Canadians Prefer Cash Over Crypto, Here's Why!

Canadians prefer cash to crypto (Photo; Doc. Bitcanuck)

JAKARTA - According to a recent report from the Bank of Canada, despite the growing interest in digital assets globally, many Canadians still prefer to use cash for their transactions. The sixth Methods-of-Payment (MOP) report released on July 3 shows that crypto adoption in Canada is still far from mainstream.

In this latest survey, 4,000 respondents completed a detailed questionnaire about their spending habits. The results show that cash remains a popular choice for transactions in 2023. Around 20% of all purchases are made using cash, although there has been an increase in alternative payment options.

Quoted from Crypto News, the MOP report revealed that alternative payment options have also increased. The most popular alternative payment option for Canadians is e-Transfer, with 58% of respondents using this option in 2023, up 7% from 2022. Followed by e-wallet PayPal, which has an adoption rate of 35%.

However, despite the rise in these alternative payment options, less than 3% of Canadians actually use Bitcoin as a payment option. This is in contrast to the adoption of Bitcoin ATMs in Canada, which is the second largest Bitcoin ATM hub in the world with over 3,000 installed. In fact, the first crypto ATM was installed in Vancouver, Canada, in 2013.

When asked if they planned to move away from cash altogether in the future, 80% of respondents said they had no plans to stop using cash. The study is similar to a separate study conducted by Payments Canada, in which the group asked 1,500 respondents about their views on a cashless future. Respondents said they preferred cash because it was free of bank fees, no risk of privacy breaches, and could be used even during an internet outage.

While crypto adoption among the general public has been slow, Canadian institutions are showing interest in the asset class. In April, a KPMG report revealed that 39% of institutional investors in Canada had exposure to crypto by 2023. The survey highlighted that about 4 in 10 respondents had direct or indirect exposure, up 31% from 2021.