After years of griping by many of its customers, and months of testing in the province of Manitoba, Tim Hortons will finally begin accepting debit card payments. Of course, it was not that long ago when Tim Hortons began accepting MasterCard, which was a highly successful introduction by the chain.
Tim Hortons, (THI in Toronto), had long resisted the introduction of both debit and credit card transactions. They argued that the extra percent or two that they would have to pay for the use of the network to credit card providers and the banks would hurt their bottom line. They also argued that they would have to raise prices to compensate for extra expenses and that service might be slower as people process electronic transactions instead of cash. Customers, however, have increased the size of their orders and have begun to go to the stores more frequently with the introduction of multiple means of payment, such as the MasterCard.
Also, since 2003, the chain had been accepting debit and credit transactions out west with little or no problems, and even line-ups and customer service has not been affected according to the Oakville based company. Citing this experience, and recent experiences in Manitoba, the chain has changed their opinion on this matter and now states that service will remain the same even if most people in the line use debit.
According to most analysts, Tim Hortons, which has 3,082 locations in Canada and 567 in the U.S., will not gain much extra revenue from this move, but surely it will result in a few extra customers going to their stores who previously may not have had the cash or credit cards in hand.
For more information on this change go to:
For previous information on Tim Hortons go to:
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