This article offers further details regarding the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada.
The purpose of the Code of Conduct for the Payment Card Industry in Canada (the “Code”) is to demonstrate the Payment Card industry’s commitment to:
Ensuring that merchants are fully aware of the costs associated with accepting Payment Cards, thereby allowing merchants to reasonably forecast their monthly costs related to accepting such payments;
Providing merchants with increased pricing flexibility to encourage consumers to choose the lowest-cost payment option while ensuring merchants receive clear information about their contractual terms, including changes to fees or rates, to facilitate informed decision making and maintain transparency.
Allowing merchants to freely choose which payment options to accept.
Worldpay for Platforms and each Partner share a responsibility to follow the Code of Conduct and meet the regulatory obligations designed to protect Canadian merchants.
Below we have detailed the applicable Element of Codes for a better understanding of the Code. For defined terms please refer to the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada.
For more information, see the Payrix Pro Canada Sub-Merchant Agreement.
Element 1: Transparency and Disclosure Element
All disclosures, notices, and communications required under the Code, whether provided in writing or digitally, must be presented in a clear, simple, and non-misleading manner.
Card Payment Processing Applications (Fee Disclosures)
To allow merchants to easily compare pricing across different providers, Worldpay’s card processing applications/quotes/proposals must include the “Cost per Transaction Disclosure” (formerly Fee Disclosure Box) and “Disclosure of Fees” (formerly Other Fees Disclosure).
The data and rationale used to populate the “Cost Per Transaction Disclosure”, such as Card mix and volumes, must be provided to merchants to ensure that merchants can obtain more easily comparable quotes. Any promotional offers and/or bundled services included in the Card processing application/quote/proposal must be disclosed, including the length of the promotional period (where applicable).
Merchant Agreements
All Merchant Agreements must include a cover page, or if sent electronically, a separate document(s), that includes the following:
Summary of the Key Elements of the Agreement (previously known as Information Summary Box)
Cost Per Transaction Disclosure (previously known as Fee Disclosure Box); and
Disclosure of Fees (previously known as Other Fees Disclosure)
Additionally, Merchants may now provide express consent to not receive the above disclosures if the agreement has been negotiated between the parties with both having the benefit of legal counsel. Only the merchant with whom Worldpay has the agreement may provide express consent to not receive these disclosures. However, these disclosures, or updates.
Merchant Statements
Merchants must receive and/or have access to the following information, as applicable, no less frequently than monthly:
The effective merchant discount rate1 will now only need to be shown for the aggregate of each PCNO card type (debit, credit and prepaid) the merchant accepted during the period;
the rate and total amount charged for interchange, wholesale discount rates, network assessment fees, and all other rates and fees charged by Worldpay in that period; and
the number and volume of transactions for each type of payment transaction.
For blended/flat rate pricing models, in lieu of the above information, merchants must receive and/or have access to the following information, as applicable, no less frequently than monthly:
the per transaction rate, inclusive of any percentage discount rates and any per transaction supplemental charge; and
the rate and total amount charged for interchange, wholesale discount rates, network assessment fees, and all other rates and fees charged by Worldpay in that period not included in the per transaction rate described above.
Element 3: Contract Cancellation
Should Worldpay for Platforms or Payrix Pro Partners increase fees, introduce a new fee related to any credit or debit card transactions, or not pass on the savings from a reduction in applicable interchange rates, merchants have the right to cancel their agreement with their partners at any time with no penalty or termination fees.
Merchants must be able to cancel their agreements related to the provision of Card processing, including Related Service Agreements without penalty within 70 calendar days after the effective date of the following:
For greater certainty, if a merchant, on its own initiative, enters into separate contractual arrangements with an unrelated Downstream Participant or other entity, the contract with the separate Downstream Participant or other entity constitutes a separate agreement and is not considered a Related Service Agreement under the Code.
Element 4: No Obligation Acceptance
Merchants must be provided with between 30 and 60 calendar days prior to the effective date of:
any new or increased Acquirer/Processor Fee passed on in part or in full to merchants.
any new or increased applicable* domestic PCNO Core Fee passed on in part or in full to merchants; or
any reductions in applicable* domestic PCNO Core Fees not passed on in full to merchants.
The notice provided to merchants must clearly state:
the previous and the new amount(s) of interchange rates, wholesale discount rates, network assessment fees, or any other rate and fee charged
whether the change originates from the PCNO, Acquirer, or Downstream Participant
the amount of the change that will be passed on to the merchant; and,
that the merchant has a right to provide notice of its intent to exit its agreement without penalty within 70 calendar days after the effective date of the upcoming change. The notice to the merchant must include the date on which the 70-calendar day period expires. If a merchant’s agreement has no fixed term or penalties for cancellation, the merchant must be provided instead with a reminder of its right to exit without penalty at any time.
*“applicable” means only those domestic PCNO Core Fees that apply to an individual merchant and/or the transactions originated by that individual merchant. For example, if a PCNO Core Fee for a specific rate program is reduced, but the transactions originated by the merchant do not qualify for those program-specific rates, then those program-specific reductions do not apply to that merchant. Notification to the merchant is required for domestic PCNO Core Fee reductions that are applicable to that merchant but will not be passed on in full.
Element 5: Payment Method Discount Element
Merchants may accept either domestically issued credit or domestically issued debit card payments from a PCNO without being obligated to accept both.
Element 6: Negative-Option Acceptance
Negative option acceptance is not allowed.
As a business practice in Canada, Worldpay for Platforms does not allow negative option acceptance. Should a new product or service be offered, it is marketed to existing merchants who can choose to sign up for the new offering by signing an amended agreement.
Element 7: Renewal of Merchant Agreements and Related Service Agreements
Merchant may provide notice of non-renewal at any point during their agreement period, including for any Related Service Agreement, up to 45 calendar days prior to agreement renewal or prior to the end of each renewal term.
Merchants under fixed-term agreements, including Related Service Agreements, will not automatically be renewed for the full initial term but may convert to automatically renewable agreement extensions of six months or less.
Element 8: Discounts for Different Payment Methods Disclosure
Merchants may provide discounts for different payment methods and differential discounts among different card networks
Elements 9-12: Do not apply to Worldpay for Platforms
Element 13: Complaint Handling Process
PCNOs, Acquirers, and Downstream Participants must ensure that:
merchants have access to a clear, simple, and transparent complaint handling process, provided by their Acquirer and/or Downstream Participant, that investigates merchant complaints of Code noncompliance in a timely manner. Acquirers may delegate responsibility for this complaint handling to their Downstream Participant, provided that the complaints are included in the Acquirer’s reporting to PCNOs;
merchants are provided information about how and where to make a complaint;
adequate Code training is in place for all applicable employees;
a summary of the complaint handling process is posted prominently on the Acquirer and/or Downstream Participant’s website;
the process of making and investigating a complaint is easy for complainants to access and understand;
accountability for complaint handling within the PCNO, Acquirer, and Downstream Participant is clearly established, and complaints and responses are monitored and reported to management; and,
complaints are acknowledged within a maximum of five (5) business days;
investigated and addressed within a maximum of 20 business days (30 business days for PCNOs) according to order of urgency; and the complainant is kept notified and informed throughout the process. If a response cannot be provided within 20 business days (or 30 business days for PCNOS), the merchant must be informed of the reason for the delay and the expected response time.