The title of the Bank of Canada’s 2023 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report is “The Resilience of Cash.” The report measures Canadians’ adoption, use, and feelings about various payment methods. It particularly focuses on cash since its findings affect the design, production, and distribution of Canadian currency.

Canada next new bank note will be the $20 note. The Bank of Canada website reports the May 6, 2023, Government of Canada announcement that its face will feature a portrait of King Charles III. The back will continue to feature the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, a monument carrying the names of 11,285 Canadian World War I servicemen with unknown resting places in France. The bank, implementing the government’s plans, is proceeding with the $20 note’s face redesign. Making room for the $20 note, work on redesigning the $5 note is sidelined, despite the massive public relations campaign to select a subject in early 2020.

The bank’s report states that 20% of purchases were made with cash in 2023, similar to the 2020 through 2022 period, where estimates are that it was about 21% to 22%. The small decline is attributed to increasing card purchases rather than fewer cash transactions. The percentage of the value of all purchases that was in cash in 2023 was 11%, like in recent years.

There was a significant increase in the use of mobile apps for payments, with almost 45% of respondents to the survey indicated using a mobile app in 2023 to make a payment, up 8% from the prior year.

Online purchase spiked with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but have now leveled off. Online retail sales now make up about 14% of the total in terms of volume, and around 21% in terms of value.

Cash demand increased sharply with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, topping 4% of GDP. Demand has recently declined but is still above pre-pandemic levels.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on X (Twitter)
Keep in touch on MyCollect - the social media platform for collectibles 

Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.