Digital payment options continue to gain ground: Payments Canada

Canadians spent more than $462 billion on credit cards in 2016, according to this year’s Canadian Payment Methods and Trends (CPMT) report by Payments Canada.

The report found that an increasing number of Canadians and businesses are using credit cards for larger portions of their monthly spending. This is due in part to rewards programs, as well as purchases made through online and in-app channels, where more than 90% of transactions are completed using credit cards.

Related: Getting with the times

User confidence also continues to grow in online banking, where online transfers led all payment methods in rate of growth, with transactions increasing by almost 48% to 177 million in 2016. The value of those transactions increased by 51% to $68 billion.

For the first time ever, electronic funds transfers (EFTs)—used for payroll and consumer bill payments—surpassed cheque value in 2016. However, EFT use declined overall as more Canadians opt to pay recurring bills such as car insurance through their credit cards to earn rewards.

The CPMT report also indicated that social media payments may be on the horizon in Canada, citing the growing popularity of Alipay and WeChat Pay in China. Pilot projects are currently in the works that would see payments made through channels such as Facebook, Google and Apple messenger services.

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This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.