Frantic, last-minute holiday shoppers beware: Not every modern form of payment will be accepted by retailers

Today, there are more ways to spend money than ever before, including digitally, through a credit or debit card, good old-fashioned cash or a cheque…even by crypto. However, not every store, accepts every payment method so last-minute shoppers be prepared while you frantically look for gifts this holiday season.

Earlier this summer, we asked Canadian businesses about the payment methods they accept and the reasons why they do not accept certain methods. This is what they told us.

A credit card or cash will close the deal at most Canadian retailers, while a cheque may not cut it

For those doing last-minute holiday shopping, bringing a credit card (92.5%) or cash (92.3%) remains your best option since these were the most accepted payment methods for Canadian retailers in the summer of 2023. A debit card ranked third, with 87.8% of retailers accepting this payment method.

It will be hit or miss with those trying to pay for a gift with a cheque (52.6%) or an Interac e-transfer (50.5%), given that around half of retailers accept these modes of payment.

Just over one-quarter of Canadian retailers accepted payment using a digital or electronic wallet (26.8%) this summer, while just over 1 in 10 accepted payment through a wire transfer (13.7%) or PayPal (11.7%).

Some Canadian retailers (8.1%) also offer a “buy now, pay later” plan.

Canadians looking to do their holiday shopping using cryptocurrency or crypto wallets are probably out of luck, with 0.8% of retailers accepting this form of payment during the summer of 2023.

Over one in four Canadian businesses cite service fees as reason for not accepting certain payment methods

Last-minute shoppers should not be surprised if their preferred method of payment is not available in every store.

Not having the appropriate software (27.7%), service fees (27.6%) and security or privacy concerns (26.1%) were the leading reasons retailers cited for not adopting a payment method.

Canadian retailers continue to expand payment options

Almost three in four Canadian retailers (73.8%) believe their current payment methods meet the needs of the business or organization and its clients or customers.

The remainder are exploring new ways to extract money from customers.

Approximately one in seven retailers this summer reported looking to add Interac e-transfer (14.4%) or electronic funds transfer (14.1%) to their payment mix in the year ahead.

Fewer than 1 in 10 retailers were looking to include wire transfer (8.2%), digital wallet or electronic wallet (8.1%) or buy now, pay later (6.8%) payment options.

Although the odds remain prohibitively slim, crypto fans may have more luck next holiday season, with 2.8% of retailers looking to add the currency to their payment mix by next summer.

Tap or scan into more payment method data

While this story focused exclusively on retailers, the report, “Analysis of payment methods accepted by businesses, third quarter of 2023” looks at the payment methods accepted by all business sectors across Canada.