Canada’s sovereignty call-to-arms has largely been expressed through what we buy. Shoppers fiercely scrutinize labels and corporate ownership to determine whether a product is truly “Canadian.” But while we’re paying closer attention to the origin and composition of the products we’re purchasing, we’re not really thinking about how we pay for them. That needs to change.

Kimberly Prost probably thinks about it every day. The Canadian International Criminal Court judge has been sanctioned by the Donald Trump administration since August 2025 for authorizing investigations into alleged war crimes by American personnel in Afghanistan, as well as cases related to Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Those sanctions mean that when Prost goes on vacation, she needs to phone hotels in advance to explain why she can’t pay for her stay with a credit card.

Prost is navigating a financial shadow ban because global commerce moves through an Americanized network. In 2025, Visa and Mastercard controlled 96 percent of Canada’s credit card market. We have a strong domestic debit system with Interac, but even that independence is eroding: Visa and Mastercard have partnered with Interac on co-badged cards, while many consumers pay with Apple-issued iPhones or use terminals run by American companies, such as Chase, Global Payments, Square, and Stripe.

A system that inconveniences a judge today could, in theory, be turned against a whole country tomorrow. The United Kingdom is reportedly exploring a national alternative to Visa and Mastercard over fears Trump could use United States–owned payment providers to freeze its economy. European officials have warned the continent is dangerously exposed to such coercion.

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[–] ragepaw@lemmy.ca 32 points 1 week ago (12 children)

We have Interac. Very few places don't take it.

Co-badged cards have always existed since the beginning of Interac. Any card from PRE-Interac would have had Plus, Maestro or Cirrus co-badging. That's not new. Your debit card also being usable as a credit card in no way takes away from what Interac does.

I have had an VISA debit for something like 15 years. I got one almost immediately after they became available. I don't think I have used it as a credit card maybe ever. Interac only.

The only thing we don't have at scale is credit run through Interac. If we allowed revolving credit, it would operate exactly the same as a credit card, but that's currently not allowed.

[–] prodigalsorcerer@lemmy.ca 19 points 1 week ago (10 children)

The other thing is just that people love credit card rewards.

Obviously, the rewards come out of the cut that the CC processors take from the merchants, so it's not really free, but at this point, if you use debit instead of credit, you're just paying more for no reason. It will take a big momentum shift of stores refusing to accept credit cards before debit takes over in Canada. Even now, I've seen stores who charge 50 cents to use any type of card under a minimum value, whether it's debit or credit. While that encourages cash for small purchases, it does nothing to encourage debit, which would be significantly cheaper for merchants.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 week ago (5 children)

I dumped reward cards because they began to show no added value and many required an annual fee that erased the reward benefit. With TD points (as one example) as you reached a point level they'd remove those awards out of your options and show you awards outside of your bracket. I had to do some cookie trckery to get rewarded.

West jet dollars now became points so it's not a dollar for dollar payback now.

[–] prodigalsorcerer@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 week ago

There are plenty of credit cards with rewards and no fees, and some (like TD) have no fees conditionally if you meet a certain minimum balance threshold.

I've always just done cashback rewards though. I know it's theoretically "worse" than points, value-wise, but they can't change how much a dollar is worth, just the percentage (which they've never done to me yet).

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