Canadian shoppers wooing digital payments, kissing cash, cheques goodbye - report

Additionally, the total annual transaction growth average was 2% in volume terms and 5% in terms of value (volume refers to the number of transactions and value to the total dollar amount of those transactions), according to The Canadian Payment Methods and Trends report issued by the Canadian Payments Association (CPA).

While cash is still the most widely used type of payment, is registering decilining trends in the favour of electronic payment methods. Cash payment volume fell by 16%, showing a decline of approximately 5% each year. While the volume of cheques written continues to decline, the value of those cheques is growing slightly. There were 20% fewer cheques written in 2014 than in 2011, but the value of cheques grew by 8% during that time.

The point-of-sale (POS) environment is tilting towards credit card use. This could be attributed to credit cards’ head-start on contactless (i.e. tapping at the register with cards or mobile devices) and customer loyalty rewards programs. Credit cards now account for 57% of POS value and 26% of volume.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), which includes direct deposits and pre-authorized debits, now accounts for 44% of all transaction value – growing 10% per year since 2011, and is poised to overtake cheques in 2015. Online transfers were the fastest growing payment types. While still a small segment of payments, they have grown by 184% in volume and 228% in value since 2011.

The Canadian Payment Methods and Trends report examines data from the CPA’s retail payment system combined with data gathered from service providers, researchers and industry consultants. To assess the evolution of the market over time, the researchers have developed and analysed a multi-year data set, including 2008, 2011 and 2014.