Letters from CAMP: Break Up Interac?
Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
CAMP is fighting for a more democratic economy
Welcome to Letters from CAMP, a newsletter on anti-monopoly activity in Canada and abroad, brought to you by the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project. In this installment we have:
Let's dive in.
Getting Results: Interac Levels Playing Field Amid Antitrust Scrutiny
Interac, the backbone of Canada’s e-transfer system, is pivoting from volume-based pricing that had long-favoured incumbents to a flat-fee model under mounting pressure from lawmakers. The move comes after MPs, led by Conservatives Michelle Rempel Garner and Adam Chambers, highlighted fee disparities where larger banks pay as little as six cents per transfer while smaller players pay up to 43 cents. This tiered pricing has drawn criticism from competing financial institutions for reinforcing the dominance of Interac’s founders and board members: Canada’s biggest banks.
Following parliamentary scrutiny, the Competition Bureau confirmed it had opened an investigation into Interac’s practices, continuing a decades-long history between the payments system and Canada’s competition law. While a positive development, the move has correctly been seen as a defensive measure to forestall more structural changes like a break up between Interac and the big banks.
Thankfully, federal MPs understand the conflict of interest at the heart of the Interac model. When the big banks own the rails, they will always have the incentive to disadvantage companies who rely on the same system to compete for customers. Lawmakers and regulators have tangled with this tension over infrastructure for decades in finance, telecommunications and transportation. Each time the lesson is the same: fair and open access to infrastructure is the surest way to support real competition and sometimes separations are necessary.
CAMP is glad to see MPs keeping up the heat on such an important part of the financial system. The benefits to competition of a break up of Interac should be seen as a model for reform for other oligopolized sectors across the economy. While incremental reform can deliver results, durable monopolies will require more decisive action to unlock competition.
📚 What We’re Reading 📚
The State of Play in Canada's Network Media Economy
Every year, the Global Media and Internet Concentration (GMICP) paints a vivid picture of the ongoing upheaval in Canada’s network media economy, where digital markets thrive while legacy media like cable TV and newspapers continue their decline. With a laundry list of statistics and market figures, the report charts important trends and serves as a rich resource for researchers and the interested public.
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Just one example: last year, telecom and internet services raked in $68.8 billion—more than double the combined revenues of digital and traditional content sectors. But despite this explosive growth, the dominance of telecom giants like Rogers and Bell looms large. These companies not only control the infrastructure underpinning digital platforms but also have a stranglehold on traditional broadcasting markets. The situation in the digital ad market, valued at $16.6 billion, is even more extreme. Revenue in the sector is overwhelmingly captured by global tech giants like Google and Meta, leaving Canadian media fighting for scraps.
As digital and telecom industries converge, the risks of anti-competitive cooperation grow. The report warns of a “dance of titans,” where telecom and tech giants jockey for dominance, often at the expense of consumers and smaller competitors. Unless we turn the tide, the concentration of power in the network media economy risks undermining the very democracy it has long served to support.
📰 CAMP in the News 📰
FTC Notches Another Win With Kroger-Albertsons Merger Block
As Lina Khan’s term as Chair comes to a close, the FTC cannot stop winning. Successfully halting the $25 billion Kroger-Albertsons merger this week, the agency notched a major win for American shoppers and independent suppliers. The decision, which cited significant risks to competition in over 1,000 communities, marks a critical victory for consumers still struggling with inflated grocery prices. In the past, Canadian enforcers have settled for remedies that allowed the merger to proceed with a handful of stores sold off to competitors, leaving the country with fewer choices overall. In blocking the merger outright, the FTC made a strong defense of competition when consumers need it most.
But this victory comes at a moment of potential upheaval. The announcement of Andrew Ferguson as the next FTC Chair under President-elect Donald Trump signals a shift in the agency’s direction. A former Virginia solicitor general and Republican FTC commissioner, Ferguson has criticized Khan’s antitrust agenda as overreaching and vowed to adopt a more "pro-business" stance. His appointment raises questions about the fate of the FTC's pending cases against Amazon and Meta, as well as broader efforts to curb monopolistic practices.
Ferguson’s agenda emphasizes fighting "woke" corporate policies and censorship, particularly targeting social media platforms for alleged suppression of conservative viewpoints. This tilt could deprioritize battles that benefit consumers and workers in favour of those that seek to score political points. Given the habit of regulators taking cues from peers, the direction of Ferguson’s leadership will have ripples beyond the U.S.
The coming months will reveal whether the FTC’s hard-won momentum against corporate giants can endure this leadership change—or if the fight for fair competition will face new hurdles.
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