A Growing Trend: Canadians Are Choosing Credit Cards Over Cash

The moniker “cashless society” has been thrown around quite a bit to describe Canada. Evidence has shown that the ways in which Canadians tend to pay for purchases can be defined as one that is credit card friendly. This news is nothing new. A 2015 study conducted by market and consumer information firm, GfK found that only a quarter of Canadian transactions were done in cash for the year.

As Lauren LaRose of The Canadian Press reports in The Globe and Mail, the survey of 1,000 Canadians found that the majority of transactions – 42 percent – were made with credit cards. Debit cards followed behind at 28 percent while mobile payments accounted for 3 percent of transactions in Canada.

Another 2015 study by the Bank of Canada drew the same conclusions.

According to The Canadian Press in a CTV News report, the study found that “shoppers are increasingly reaching for their credit card and new technology that allows customers to just tap their card and pay.” The Bank of Canada’s Ben Fung, Kim Huynh and Gerald Stuber authored the report that detailed the findings.

“Innovation in retail point-of-sale and online payment systems continues to be significant, particularly in enhancing the speed and convenience of the payment process for lower-value transactions, an area where cash still dominates,” they wrote, “Contactless credit cards, in particular, are seeing strong growth in use, while Interac debit cards with the tap-and-go feature are at a relatively early stage of market development.”

Credit cards are more convenient for shoppers.

“I much prefer using credit cards,” commented one of our colleagues earlier this week when asked about his payment method of choice, “Especially during the summertime, I don’t like walking around with a big, hunky wallet. Credit cards keep my pocket nice and light and I don’t have to worry about losing any money if it falls out of my pocket. They also help me keep track of what I spend.”

Credit cards are also more convenient for merchants.

By accepting them, they don’t have to fumble around for correct change or worry about having to count up all of their cash at the end of each day. As pointed out by our colleague, credit card transactions allow for much easier bookkeeping. Not to mention, they induce far fewer trips to the bank to deposit funds as earnings are deposited in accounts automatically for business owners.

It’s time for your business to take advantage of the trend!

Canadians are only going to continue to use credit cards to pay for their purchases in larger numbers as time goes on. It’s best to get on board with the trend and offer your customers the payment options that they want.

Don\’t wait! Contact Canadian POS Corporation and be sure to ask us about both our Countertop and Wireless POS terminals that allow you to accept all credit cards – Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover – with ease. They accept Interac debit cards as well. Please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.