Canadians leaning toward credit, tap-and-pay technology to make purchases
TORONTO, Oct. 20, 2016 /CNW/ - Consumer spending in Canada grew by 4.77 per cent in the third quarter of 2016 on a year-over-year basis, according to the MonerisMetrics Quarterly Report released by Moneris Solutions Corporation ("Moneris"), one of North America's largest processors of debit and credit payments. The third quarter of 2015 saw an increase of 6.68 per cent relative to the third quarter of 2014.
"We are closing in on eight consecutive quarters of growth across nearly all major consumer categories," said Angela Brown, President and CEO of Moneris. "Over the last few quarters, we have seen a trend toward a larger share of credit card versus debit card payments, which could be driven by a combination of factors, including the shift to online shopping, popularity of contactless payments, and Canadians' preference for loyalty and rewards programs. As we enter the busy holiday shopping season, we will continue to keep an eye on how Canadians are choosing to pay amid all of the options available to them."
Relative to 2015, consumer spending rose by 2.65 per cent in July, 5.93 per cent in August and 4.97 per cent in September. These findings are consistent with other economic indicators, including a report by Statistics Canada showing positive GDP growth in July.1
With the exception of Alberta, all provinces showed positive spending increases in the third quarter of 2016. British Columbia (7.08 per cent) and Quebec (6.88 per cent) were among the provinces posting the highest growth. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter of spending decreases in Alberta, with a drop of 2.66 per cent year over year.
Canadians choosing credit cards and tap-and-pay
The share of spending on credit cards continued to outpace debit cards in the third quarter of 2016. Spending on credit cards increased by 6.58 per cent, representing a 65 per cent share of transactions. Spending on debit cards rose by 1.58 per cent, representing a 35 per cent share of transactions.
Canadians continued to make more payments by tapping their cards and smartphones. Contactless purchases made up 32.83 per cent of all transactions during the quarter and the number of contactless transactions increased by 85.11 per cent over Q3 2015. Contactless spending increased in volume by 145.06 per cent over the same period in 2015.
"Tap-and-pay transactions have accounted for an increasingly significant portion of payments each quarter," said Brown. "High growth in the number of contactless transactions being made and volume of dollars spent is indicative of where we are headed with the technology, as more Canadians adopt mobile wallet options such as Apple Pay."
Busy summer tourism season
Spending on payment cards from outside of Canada increased by 12.94 per cent over the same period last year, as Canada continues to be a popular destination for foreign tourists. Spending on U.S. credit cards remained the biggest driver of foreign spending, with an increase of 12.57 per cent year over year.
China and the United Kingdom were the second and third highest contributors to foreign spending growth during the quarter.
Note to editors
Please see infographic for highlights, including top categories and spending by province.
About MonerisMetrics
MonerisMetrics is an insightful Canadian consumer spending indicator powered by Moneris. It provides information on consumer spending activity in Canada across a range of categories by analyzing credit and debit card transaction data. The percentages cited are derived from actual sales volumes — the dollar values of credit and debit card transactions being processed by Moneris merchants — compared with sales volumes from the prior year.
About Moneris
As one of North America's largest providers of payment processing solutions, Moneris offers credit, debit, wireless and online payment services for merchants in virtually every industry segment and processes more than three billion transactions, annually. Moneris offers electronic loyalty and stored-value gift card programs. With more than 350,000 merchant locations, Moneris provides the hardware, software and systems needed to improve business efficiency and manage payments. For more information please visit www.moneris.com.
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1 Statistics Canada, Gross Domestic Product by Industry, July 2016
SOURCE Moneris Solutions
Image with caption: "MonerisMetrics Quarterly Report - Q3 2016 (CNW Group/Moneris Solutions)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20161020_C7640_PHOTO_EN_799902.jpg
Media contact: Rachael Factor, FleishmanHillard, 416-645-3660, [email protected]
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