Data from a recent poll says that some credit-card holders would stop shopping at major retailers if they are hit with a new credit card surcharge.
The non-profit Angus Reid Institute surveyed 2,638 credit card holders.
Twenty-eight per cent of holders who took part in the survey said that a one-and-a-half per cent surcharge would push them away from small businesses in their community, while more than 44 per cent say the surcharge would stop them shopping at major retailers.
When it comes to smaller local businesses, more than 13 per cent say they would take the surcharge, and 59 per cent would use a different form of payment.
Ten per cent say that if the business was major, they would absorb the cost, while fewer than half of holders would use either cash or debit.
Of the 82 per cent of holders connected to a loyalty program, 16 per cent say in the survey that the surcharge would not stop them from using their card, but 61 per cent say that this would make them reconsider and do away with their card.
