and business credit cards.
• ☐ Expected Visa and Mastercard volumes across all locations are checked against the $750,000 and $175,000 thresholds.
• ☐ You know whether surcharging affects small-merchant eligibility, and Québec sites charge no card fees.
• ☐ The agreement's cover page shows term, renewal and expiry dates, cancellation fees and equipment terms.
• ☐ You know when any promotional rate ends and what replaces it.
• ☐ Statements include the Code's required fields, and you have the complaint-handling contact.

Three things to do this fall

1. Check your eligibility now. Add up your annual Visa volume (credit, debit and prepaid) and Mastercard credit volume, and ask your processor whether you're enrolled in each program.
2. Compare statements in November. Put October and November side by side and check the effective rate for each Visa card type.
3. Ask your processor in writing. Ask whether the October 24 reduction is being passed on in full. If not, check that you got the Code's required notice and note when your 70-day window closes.

Planning self-checkout lanes, a micromarket or an unattended store? Talk to us →

Sources

• Visa Canada, Upcoming Interchange Modifications (September 4, 2026): visa.ca (PDF)
• Payment Review, Canada's small-merchant interchange cut widens on 24 October (September 21, 2026): paymentreview.com
• Department of Finance Canada, Government reduces credit card fees by 27 per cent for small business owners (October 17, 2024): canada.ca
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Merchant rights under the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada: canada.ca
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Merchant surcharges, service and convenience fees, and discounts: canada.ca
• Office de la protection du consommateur, Payment by Debit or Credit Card: Prohibited Fees (updated May 30, 2025): opc.gouv.qc.ca
• Convenience Industry Council of Canada, Pre-Budget Submission 2025: convenienceindustry.ca (PDF)
• Convenience Industry Council of Canada, Pre-Budget Submission 2026: convenienceindustry.ca (PDF)

This article is general information, not financial or legal advice.