Just a handful of Canadian cities will be subject to the Costco membership crackdown — for now
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Password-sharing types, beware: Costco is cracking down on people who borrow membership cards from friends and family by testing a new membership scanning system launching in several Canadian markets.
The scanners, which were announced last week, are set up at Costco warehouse entrances in Ottawa, Edmonton, Regina and B.C.’s Lower Mainland, a company representative confirmed to CBC News.
The new system will be expanded to other stores. The representative couldn’t confirm whether it would be expanded to all Costco locations in Canada.
Members will have to scan their digital or physical membership passes to enter the store. If your membership card doesn’t have a photo, you need to be prepared to show photo ID, says the company’s website.
Guests are still allowed, but only if they’re accompanied by someone who holds a valid Costco membership. There will be attendants at the door.
Costco has 108 locations across Canada, according to its website, with a presence in Alberta, B.C., Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
- How would you feel if your local Costco cracked down on membership sharing? Let us know in an email to ask@cbc.ca.
It’s not the first time the big-box club has tightened rules around membership.
The company began asking customers to show photo ID alongside their membership passes last year — alleging that non-members were abusing its then-newly expanded self-checkout — and it has also restricted non-members from accessing their food courts (and, by extension, their $1.50 hot dogs).
Self-checkout theft is a growing problem for many Canadian stores, and some have started checking shoppers’ receipts to try and prevent it — despite backlash from customers.
The change comes after the company announced that it would hike membership fees for customers in Canada and the U.S. starting on Sept. 1. The annual membership fee was last raised in 2017.
Regular “gold star” and business members will now have to pay $65 annually, rather than $60, while an executive membership will cost $130 annually, up from $120. The maximum annual two per cent reward for executive memberships will increase to $1,250 from $1,000.
Costco follows other companies with membership-based programs that have given freeloaders the boot. Netflix was the first to put its foot down, launching a crackdown on password-sharing in May 2023, while Disney+ will do the same next month.
