Last fall, Telus started charging a 1.5% credit card processing fee, to be applied when customers would pay bills with their Visa or Mastercard.
Telus told customers to consider “using alternative payment options” to avoid the fee, giving examples of one-time payments at your bank, recurring bank payments through pre-authorized debit, or Visa Debit, Visa Prepaid and Mastercard Prepaid.
In December, the CRTC blocked Telus’ 1.5% credit card processing fee.
“We heard Canadians loud and clear: close to 4,000 of you told us that you should not be subjected to an additional fee based on the method you choose to pay your bill,” said outgoing CRTC chair and CEO Ian Scott at the time. “We expect the telecommunications industry to treat Canadians with respect and do better.”
According to information from iPhone in Canada readers, Telus quietly removed its 1.5% credit card fee as of June 1, 2023. Telus no longer warns customers of the credit card processing fee when paying a bill with a credit card.
Back in March, Canada’s 2023 Budget also specifically mentioned the government would tackle “junk fees”, to stop Canadians from being gouged by various businesses when it came to telecom roaming charges, excess baggage fees, concert fees and more.
As of writing, the Telus website still details its credit card processing fee that began on October 17, 2022, applied to consumer mobility and home services. Telus prepaid accounts and all customers in Quebec were excluded from the fee, with the latter benefiting from strong consumer protection laws.
Fellow rivals Rogers and Bell did not follow suit by charging their own credit card processing fee, so with Telus the sole major telecom applying the fee, it did not make for good optics.
We’ve reached out to Telus for a statement regarding the end of its 1.5% credit card processing fee, and will update this story accordingly.
Update June 20, 2023: A Telus spokesperson told iPhone in Canada in a statement, “After thoughtful review, we have removed the Credit Card Processing Fee on bill payments. We want our customers to know that we heard their concerns, and we thank them for sharing their feedback.”
