Accept payments in Canada

Canadian Payment Market Overview

Canada’s business to consumer e-commerce market is said to resemble the neighboring U.S. market in terms of features and preferences. For example, card payments dominate in both markets and they have similar penetrations for mobile commerce. But Canada’s e-commerce market is much smaller, at $46 billion (CAD61 billion), due mainly to a significantly lower population (38 million, compared with 325.7 million citizens in the U.S.).

In addition, online shopping in Canada has been relatively slow to develop, partly because of a reluctance from domestic retailers to adapt and start selling online. But growth is now strong as Canadian retailers are catching up and investing in digital platforms to reach customers over the vast geography of the country, and responding to increasing competition from global e-commerce companies.

Payment Methods in Canada

Key Market Indicators in Canada

Banks in Canada

Mobile Carriers in Canada

Integrate Canadian Payment Methods

As the principal way to shop online in Canada, cards are used for 62 percent of all e-commerce transactions, representing $29 billion (CAD38.7 billion) in annual sales. Although other payment methods are increasingly being used in Canada, cards will maintain their dominance of the Canadian market out to 2021.

Bank transfers are used for 12 percent of payments, and are also growing rapidly. Use of this payment method in Canada is driven by domestic provider Interac, which is popular with domestic merchants. The ongoing availability of cash payments, which are used for a small percentage of transactions, could be due to services such as Canada Post’s Collect on Delivery service, which allows Canada’s online shoppers to pay with cash when their item arrives.