Using the financial services and electronic payment methods have risen steadily year over year and there are some new ways to pay, but credit, debit and cash are still leading the way in Canada. There is also an increase in the use of mobile payment and person-to-person (P2P) services.

Read the below points and gain more insights into all of these trends and even more additional insights that are shared within the study conducted by TSYS in 2017.

Payment Types in Canada in 2017 – An Overview

• The vast majority of consumers in Canada (68%) have only one debit card, while 37% own a credit card and 32% own two credit cards.
• PayPal is the number one electronic payment type that consumers in Canada own with a rate of 65%.
• In terms of the main purposes of using the prepaid card in Canada, online shopping ranked the top with a rate of 81%, followed far by travel purposes with only 51%.

Overall Payment Preferences in Canada in 2017

• The credit card is the most preferred payment method (44%), followed by debit cards (38%) and then cash (13%).
• Younger generation aged 18-24 are more likely to use debit cards than other generations who prefer credit cards.
• Consumers with household income less than $50,000 are more likely to prefer debit cards, compared to consumers with household income of more than $50,000 who prefer credit cards.
• In terms of the payment preference by online categories, the credit card is the top-ranked method for both online shopping (61%) and online travel (60%).

Pie Charts Show the Safest Payment Methods in Canada for In-Store Purchased Versus Online Purchases in 2017

Methodology:

Data were driven from more than 1,500 consumers in Canada aged 18+ years old, have at least one credit card and one debit card, and not to work for a financial institution. 51% of respondents are female and 49% are males.