Former Cash-Only Businesses Realizing Canadians Prefer Going Cashless

In 2017, cash may not necessarily be a thing of the past. But cash-only businesses sure are. Or, at least, they should be. With summer in full swing, Canadians are getting pretty used to making summer-related purchases with their credit cards that would normally require cash. Take, for example, the outdoor summer festival. There are all types of summer events taking place across the country and they all have something in common.

They sell food! Generally speaking, visitors of these festivals expect to pay for their food with cash. And, of course, they still can. But, more and more, Canadians are noticing that food trucks and other festival vendors are accepting credit cards and debit cards as methods of payment. Clearly, times have changed. No longer are outdoor summer festivals places where people must visit with cash on their persons.

Both summer event vendors and charities realize that Canadians prefer plastic over paper.

As Mark Brown reports for Maclean’s Magazine on Macleans.ca, the Salvation Army is seeing a significant dip in donations because so few Canadians carry cash on them anymore. They are concerned that the lack of coins and bills being carried around by shoppers will hurt their Christmas campaigns.

“A poll conducted as part of The Canada Project suggests the Salvation Army’s concerns are well founded,” reveals Brown, “The survey found credit and debit cards were far more popular with Canadians than cash as a form payment. Two in five Canadians rely on credit cards while just over a third favour debit. Cash comes in a distant third, with just 17 per cent of respondents saying they prefer physical money.”

Going cashless is popular with both young and old.

The cashless approach to spending money is especially popular with Canada’s younger generation. Millennials are showing that they much prefer to pull out their credit cards and debit cards to make purchases instead of paying with cash. But, as Brown points out, Canada’s elderly population are among the strongest plastic users in the nation.

“Millennials are less likely to use cash and more likely to use credit than their parents,” reveals Brown of The Canada Project poll, “Surprisingly, the silent generation, anyone in their mid-70s or older, are the least likely to use cash. Just 9 per cent of this cohort favour cash while 62 per cent prefer credit.”

Are you still operating a cash-only business?

If so, it’s definitely time to make a change! At one time, both food vendors at summer events and charities were known as businesses that only accepted cash. Today, they recognize the need to be plastic-friendly.

At Canadian POS Corporation, we offer Canadian businesses the opportunity to do away with their cash-only ways and accept credit cards and debit cards with our top-of-the-line POS terminals. Contact us today and be sure to ask about our Countertop and Wireless options.

The Verifone VX 820 is a countertop terminal that is ideal if you are looking for an affordable and easy-to-use next-generation terminal that accepts all contactless, chip and magnetic stripe payments. The Verifone VX 680 is an all-in-one mobile solution efficiently and securely processes transactions anywhere.

For more information, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.