Walmart Canada stores will stop accepting Visa Inc cards because the credit card provider charges merchants "unacceptably high" fees, the retailer said on Saturday. Walmart has been unable to agree with Visa on an "acceptable fee" and will no longer accept the company's credit cards starting July 18, it said in a statement.
The company added it still hoped to reach an agreement with Visa. The decision will not affect the US stores of parent Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
"Walmart made this business decision despite Visa offering one of the lowest rates available to any merchant in the country," a Visa spokeswoman said in a statement. "We are disappointed that Walmart chose to put their own financial interests ahead of their own consumers' choice."
Representatives of Walmart Canada and Visa declined to address questions on specifics of payment terms.
A Walmart Canada spokesman said the retailer pays more than C$100 million ($78 million) in credit card fees every year, but specific transaction fees are part of "confidential agreements."
Canadian retailers have long complained about what they call the high interchange fees they pay credit card companies.
In 2014 Visa and MasterCard Inc said they would trim Canadian transaction rates to an average effective rate of 1.5 percent, after complaints about their fees almost resulted in government intervention.
Unlike American Express Co, which typically negotiates a flat fee with every merchant, Visa and MasterCard have variable fees based on the status of their different cards.