The ease and convenience of contactless credit card transactions means they continue to grow in popularity.
According to to the MonerisMetrics Quarterly Report released by Moneris Solutions Corp. on Thursday, in the second quarter contactless transactions had a share of 52.5 per cent of card transactions as tap payments trended upwards from the 51.5 per cent recorded in the first quarter.
Overall credit and debit card spending year over year saw moderate growth of 2.9 per cent.
Angela Brown
President and CEO of Moneris
“The impressive share of contactless payments again this quarter is a signal that tap-to-pay is here to stay,” said Angela Brown, president and CEO of Moneris. “It’s clear that as we shifted into the spring and summer months, Canadians continued to move quickly through the checkout process. Contactless is driving real change in consumer behaviour and it’s exciting to watch. We’re witnessing a shift in the market that’s accelerating the adoption of digital wallets and changing the payments landscape.”
Moneris said provinces leading the trend in contactless transactions were: Prince Edward Island (57.5 per cent), Manitoba (56.0 per cent), Ontario (54.8 per cent), British Columbia (54.6 per cent), Nova Scotia (54.4 per cent), Alberta (53.3 per cent), Saskatchewan (52.3 per cent) and New Brunswick (50.0 per cent).
In terms of spending in the second quarter, Saskatchewan (-1.1 per cent), Alberta (-0.3 per cent) and Newfoundland (-0.2 per cent) saw the lowest growth rates in the country for a second quarter in a row, said Moneris.
“Despite a slow growth rate, Quebec (+5.2 per cent), New Brunswick (+4.2 per cent), Nova Scotia (+2.5 per cent) and Manitoba (+2.4 per cent) outperformed their second quarter growth from 2018. Prince Edward Island and Ontario held steady growth rates at 4.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively compared to Q2 2018, and British Columbia closed the second quarter with 3.2 per cent.”
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