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Visa says discussions continue over proposed fee hike20 May 2003 Credit card company Visa says it is still in discussions with supermarket companies, which have protested a proposed commission fee hike. Visa proposes to increase its charges to banks for the use of its credit cards in supermarkets, and in turn banks are expected to increase the fees they charge supermarkets. Visa New Zealand head Martin Penrose said in a statement yesterday that the company intended to continue commercial discussions with supermarkets. "As with many commercial discussions disagreements do occur. It is Visa NZ's hope that these differences can be addressed within a commercial framework," Mr Penrose said. "The popularity of using credit cards at supermarkets was clearly demonstrated in 2000 when Pak 'N Save at Petone sought to cease accepting all types of credit cards. As a result of customer pressure they were forced to reverse their decision after only a couple of days." Progressive Enterprises, which owns Woolworths, Foodtown, Price Chopper, Countdown and Big Fresh, said yesterday it was giving Visa two weeks to back down on plans to lift commission fees. Otherwise Progressive would refuse to accept Visa cards, managing director Ted van Arkel said. Rival Foodstuffs NZ, which owns the Pak' N Save, New World and Write Price supermarkets, has also protested the proposed fee hike. Mr van Arkel said discussions between Visa and Progressive had been going on since late last year. While Visa had justified the commission fee increase by saying supermarkets enjoyed a favourable deal which was unfair to other retailers, supermarket margins were also slimmer than other retailers', he said. Visa's proposed fee is thought to be about 1 per cent of each purchase. Foodstuffs Auckland managing director Tony Carter said the new fee would slice 25 percent from a supermarket's profit whenever a credit card was used. Original content can be found at
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