Starting today, retailers and other businesses are allowed to charge customers a fee for using credit cards.

Until now, merchants were paying the fees themselves.

Merchants must give card providers 30 days’ notice of their intent to start applying a surcharge, so Canadians should not expect to see the additional fees for another month. Retailers must also make it clear to customers that there is an additional surcharge.

The fees range depending on which credit card you use and which type of transaction is being made. Retailers will not be allowed to charge customers more than they would pay themselves on each transaction, and the surcharge is being capped at 2.4 per cent, despite some transactions made by premium cards having a slightly higher fee.