(Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will stop accepting Visa Inc. credit cards at all 16 of its stores in the Canadian province of Manitoba as of Oct. 24, extending a ban that began two months ago in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The retailer informed customers of the change on its Canadian website and in stores Thursday. Wal-Mart's Canadian unit has threatened to expel Visa from all 406 of its stores nationwide unless the network agrees to lower the amount it charges for credit-card transactions. Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, stopped accepting Visa at its three Thunder Bay outlets on July 18.
Walmart Canada, which pays more than C$100 million ($76 million) to accept credit cards annually, called the fees Visa charges “unacceptably high” in a June 11 statement on its website.
“Walmart's decision to further limit Visa acceptance in Manitoba is disappointing," Visa spokeswoman Carla Hindman said in an e-mailed statement. “We know from our experience in Thunder Bay that consumers want the option to use the payment method of their choice when shopping -- including at Walmart stores. Visa remains committed to actively working with Walmart so that Canadians can use their Visa cards wherever they wish to shop."
To contact the reporter on this story: Doug Alexander in Toronto at dalexander3@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net, David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net, Steve Dickson, Alan Mirabella
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