CNE Food Vendors Still Hesitant To Accept Plastic

Last year, around this time, we blogged about the Canadian National Exhibition and the fact that many of its vendors were accepting credit cards. It came as a surprise to many visitors of Toronto’s annual summer-ending fair. Also known as The Ex, the CNE provides an annual tradition that comes with a lot of food, games and rides. And, for the most part, people have always paid cash to enjoy the festivities.

Noticeably, the CNE began accepting credit cards and debit cards as methods of payment for entry last year. It is possible that plastic acceptance came earlier, but it was the first time it was brought to the attention of Canadian POS Corporation. So we couldn’t help but blog about it. Especially because so many of our colleagues commented on how easier it made the CNE-visiting experience, we simply had to acknowledge the apparent change.

Well, it appears as if this year the trend has continued. But sadly, it has not grown. The Ex opened up on August 21st this year and will run until the 7th of September. One of its most anticipated features is the Food Building. Just as its name conveys, it’s a building filled with food vendors providing all types of tasty treats. During a visit that took place yesterday, a colleague of our noticed that very few food vendors were plastic-friendly.

“I could have sworn more of them took the card last year,” she reported to us, “I found that more vendors outside of the Food Building took cards than the ones inside. I think I only saw about two or three of what felt like over a hundred of places in the building that accepted credit and debit cards. It was pretty disappointing. I’m not really into using cash anymore, but I had no choice.”

Evidently, not everyone has caught on to the trend that has gripped Canada for many years now. Canadians have shown that they prefer paying with plastic. So when your business advertises itself as “cash only”, it stands to turn customers away. Apparently, this hasn’t presented too big a problem at the CNE’s Food Building just yet. With the majority of food vendors being “cash only”, there isn’t much competition to lose out to.

It is important to note, however, that the words “cash only” did appear on display at many of the food vendors’ locations. “To me, it proves that we live in a world where people know that they can use their cards,” said our colleague, “In other words, if they have to pay cash, they need to be informed, because it isn’t the norm anymore. I guarantee that if these places accepted plastic, then more people would be using plastic instead of cash.”

Perhaps, things will change in future years. For now, it seems as if buying food in the Food Building will require a trip to the ATM first. It should be reiterated, however, that if you do plan on visiting The Ex this year, there are still a number of vendors who do accept credit cards and debit cards. “They all have signs that have the Visa, MasterCard and Interac logos,” our colleague pointed out.

Do you ever bring your business to public events such as festivals and fairs? If so, it would be wise for you to bring along your Wireless POS terminal so that you can get a leg up on your competition. When you accept both cash and plastic, you are putting yourself in a position to attract a lot more customers. For information on how to upgrade from your current payment provider, call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.