According to a recent Interac survey, nearly eight in ten Gen Z adults (78%) pay with their smartphone, well ahead of other older age groups including their parents’ generation (42%).
Four out of ten members of the telephone generation (52%).
“Canadians went contactless early in the pandemic, but our data shows that consumers are now going even further as mobile payments become more mainstream, especially as young Canadians encourage those around them to do the same,” says William Keliehor , Interac Corp’s chief business operations officer, said in a statement.
“Debit card payments remain a preferred payment method for Canadians even as in-store transactions and e-commerce take new forms,” he added.
Among Gen Z Canadians who shop on their smartphones, more than half (53%) prefer to pay by direct debit. Three-quarters of this generation (76%) believe they should always be able to use Direct Debit when shopping online, via an app or in-store.
Contactless, used more and more frequently
In general, Canadians are increasingly relying on their phones. Survey data shows a 53% increase in Interac usage for in-store mobile contactless payments and a 17% increase in usage for e-commerce purchases between August 2022 and July 2023.
Two thirds of respondents (63%) assume that it is normal to leave the house “without a physical wallet”.
The survey was conducted between June 16 and June 18, 2023 with 1,502 Canadians.