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  • Writer's pictureDeborah
    • Nov 2, 2021

On September 29, 2021, Payments Canada published its annual Payment Methods and Trends report, analyzing 20 billion payment transactions made in 2020, totalling $9.4 trillion. The year 2020 was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic which influenced a shift in payment behaviours to digital and contactless payments, accelerating the decline in cash usage.


Key trends

  • Electronic payments rose to 79% of all transactions

  • Contactless payments increased 13%

  • Nearly half of Canadians reported making payments on e-commerce platforms, helping push growth in E-commerce payments up 13% in volume

  • Online transfers rose 48% in volume

  • Credit, Debit and cash remain the top three payment methods by volume however their use declined compared to previous years

  • In terms of total value amounts, electronic fund transfers (EFT) and cheques remain the top payment methods.


From a small and medium enterprise perspective, EFT, credit cards and cheque were preferred methods of payments.


  • EFT represented 25% of total payment value, followed by credit cards at 24% and cheques at 17% of total business expenditure

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