Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau pledged to end credit card “swipe fees” for GST and HST if his government is re-elected, a move aimed at boosting the bottom line for Canadian small businesses.

The elimination of the fee that merchants must pay to credit card firms every time one is used could help companies save nearly $500 million a year, according to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

Trudeau also said the Liberals would create the Canada Entrepreneur Account which would provide up to 2,000 entrepreneurs every year with as much as $50,000 to launch a new business.

The financing initiative would operate as a pilot program for the first three years and then be administered through the Business Development Bank of Canada.