Canada ranks number 1 in embracing a cashless culture

[Tennis]

The UK is the third most cashless society in the world, pipped to the post by Canada and Sweden, which were found to be ahead of the trend in ditching cash.

The rankings were based on six metrics: the number of credit cards per person; the number of debit cards per person; the cards in issue that have contactless functionality; the growth of cashless payments over the past five years; payment transactions made using non-cash methods; and the number of people that are aware of what mobile payments options they have available to use.

The research, conducted by Forex Bonuses, looked at 20 of the world’s top economies, with only the top 10 ranked.

Canada topped the table because its citizens have more than two credit cards per person, and the majority (57pc) of payments are made using cashless methods. However, it had the lowest number of debit cards per capita of all countries included in the research, and only 26pc of its debt cards have contactless functionality.

In Sweden, 59pc of consumer transactions are completed through non-cash methods, and 47pc of citizens are aware of the types of mobile payment services available to them, making it the second most cashless country in the world, according to Forex Bonuses.

In the UK, 41pc of cards have contactless functionality, and British consumers own 1.48 debit cards per capita, pushing it to third place in the charts.

China ranks at number six in the list. While the Asian superpower has strong scores for many metrics, it is let down by a lack of credit card usage and a high remaining prevalence for cash payments, using cashless methods for only 10pc of transactions.

Debit, credit and charge cards were used for 10.3bn transactions in the UK in 2016, a rise of 5pc on 2015, giving plastic a 54pc share of all retail payments by volume, according to the figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) in July.

It marked the first time that cards have surpassed the 50pc level in terms of volume of retail payments, with the popularity of plastic bolstered by the rise of different types of payment technologies such as contactless.

The use of debit cards in particular has grown, accounting for 8.1bn retail transactions last year.

Despite the move towards plastic, cash is still predicted to make up around a fifth (21pc) of payments in 10 years' time, according to Payments UK.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/fut...-does-uk-rank/

Great to see Canada leading the way here. You just need your debit and credit card in almost all situations.

[Kraenen]

Tenn, why do you like a cashless society?

[Doctor Amadeus]

Not in Manitoba lol! Go Winnipeg $$$$

[zlygork]

And yet I live in shebrooke QC, where we have the "Fête du lac" one week per year which is a very big event attracting people from all over the province and yet somehow they can't manage to get ONE debit card reader at each entrance. I really couldn't care less, I guess.

[Ave07]

Debit and Credit card is useless after a natural disaster like a hurricane when all the networks are down. There was once a time when the transponder for my car stopped working and the toll collect wouldn't take my cards so I ended up mailing them a check in the year 2016 for $5.

[Taso]

So I’m guessing Canada is cool with crypto currency?

[Tabrotar]

I really can´t get why someone would find it good if we won´t have anymore cash.

The whole thing with being without money if something happens to your bank/bank account, being even more transparent and so on.

I´m really glad that here in germany we won´t go this way in for a long time.

[IIamaKing]

I use cash to gamble and to buy weed. Everything else is cashless.

[bladeXcrasher]

I thought you hated credit cards? @Tennisace

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...highlight=debt

[callipygoustp]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/fut...-does-uk-rank/

Great to see Canada leading the way here. You just need your debit and credit card in almost all situations.

I was more than a little surprised when I saw this in the news this morning. I expected Europe to have it nailed down much more so than anywhere else.

[Deleted]

Sometimes I wonder - is money itself not a failure that just into the next dimension being digital? Material and work are not on same level of compensation anymore.

[Taso]

Sometimes I wonder - is money itself not a failure that just into the next dimension being digital? Material and work are not on same level of compensation anymore.

Well money is a means of exchange without it you have to offer something to compensate in equal value.
For example if you want a car I need something in equal value to that car if you don’t use cash then you may have to provide some else like a cow or a watch so I know I’m getting my worth out of it.

[Endus]

I usually try and carry some cash on me, but that's a holdout from a bygone era. It's been years since I actually needed cash in any particular situation. Maybe if I were buying drugs from criminals, but I don't, so meh.

Debit and Credit card is useless after a natural disaster like a hurricane when all the networks are down. There was once a time when the transponder for my car stopped working and the toll collect wouldn't take my cards so I ended up mailing them a check in the year 2016 for $5.

Pretty sure a lot of stores still have the old manual machines for credit cards, I've had them pull them out during power outages. You realize credit cards were in play well before direct banking was, right?

After learning about banks internal security when it comes things like Equafax. I have little confidence in a cashless society.

Canada has stricter controls over its banks and such. It's why the housing crisis barely caused a blip up here.

I mean, I get flak from my sister because my debit card still doesn't have Flash technology (tap and pay, no PIN or swiping or inserting needed). My Visa does, just not my debit. But that's because I've had the same debit card now for like 10 years.

[Deleted]

Well money is a means of exchange without it you have to offer something to compensate in equal value.
For example if you want a car I need something in equal value to that car if you don’t use cash then you may have to provide some else like a cow or a watch so I know I’m getting my worth out of it.

Yes and that's what I mean. Do you think making a car is 99% while getting the resources to create one is 1% in value? A better example, no call it more realistic would be smartphones or clothes.

[Grapemask]

My mother back home still tries to use cash for everything. I really don't know why. I'm pretty sure it's one of the leading causes of her near-poverty (other than relentless spoiling of my nephew) - not only does she just flat-out lose it all the damn time, along with the money in fees she loses trying to get more from ATMs all the time, but it's the conversion to change that's the real killer.

You pay with 10 bucks, get 4 dollars and some change back. You keep track of the dollars, you throw the change in your bag/wallet. Sometimes you dig out these coins, but often, it'll be long enough between purchases that they get lost or put in a longer-term storage container for that time far in the future that you dump them all in that change machine at the grocery store.

In a month's time, you've doomed tens of dollars to this jar, and in a year, hundreds. And you never cash in the damn jar until it's full, and all the while, your stupid kids are taking quarters out when they visit for Thanksgiving and want to get stupid stuff from grab machines.

[Ave07]

I usually try and carry some cash on me, but that's a holdout from a bygone era. It's been years since I actually needed cash in any particular situation. Maybe if I were buying drugs from criminals, but I don't, so meh.


Pretty sure a lot of stores still have the old manual machines for credit cards, I've had them pull them out during power outages. You realize credit cards were in play well before direct banking was, right?



Canada has stricter controls over its banks and such. It's why the housing crisis barely caused a blip up here.

Of course but most places do not carry them.

[zlygork]

My mother back home still tries to use cash for everything. I really don't know why. I'm pretty sure it's one of the leading causes of her near-poverty (other than relentless spoiling of my nephew) - not only does she just flat-out lose it all the damn time, along with the money in fees she loses trying to get more from ATMs all the time, but it's the conversion to change that's the real killer.

You pay with 10 bucks, get 4 dollars and some change back. You keep track of the dollars, you throw the change in your bag/wallet. Sometimes you dig out these coins, but often, it'll be long enough between purchases that they get lost or put in a longer-term storage container for that time far in the future that you dump them all in that change machine at the grocery store.

In a month's time, you've doomed tens of dollars to this jar, and in a year, hundreds. And you never cash in the damn jar until it's full, and all the while, your stupid kids are taking quarters out when they visit for Thanksgiving and want to get stupid stuff from grab machines.

To be honest this is my reason #1 for using debit 95% of the time.

[Themius]

I never use cash. At most I typically have at most 5 dollars on me at any one time? Cash I just find slow, cumbersome, not secure, and annoying.

[shadowmouse]

You just need your debit and credit card in almost all situations.

Wait, you guys still use credit and debit cards? This is like claiming that Canada is a leader in energy production because you just learned how to rub two sticks together! I see the study you cite ignored that, citing a lack of credit and debit cards but failing to address widespread use of phones in China(and I question their conclusion about debit cards).

Here: http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/08/tech...des/index.html

"The market is colossal and it is still growing," said Shen Wei, deputy director of the a research institute that specializes in QR codes. He estimates that more than $1.65 trillion of transactions used the codes last year, accounting for about a third of all mobile payments in China.

Tencent's (TCTZF) WeChat Pay and Alibaba (BABA, Tech30) spinoff Alipay are the dominant mobile payment apps in China. People can use them to pay in a store by scanning a product's QR code or showing their personal code to the cashier. The money is deducted from mobile wallets that are usually linked to regular bank accounts.

Hell, I just got paid yesterday and they used WeChat.

[Tijuana]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/fut...-does-uk-rank/

Great to see Canada leading the way here. You just need your debit and credit card in almost all situations.

This is surprising to no one. But, probably not for the reasons you intended.