Canadians Are Increasingly Turning to Alternative Payment Tools Shows Survey

According to a recent study titled How Canadians Pay Today commissioned by the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO), Canadians are increasingly turning to alternative payment tools, such as PayPal, mobile, and prepaid.

Led by the growing use of prepaid products, alternative payment methods have seen a 14% increase since 2016. The study found that non-traditional banking solutions are being adopted, particularly by younger Canadians, for convenience and cost-savings along with new apps that help them stick to a budget.

While credit and debit cards are used most frequently by Canadians, followed by cash, almost 73%, up from 59% in 2016, have started using other payment tools including PayPal (55%), prepaid cards (27%), Apple Pay (11%), Google Pay (7%), and other mobile payments .

Canadians find that certain tools are useful in helping them stick to a budget including easy-to-use online tools that track spending (46 percent) and budgeting apps (43 percent) as well as reloadable prepaid cards free of interest charges and overdraft fees that limit spending (34 percent). Three in ten (31 percent) currently use an app to manage their finances and nearly half (46 percent) with children under 18 years old would give their children a spending allowance on a prepaid card to help control and monitor their spending.

Check out the full infographic based on the study’s findings below and share your thoughts with us in the comments section.