Walmart Drops Visa, Proving the Potential of Bitcoin's Low Fees

When Bitcoin supporters praise their favorite currency, one of the great attributes everyone discusses is the network’s low fees, paling in comparison to the major credit card companies such as Mastercard and Visa. Now, with Walmart dropping support for Visa in Canadian stores due to high fees, bitcoin could have a chance to shine.

Also read: Circle Favors More Regulation For Bitcoin & Fintech

Walmart and Many Companies Could Save Millions

Along with many major merchants across the globe, cryptocurrency supporters would love to see a company like Walmart adopt Bitcoin.

Bitcoin fees are extremely low and typically are less than 1 percent of a transaction, whether it’s a couple of dollars sent or a million dollar transaction.

Average credit card processing fees can be upwards of 1.95 to 5 percent. The average cost for card-not-present businesses can be roughly 3% for online operations. These estimates don’t include annual membership costs and other hidden fees.

The retail giant has 405 stores in Canada, and this move will probably be quite a blow to Visa. A spokeswoman from the retail store stated:

“We’re constantly working to reduce our operating costs, including credit card fees. Unfortunately, Visa and Walmart have been unable to agree on an appropriate fee for Visa transactions.”

This would be a great opportunity for stores like Walmart to save thousands of dollars in fees by accepting Bitcoin.

Another strong attribute the cryptocurrency could offer the company is less financial stress from chargebacks, as it would be extremely difficult when using the Bitcoin network. 70 percent of fraud comes from chargebacks, with merchants losing $11.2 billion USD in 2015.

Using Bitcoin could cut these outrageous frauds down to virtually nothing, saving a company’s revenues. Cryptocurrency proponents have been saying this for years and believe large merchants such as Walmart or Target should invest in researching the benefits of these technologies.

Visa’s spokesperson states, “We are disappointed that Walmart chose to put their own financial interests ahead of their own consumers’ choice.”

According to the Nilson Report 50.6 million cards are in circulation and $232 billion USD worth of transactions have been charged last year. This means merchants across the globe have paid out millions to these-third party arbitrators, and it’s only getting worse.

Most likely, Walmart won’t be accepting Bitcoin any time soon. However, it’s something they should consider as millions of dollars in fees and chargebacks are flying out store windows.

What do you think about Walmart dropping Visa from their Canadian stores? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Walmart and Visa.