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Manitoba Public Insurance burned through $40 million of cash earned from ratepayers on credit card processing fees over the last five years, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) says.

Accepting credit cards from ratepayers for auto insurance premiums is the main culprit, according to the CFIB.

“Credit cards are one of the highest-cost payment options on the market today with up to 3.5% of your total transaction cost going to credit card processing companies,” said Elliot Sims, CFIB’s Manitoba provincial affairs director. “These costs grow each year with more premium reward credit cards being offered. MPI simply can’t keep autopac rates low if they continue accepting credit cards.”

The small business lobby group says credit card processing cost MPI an average of $5.77 per transaction over the last five years. The cost to MPI for accepting debit payments is between 5-10 cents per transaction.

“At a time when MPI is asking Manitoba drivers for a rate increase, all measures that can lower costs without impacting service levels must be explored and implemented,” added Sims.

Manitoba Hydro has already adopted a similar policy and does not accept credit cards for utility bill payments.