If you answered EFT, credit card and cheques, then you’re following the same trend of other Canadian businesses.

1. EFT continued to lead all other payment types with a 25 per cent share of total business expenditures.
2. Business credit cards accounted for 17 per cent of total business expenditures in 2021 (down slightly from 19 per cent in 2020).
3. Cheque payments declined by 54 percent from last year (2021), but still accounted for 11 per cent of total business expenditure in 2021.

The year-over-year decrease in the value of cheque payments made by mid-market businesses was attributed to increases in EFT, credit and debit cards and cash payments.

You’re on trend if you’ve moved toward more digital payments.

• Over the last year, a greater number of mid-market businesses switched from cheques to EFT payments to cover business expenses such as payroll, rent and government payments.
• Business credit cards were mainly used to pay for one-time expenses such as office supplies/computer equipment, travel-related and entertainment expenses, and fuel costs. The primary reasons for payments like credit cards is acceptance, rewards, convenience and the ease of payments tracking.

Cheques usage was down 54 percent for mid-market business and 26 percent for SMEs in 2021. The year-over-year decrease in cheque payments is linked to increases in EFT, credit and debit cards, and cash payments.

Unless you need to because of payment processes in certain industries (e.g. real estate) or supplier preference, it may be time to switch.

There are some exciting consumer trends in payments.

3 Key Trends:

• Contactless and digital payments continued to be popular among Canadians.
• E-commerce continued to appeal to Canadians in spite of returning to in-store shopping.
• The shift towards online purchasing increased consumer demand for more digital payment options and a frictionless payment experience.

Consumer Trends:

• Many Canadians who switched to contactless payments for their day-to-day spending in 2020 continued to tap in 2021. Contactless payment transaction volume increased by 12 per cent from last year to account for 34 per cent of total payment volume in 2021.
  • Credit cards remained the most used payment method for purchases made either online or at the point-of-sale.
  • Debit cards remain one of the most popular payment methods accounting for 30 percent of total payment volume in Canada, second only to credit cards.
• For the first time ever, online transfer value exceeded that of debit card in 2021 ($325 billion versus $273 billion). Online transfer transaction volume grew by 26 per cent and continued to lead all other payment types for year-over-year volume growth.
  • Interac e-Transfer is extremely popular among Canadians, with over 960 million transactions sent in 2021, representing a 26 per cent increase in transaction volume from 2020.
  • Despite this double-digit growth in volume and value, online transfers continued to account for a relatively small portion of total payments volume and value (five per cent and three per cent respectively).
• EFT transaction volume and value rebounded in 2021 with strong year-over-year growth, particularly for value (21 per cent). The continued decline in cheques, coupled with the increase in EFT value, indicates more Canadian consumers are replacing cheques with electronic payment methods for large-value transactions.
• Automated banking machines (ABM) withdrawal transaction volumes declined by eight percent, but increased in value by 23 per cent year-over-year.
• Cheque usage continued to decline with six per cent fewer cheque payments being made in 2021 versus 2020.

The global volume for cross-border payments is estimated to be above $150 trillion and continues to grow as use cases for cross-border payments evolve.

Globalization and extension of industries across jurisdictions played a role in driving the use of cross-border payments. Whether businesses were aiming to find new suppliers in new regions during the pandemic, sending money overseas with travel restrictions in place, or even online purchases from international websites, the COVID-19 pandemic shone a light on cross-border payments.