Payments are a two-way street. Buyers and sellers have to agree on how to settle transactions. So, how are consumers paying? Does it line up with the payment options merchants offer? Two new Bank of Canada research papers explore the trends.

This survey provides a snapshot of how consumers have been using and managing cash, payment cards and other alternatives. It also shows the effects the pandemic has had on all payments.

Merchant Acceptance Survey

This survey asks a sample of small and medium-sized businesses what types of payments they offer customers, and how they manage cash in their stores. It looks at the impacts of changing consumer preferences on what payments they accept, and gathers information on their access to cash.

• The use of contactless debit and credit payments continued to rise.
  
• The amount of cash people keep in their wallets or at home was up.

• 97% of small to medium-sized business in Canada accepted cash.
• The number of different payment methods accepted by merchants increased between 2018 and 2021.

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Browse other research and reports related to cash and payments.

As the country’s sole issuer of bank notes, it’s important for us to know what’s happening in the world of payments. This includes our ongoing work on digital currencies  and research on a central bank digital currency.