News

Canadian consumers keen on credit cards

In the space of just one year, Canadians' preference for credit cards as a payment method spiked from 34 percent to 46 percent, a recent TSYS poll reveals.

July 2, 2015

Given a choice, 46 percent of Canadian consumers would be more likely to pay by credit card than by any other payment method.

This number is up from 34 percent in 2014, according to the 2015 Canadian Consumer Payment Choice Study from TSYS. The online survey polled more than 1,200 respondents age 18 years and older, a press release from TSYS said.

In addition to payment preferences and influencers, the study looked into consumers' preferred method of communication with their bank, and also examined the growing adoption of mobile as a payment channel.

Other key findings:

• Consumers are interested in using their mobile phones to manage and protect their accounts. Nearly 30 percent of survey respondents indicated they were highly interested in the ability to use a mobile phone to stop an unauthorized transaction. Additionally, 25 percent of respondents found the ability to instantly view card transactions highly interesting.
• Mobile apps offered by financial institutions have been highly adopted and are frequently used. Twenty-four percent of participants reported using a mobile app provided by their financial institution at least a few times per month.
• Cardholders are open to receiving communications from their financial institution. Nearly 50 percent of survey respondents indicated they were willing to receive coupons or special offers based on the information their bank collected about their purchase behavior.