The ETA Grows Its Role in Canada to Fill a Void Left by ACT Canada’s Decision to Dissolve

The Electronic Transactions Association said Thursday it will take on a bigger role in Canada. The Washington, D.C.-based trade group, which has represented the interests of payments-technology and merchant-acquiring firms before the Canadian government for the past two years, will now also take on liaisons with the card networks and other payments-industry groups in that country.

The ETA’s expansion of duties in Canada follows a decision earlier this month by ACT Canada, a 31-year-old trade group that has been handling payments-industry relations in that country, to dissolve. The decision followed a unanimous vote by the group’s members. 

Some ACT Canada members, such as processor Moneris, hold a membership also in the ETA. Other members can register for free to join the ETA, an ETA spokesperson tells Digital Transactions News. “We’re welcoming their members into the fold,” she says. However, establishing an office in Canada is “not on the map right now” for the ETA, the spokesperson adds.

Industry relations work includes interactions with Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc., and other prominent payments companies, including processors, according to the spokesperson. It also involves work toward helping to advance new technologies such as mobile and contactless payments.

ETA’s government-relations work in Canada has included efforts to influence important legislation, including an effort by the government to move a sweeping proposal called the New Retail Payments Oversight Framework. The Framework would introduce new regulation covering a wide range of issues, including consumer protection, disclosures, operational standards, and liability.