Canadians love paying for purchases with their credit cards. We’re quite confident we can make such a statement because statistics have proven it. According to market and consumer information firm, GfK, a 2015 online survey of 1,000 Canadians found that only 25 percent of Canadian transactions were in cash. “Meanwhile, credit cards accounted for the majority of transactions at 42 percent,” reports Lauren La Rose for Global News.
Such reported stats are not the only reasons we believe in Canada’s love for credit cards. In a conversation with a colleague earlier this week, we learned of the many reasons that credit is a preferred method of payment over cash.
“If I’m paying for something anyways, I may as well earn rewards for it,” she reported, “Some credit cards offer perks whether it’s cash back or travel points. On top of that, you build your credit. You earn a good credit history by spending and paying for it right away. Having a good credit score helps you get loans. Lenders know that you’re trustworthy and will pay back your loan instead of running away.”
Canada has been ranked in the top three credit card-loving nations.
CreditCardsCanada.ca reports that a 2013 Mastercard study ranked Canada third behind Belgium and France in cashless transactions. They also report that a 2016 Moneris survey found that 77 percent of respondents prefer to pay for purchases by debit or credit card. 65 percent of those surveyed say they rarely buy anything with cash.
“I think we’re at a point where you don’t need cash for most of what you need to do today,” Moneris’ Rob Cameron is quoted as saying in the article, “I do think people will continue to use cash because it’s been around so long…But this growth in contactless (payments using credit cards or mobile apps) I think is going to lead towards that end of cash.”
Canadians love tapping.
The advent of contactless payments created a significant uptick in the love that Canucks have for their credit cards. Arguably, it cannot be made any easier to make a purchase than to simply tap your card on a POS terminal. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, tapping became even more popular. In April of 2020, both Visa and Mastercard raised their tap limits from $100 to $250.
“The convenience of tapping your credit or debit is too much for most Canadians to pass up,” says CreditCardsCanada.ca, “Tap transactions are on an upward trajectory. Data from Moneris shows a 162 per cent jump in tap transactions in the third quarter of 2015, compared to the third quarter of 2014. That’s a big spike for such a short period of time.”
Do you accept credit cards in your store?
At Unity Payments, we proudly offer Canadian merchants a variety of high-quality POS terminals to choose from. You can easily and securely accept credit card and debit card payments with the Newland 910, the Ingenico Desk 5000 or the Ingenico Move 5000. To learn all about your options, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761. You may also email us at info@unitypayments.ca. Be sure to ask us about our flat fee processing!
