Mobile Payments Remain Muted in Canada

A staff working paper by the Bank of Canada seeks to understand what would be possible if Canadians made more mobile payments ¹.

Canada should be well set to enjoy high levels of mobile payments. Five out of six adults regularly use a mobile phone and Statistics Canada reports that 84% of Canadians aged 15 and older have a smartphone for personal use.

70% of smartphones in Canada have built-in near-field communication (NFC) payment capability, allowing for in-person contactless payments from certain mobile payment apps. Almost all Canadians, regardless of whether they live in an urban or rural area, can access mobile networks.

Despite that, smartphone non-ownership is an obstacle to mobile payments for just about 16% of Canadians and mobile payments have not yet gained widespread adoption in Canada. Canadians have not started to use mobile payments at the same rate as other payment innovations, such as contactless card payments.