Payment Card Networks Act

An Act respecting payment card networks Short title This Act may be cited as the Payment Card Networks Act. Purpose The purpose of this Act is to regulate national payment card networks and the commercial practices of payment card network operators. Definitions The following definitions apply in this Act. acquirer means an entity that enables merchants to accept payments by payment card by providing merchants with access to a payment card network for the transmission or processing of those payments. It does not include that entity’s agent or mandatary. (acquéreur) entity means a corporation, trust or partnership, or an unincorporated association or organization. (entité) issuer means an entity or provincial Crown corporation that issues payment cards. (émetteur) Minister means the Minister of Finance. (ministre) payment card means a credit or debit card — or any other prescribed device — used to access a credit or debit account on terms specified by the issuer. It does not include a credit card issued for use only with the merchants identified on the card. (carte de paiement) payment card network means an electronic payment system — other than a prescribed payment system — used to accept, transmit or process transactions made by payment card for money, goods or services and to transfer information and funds among issuers, acquirers, merchants and payment card users. (réseau de cartes de paiement) payment card network operator means an entity that operates or manages a payment card network, including by establishing standards and procedures for the acceptance, transmission or processing of payment transactions and by facilitating the electronic transfer of information and funds. (exploitant de réseau de cartes de paiement) Application This Act applies to payment card network operators. Supervision The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, established under section 3 of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act, is responsible for supervising payment card network operators to determine whether they are in compliance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations. Examination and inquiry The Commissioner of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, appointed under section 4 of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act, must, from time to time but at least once in each year, make or cause to be made any examination and inquiry that the Commissioner considers necessary to determine whether the provisions of this Act and the regulations are being complied with and, after the conclusion of each examination and inquiry, must report on it to the Minister. Power of Commissioner on inquiry For the purposes of this section, the Commissioner has all the powers of a person appointed as a commissioner under Part II of the Inquiries Act for the purpose of obtaining evidence under oath, and may delegate those powers to any person acting under the Commissioner’s direction. Access to records For the purposes of this section, the Commissioner or a person acting under the Commissioner’s direction has a right of access to any records, including electronic records, of a payment card network operator; and may require the directors or officers of a payment card network operator to provide information and explanations, to the extent that they are reasonably able to do so. Required information A payment card network operator must provide the Commissioner with any information that the Commissioner may require for the purposes of this section. Confidential information Subject to subsection (7), information regarding the business or affairs of a payment card network operator, or regarding persons dealing with one, that is obtained by the Commissioner or by a person acting under the Commissioner’s direction, in the course of the exercise or performance of powers, duties and functions under this section or under subsection 5(1.1) or (2.1) of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada Act, and any information prepared from that information, is confidential and must be treated accordingly. Disclosure permitted If the Commissioner is satisfied that the information will be treated as confidential by the person to whom it is disclosed, the Commissioner may disclose it to the Deputy Minister of Finance, or any officer of the Department of Finance authorized in writing by the Deputy Minister of Finance, for the purpose of policy analysis related to the regulation of payment card network operators; or the Governor of the Bank of Canada, or any officer of the Bank of Canada authorized in writing by the Governor of the Bank of Canada, for the purpose of carrying out the Bank of Canada’s objects under the Retail Payment Activities Act or, in relation to a provision of that Act that is not in force, for the purpose of planning to carry out those objects. Compliance agreement The Commissioner may enter into an agreement, called a “compliance agreement”, with a payment card network operator for the purpose of implementing any measure designed to further compliance by it with the provisions of this Act and the regulations. Regulations The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations respecting payment card networks; specifying the types of rates that a payment card network operator must disclose and the manner in which the disclosure must be made; prescribing the time and manner in which a payment card network operator must give notice of any new rates or any changes in its rates or fee schedules, as well as to whom the notice must be given; prescribing conditions regarding the issuance of payment cards that a payment card network operator must include in any agreement entered into with an issuer; prescribing conditions that a payment card network operator must include in any agreement entered into with an acquirer; prescribing anything that by this Act is to be prescribed; and generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act. Enforcing conditions A payment card network operator that is a party to an agreement containing any of the conditions required by regulations made under paragraph 6(d) or (e) must take reasonable measures to enforce those conditions. Exemption The Minister may, by order, exempt a payment card network operator from any of the provisions of this Act or the regulations.