Buy Canadian

Ahh, so as an American my only option is cash. 😔

I work for an American credit card company, and my advice is to ditch credit and debit cards entirely. Use cash.

I nearly asked "What about American Express?". Sometimes I wonder how I graduated kindergarten.

The Canadian banks are big enough to build a wholly Canadian credit system for global use, especially if they could get everyone in Canada (and maybe elsewhere) to switch right now.

They probably get too many incentives from Visa and Mastercard to find it enticing though, which is why they're always pushing credit cards and offering cashback and airmiles, etc.

I think there is a European alternative being developed. Perhaps we can get in on that.

For this to work, Interac needs to incentivize using it like credit cards do.

All types of loans require a credit score of some kind, and credit cards are one of the best ways to build this. Additionally, credit cards usually offer some kind of return.

Also because of poverty, a lot of people have a dependency on credit or payment plans.

Interac needs to make a Canadian answer to the credit card.

I’m on board for this but this proposal is up against a familiar devil: the network effect.

Shops support Visa and Mastercard because customers use them, customers use them because shops support them. This creates a powerful network that is extremely difficult for an upstart to unseat.

So while it’s a good idea to encourage people to take individual action on this — and you’re doing a great job doing so, and I’m taking it to heart for my own actions — we also need to accompany this with a policy solution to help overcome the network effect.

I’ve given up taking visa / Amex / Mastercard. My business now only accepts Interac e-transfer and cash.

Interac is hands down the most secure way to pay for something. I never have to take a card from a customer, the customer never has to take on additional debt, the money is automatically deposited into my account within seconds, and it costs me absolutely no money to do this and I have to pay no money to a merchant to make it happen.

I wish I could do this at more places.

Just like tipping, a percentage system makes no sense. It's the exact same work to bring me a $50 meal vs a $500 one. And for payment processing, a flat fee makes much more sense because there's no difference in processing a $100 transaction vs a $10,000 one.

So why does a percentage-based system persist? Because workers want higher wages (understandable when restaurants refuse to pay them more and expect the customer to pay part of their income). And for giant corporations like Visa and MasterCard, it's literally never enough for them. They can make more money, so that's the only reason. It's so dumb...

This is a brilliant strategy. Thank you for sharing that.

I have never yet had a problem challenging and reversing a charge made to my credit card. Their fraud detection also seems to be superior. On the other hand, members of my family have had to jump through hoops when challenging fraudulent Interac transactions. They have felt like they are being seen as the more likely perpetrator, and meanwhile the money is no longer in their account while the process drags out. Very stressful.

I have a cash back VISA card. The week after Jan 20, I pulled my card info off every online service I use, stopped using the card entirely, and a few days ago canceled it completely. It was a tough choice. I generally earned about $600 a year cash back, but it's time to free ourselves of America and forge our own path. I don't really see the Can/American relationship ever being repaired at this point. Time to move on.

In Brazil, there is no alternative :(

For a huge chunk of the internet there isn't one either. If Visa/Mastercard suddenly decide they don't want to do business with you anymore, you're fucked.

YES, I ain't even Canadian but been saying this since day, those 2 companies are such a huge factor in how much leverage this 2 party dictatorship has over majority of the world, that and Microsoft, Apple, Google etc. This is why Cash is King, and using American payment processors just feeds their power and leverage over global finance.

You can see how its affected Russia when US payment processors halted operations as part of sanctions. The only viable alternative is using Monero for online transactions and physical cash.

Monero is the only realistic and promising way of paying people online without relying on the two largest payment processors on the planet, fully under the control of the US. The ONLY crypto that's actually treated and used as a currency, rather than a stock like btc, and actually has any real world use and offers privacy.

It’s not all or nothing as you have options folks:

1. If you still want to use credit cards to increase your credit rating and to receive the cashback you can just Interac/cash/direct deposit for small businesses and charities then use the credit cards for the big guys.

2. You can also just boycott Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover for the duration of the trade war or the Trump presidency.

Sometimes incremental change is the way to go.

Additional information from Goodsuniteus on the political contributions of the credit processors:

Visa: 51% democrat / 49% republican / very high contribution level.

Mastercard: 56% democrat / 44% republican / very high contribution level.

American Express: 56% democrat / 44% republican / very high contribution level.

Discover: 72% democrat / 28% republican / very high contribution level. (May be acquired by Capital One)

Capitol One: 48% democrat / 52% republican / contribution level very high.

PayPal: 66% democrat / 34% republican / contribution level high.

Apple Pay: 85% democrat / 15% republican / contribution level very high.

Google Pay: 85% democrat / 15% republican / contribution level very high.

Samsung Pay: 63% democrat / 37% republican / contribution level medium. (At least South Korean)

When I was paying at a local shop recently, I mentioned to the owner I'm trying to pay cash now rather than card because Visa is a US company and he he thanked me, since using a credit card costs them money.

What happens if your card is Interac and Visa debit?

Nationalize them! Bring this back under societal control and eliminate that tax.

Then SpaceX, Twitter, and Amazon.

Of course this assumes we defeat the fascists and fix the Supreme Court first.

I actually need the cash back I get from my credit card though, it's more than 1000 per year

Please understand that there are also many third party card processors. That is the company that takes the transaction from the merchant to the payment system. The payment system then takes the transaction to the bank.

Don't be discouraged, but someone may need to become card processors to vendors.

Pressure on Visa and MasterCard may work, but the boycott will need to overcome license fees.

See, not using Google Pay is something even I, a non-Canadian, European person can do. doingmypart.jpg!

I have the same question as sloppychops. If my interac debit card is also Visa, how would I know whether the payment terminal is routing through Visa or Interac?

I am one who offers to pay in cash sometimes to small businesses, treating it like an additional tip. But more and more businesses in the Vancouver area use Clover (A Canadian subsidiary owned by Wells Fargo) and Square (American fintech), and either take card only (which they get their cut with Interac debit too), or the staff get a little impatient when I rummage around for cash in my wallet.

It's not in any way a tax. It's a fee you pay for a service you wish to use. It's as much a tax as the money spent on a doughnut is a tax.

The rest of your idea is great. Wish I had access to something like that.