Earlier quoted context omitted.
Depending on the industry sector, cash can effectively be several times more expensive to handle than the US market interchange fees. I don’t think it’s obviously horrible for merchants.
There are definitely lots of merchants who don't take (or strongly discourage) cash— think Apple Store, IKEA, the self-serve tills at the grocery store, anything online. But the common element in all of those is that they're big companies who can negotiate better rates. Independent retailers, restaurants, etc are put in an awkward position where not accepting credit cards can cost them business, but accepting them fo…
Except I hate using my Interac card for... well, anything... because if it gets compromised, it's my own chequing account that gets locked with the missing money.