Telus wants to charge customers a fee for credit card payments

Photo: The Canadian Press

Telus Corp. wants to pass on credit card fees to customers and plans to add a 1.5 per cent "processing fee" starting this fall.

In a letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the telecom giant says the surcharge is intended "to cover the processing costs that credit card payments incur" and would apply to current and future customers outside Quebec.

The document, which is dated Monday, seeks permission from the regulatory body to add the fee to its terms of service.

Telus competitors Bell, Rogers and Videotron did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, Telus says the average cost each month will be about $2 per customer, who can avoid the fees by selecting another bill payment option, such as debit payments or one-time bank payments.

Vancouver-based Telus says the fee will not apply in Quebec or to customers of its Koodo subsidiary.