Walmart Canada to Stop Accepting Visa

Walmart will soon stop accepting Visa credit cards at its Canadian stores because it says the fees are “unacceptably high.”

“Unfortunately, Visa and Walmart have been unable to agree on an acceptable fee for Visa transactions,” says a statement from the retailer.

As a result, Walmart will stop accepting Visa in its stores across the country, starting with Thunder Bay on July 18. This change will then be rolled out in phases across Canada.

To keep costs low, the retailer says it continuously looks at ways to reduce its operating expenses. Walmart Canada pays more than $100 million in annual fees to accept credit cards but didn’t specify how much of that amount is for Visa fees.

Customers can continue to use other forms of payment including cash, debit, MasterCard, and American Express.

“We sincerely regret any impact this will have on our customers who use Visa and remain optimistic that we will reach an agreement with Visa,” says Walmart.

If you’re shopping for a new credit card because you only have a Visa card in your wallet, we recommend the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card. One of the best Mastercards in Canada, the Tangerine Money-Back Card is a particularly good fit for Walmart shoppers because it offers 2% cash back on purchases made at most Supercentre locations and doesn’t charge an annual fee.