The future of payments in Canada

Accenture surveyed 4,000 consumers in North America, including 600 Canadians, to understand their attitudes about payments and how they anticipate making payments by 2020. Results of the survey indicate that projections of a cashless society have been exaggerated, with just over half (52 percent) of Canadian consumers saying they expect to use cash on a weekly basis by 2020—resulting in only a 16 percent decrease from today. The survey showed that mobile payments are on the rise but providers must go “beyond payments” to reach the critical masses. While 28 percent of Canadian respondents have used their phone as a mobile payments device, 79 percent said they would increase their usage of mobile payments if discounts or coupons were offered. Over 50 percent of non-mobile payment users said they would be more interested in doing so if they were offered rewards and the ability of safely storing receipts on their phone.