Cashless Payments Dominate
Earlier this month Payments Canada released its annual report on payment methods and trends. The report looked at more than 22 billion payment transactions made in 2019 – providing insight on both year-over-year and 5-year trends in Canada. Here are some highlights:
- Electronic payments now account for 77% of total payments volume (an increase from last year)
- Contactless payments grew dramatically, increasing 15% in volume and 20% in value
- Cash payments declined 9%, and is expected to decline steadily
- Canadians continue to adopt new payment options; about 18% of Canadians made in-app purchases, and about 15% of Canadians made purchases using gaming consoles or Internet of Things (IoT) devices
- Corporate cheque volumes declined, but the average value of a corporate cheque increased by about 5%
- Electronic funds transfers (EFTs) represented the largest portion of the total transaction value (52%) of total payments value in 2019
The Pandemic Factor
Payments Canada also updated its survey results on Canadian spending and purchase habits during the pandemic. Here are some notable results:
- 44% of Canadians say COVID-19 has changed their payments preferences to digital and contactless long-term
- 47% report tapping their debit and credit cards more often than pre-COVID, compared to 53% at week five of the pandemic
- 42% are uncomfortable handling cash in general
Don't Be Left Behind
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