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Instead， it is about creating competition in the credit card field over the size of those fees. With two firms holding 90 per cent of the market， the chance of oligopoly pricing exists. And thats not good for the marketplace. The fees charged in other countries illustrate that.

A retailer who doesnt have credit card purchasing available is at a competitive disadvantage. Credit card companies know that and also understand that little competition exists in their field.

Competition is at the heart of the capitalist system that generates the wealth and tax revenue that makes our society work. So measures that restrict competition impair the ability of Canada to function properly.

The bureau is taking on Visa Canada Corp. and MasterCard International Inc.， which control about 90 per cent of the business in this country.

Predictably， Visa and MasterCard are fighting the bureau move. They say they are protecting the consumer from retailers charging consumers for their fees， thus padding retail profits. But surely those fees are in the cost of a product already.

free cardsFree the market，Critical to the success of our market economy is an aggressive federal Competition Bureau. Without it， private concerns can get away with abuses of capitalism. Unfortunately， companies practise more anti-competitive measures than the Competition Bureau has resources to police.

The point is not about who takes home the profit from the space occupied by credit card fees.

The rates they charge retailers here are about double those in Europe， Australia and New Zealand. The bureau is concerned that retailers cant place a surcharge on purchases made with premium cards， for which credit card companies charge retailers more. Retailers taking the cards are not allowed to counsel customers to use lower-cost options and stores taking the two major cards must also take the companys entire fleet of cards.

The wireless communication and real estate industries have already faced the wrath of the bureau over controversial practices.

At a time when the economy is slow and businesses are struggling to survive， Canadians can no longer afford to allow anti-competitive practices. The new aggressive stance of the Competition Bureau is welcome to put an end to some oligopolistic measures that hamper the free marketplace.

So credit cards are big business.

Credit cards matter. They are one of the great facilitators of purchasing in the market economy.

If publicity was the goal， then taking on the credit card companies certainly worked. Headlines across the country screamed out about the bureau initiative. Certainly the warning was heard.

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The bureau would like to foster competition in the rather limited field of major card companies. Allowing retailers to charge consumers extra to use the more expensive forms of payment is likely to foster more competition in setting fees， the bureau says.

So every now and then， the bureau must take on a high-profile target just to show companies that the law has come tfree cardsFree the marketo town.

Credfree cardsit card fees cost retailers， who pass on most of these costs to consumers， a whopping $5 billion a year. Just to put that in perspective， the federal government， when it used to run surpluses， took in about an extra $14 billion a year.

This offensive against the credit card giants is another major initiative by a newly aggressive Competition Bureau.