[Dion]

Doug Stephens, a Toronto-based retail analyst and strategist, noted that both sides will likely see disadvantages to this deal. "If you can't walk into a mass merchant and use a Visa card, that's going to seem very strange," Stephens said.

"You can't ignore the fact that Visa has a tremendous market share," he said. But he added, "If you do business with Walmart, and Walmart ceases to do business with you, you can't help but feel that."

Consumer finance industry newsletter Nilson Report says that Visa made up 56 per cent of credit card transactions globally in 2015, and Walmart Stores Inc., Walmart Canada's parent company, is widely reported to be the world's largest retailer.

"At the end of the day, when we strip everything out of the debate, we're dealing with the potential that six out of ten customers will come into a Walmart store and be disappointed that they can't use their credit card," Stephens said. "Competition is extremely tough. This is not a good time to limit your consumer's ability to buy from you."

He said Walmart's analysts have likely crunched the numbers, and determined that without having to pay Visa's fees, it would stand to make more money than it loses.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/walm...visa-1.3630956