Cards Are King: A Majority of Canadians Are Now Card-First Buyers
27 Marzo 2018 - 3:00PM
Business Wire
New study reveals small businesses are missing out on sales by
not accepting cards
A national study, commissioned by payments and point-of-sale
company Square, reveals 79% of Canadians are now “card-first”
buyers who typically try to pay with a debit or credit card first
when making purchases. A further two in five Canadians (41%)
describe themselves as “card-only” buyers who never use cash to pay
for their purchases. In fact, three out of four Canadians (75%) are
carrying less cash than in the past with an average of $46.50 in
their wallets right now and admit they haven’t visited a bank or
ATM to withdraw cash in more than two weeks (17 days to be
exact).
The way Canadians prefer to pay affects where they choose to
buy, with over two-thirds of Canadians (69%) saying they would be
more likely to buy from a local business if they can pay by card.
This will come as a surprise to the vast majority of cash- and/or
cheque-only small businesses (85%), which don’t think they’re
missing out on sales by not accepting cards. The disconnect between
buyers’ clear preference for paying by card and a business’s
traditional cash- and cheque-only ethos indicates businesses need
to rethink how they let buyers pay as there is a significant cost
to not accepting cards.
“Buyers’ attitudes towards payments have changed and so too
should local businesses’,” said Cathy Vigrass, Head of Canada,
Square. “To remain competitive, no business, large or small, can
afford to miss out on sales. Square levels the playing field for
local businesses by making it easy and affordable to accept the way
Canadians prefer to pay.”
Here are some of the standout study findings:
- While 88% of cash- and/or cheque-only
small businesses believe people are carrying less cash today than a
few years ago, only 11% believe cards are their buyers’ most
preferred way to pay.
- Two-thirds of Canadians (67%) think
cash- and/or cheque-only businesses are old-fashioned, and a
further almost half (47%) avoid them, and an equal (47%) haven't
made a purchase because they weren't able to pay by card.
- Only 40% of cash- and/or cheque-only
businesses wonder if they’re inconveniencing their customers by not
accepting cards, while the majority (64%) of Canadians are
frustrated when wanting to pay by card but have to pay with
cash.
- The overwhelming majority of
card-accepting small businesses (89%) started taking card payments
to allow customers to pay how they want and a further more than
two-thirds (68%) were motivated to increase their potential
sales.
- While the majority of small businesses
(74%) believe they will always accept cash, nearly a quarter (22%)
are intrigued by the idea of not accepting cash at all.
A report by Canada's central bank indicates while nearly all
large businesses accept cards, only two-thirds of small or
medium-size businesses (SMBs) do. In the same report, it is noted
that SMBs that offer food have the highest acceptance of cards.
Some local fast-casual restaurant leaders across the country are
showing Canadian consumers and businesses across industries that
cashless sales could be the future.
“We first thought about operating cashless six months ago, when
a series of break-ins accelerated our decision,” said Square seller
Barbora Samieian, owner of salad shop Field & Social in
Vancouver. “Going cashless wasn’t a huge transition for us, as more
than 90% of our customers preferred paying by card. The response
has been overwhelmingly positive from both our customers and staff,
with many saying they also see it as the way of the future.”
*This study, conducted by Leger, was composed of an omnibus
survey with consumers and a phone survey with small businesses. The
online omnibus survey of 1,566 Canadians was completed between
March 5 and 8, 2018, using Leger’s online panel, LegerWeb. The
margin of error for this study was +/-2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
Telephone interviews with 316 Canadian small business (30 or fewer
employees) owners and employees that at least sometimes accept
customer payments in person and have influence on what forms of
payment to accept from customers were completed between March 7 and
22, 2018. The margin of error for this study was +/-5.5%, 19 times
out of 20.
About Square
Square creates tools that help sellers of all sizes start, run
and grow their businesses. Square enables sellers to accept card
payments and also provides reporting and analytics, invoicing and
next-day settlement. Square’s point-of-sale software helps sellers
manage inventory, locations and employees, and grow sales. Square
was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, with
offices in the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Ireland and
the UK. Square operates in Canada through its wholly owned
subsidiary, Square Canada Inc. More information is available at
square.ca.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180327005519/en/
Square Canada, Inc.press@squareup.com
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