5 Telling Statistics About Credit Card Use In Canada

On the Canadian POS Corporation Blog, we have often commented upon the fact that Canadian shoppers love to use their credit cards and debit cards to pay for their purchases. These days, it is uncommon to come across someone who doesn’t use at least one of the two types of plastic payment methods. As a business owner, it has practically become mandatory to accept credit and debit as it means turning away customers if you choose not to.

But what are the facts when it comes to plastic usage in Canada? How many Canadians truly insist on pulling out the plastic when ready to make a buy? On CreditCards.com, Daniel Workman answers these questions. At the end of the day, it’s hard to argue with cold hard facts. If you’re not yet convinced that you should be accepting plastic, read on. In today’s blog, we’ll reveal five of the most telling statistics about credit card use in Canada.

1. In 2012, 91% of Canadian adults carried at least one credit card. Talk about an overwhelming majority! Evidently, most Canadians insist upon having at least some form of plastic in their wallets. We’re talking about nearly everybody! It’s important to consider the impact this has on your business when you choose to not accept credit cards as methods of payment. The word is out – your shoppers prefer this option.

2. In 2013, Canadian adults carried an average of 2.9 credit cards. Workman reveals that all credit cards seem to be popular in Canada, and that it’s commonplace for Canadians to carry more than one brand. Visa and MasterCard are the overwhelmingly popular choices with 76.3 million cards in circulation in 2013. In the same year, American Express had 4.12 million credit cards and 530,800 charge cards in circulation throughout Canada.

3. In 2013, EMV smart-chip cards made up 85.7% of total cards in circulation. Our blog has also often commented upon Canada’s affinity for the growing technology in the world of credit and debit cards. These days, it’s most common to insert (instead of swipe) a card and punch in a PIN in order to complete a transaction. This trend is still catching on in the United States. Workman reveals that there were 151.9 million chip cards – including credit, charge and debit – throughout Canada in 2013.

4. In 2014, 55% of Canadians reported that they banked primarily online. Our blog is also no stranger to posts about online shopping. Workman reveals that more than half of the country is using the internet to do their banking. So, it stands to reason to believe that the internet is still growing as a top choice to both bank and shop. According to Workman, in 2013, the average time that Canadian desktop PC users spent online monthly was 34.6 hours.

5. In 2012, Canadians purchased $18.9 billion worth of orders online. Workman reveals that this statistic marked a huge 24% jump from 2010. Imagine how popular online shopping is in 2015. CreditCards.com makes clear that Canadian business owners should not only be accepting credit cards, but they should certainly be doing so via their websites as well. Clearly, a lot of money is to be made when the option is provided to Canadian consumers both offline and online.

At Canadian POS Corporation, we provide our clients with top-of-the-line POS terminals. We also proudly offer the most affordable rates in our industry! Furthermore, we offer an excellent e-commerce solution as well as the opportunity to receive mobile payments. The choice is clear. Begin accepting plastic today. Even if you already accept credit cards and debit cards as methods of payment, we’d be happy to discuss an upgrade. Call us today at 1-877-748-2884!