Financial services

• September 12, 2025

  The evolution of how we pay for things

  

  New technologies new payments possibilities. Learn more about how these innovations can make purchases easier, but also introduce new risks.

  Content Type(s): Publications, The Economy, Plain and Simple Research Topic(s): Cyber security, Digital currencies and fintech, Digitalization, Financial services, Payment clearing and settlement systems, Retail payments supervision

• Dynamic Consumer Cash Inventory Model

  Staff Working Paper 2025-22 Kim Huynh, Oleksandr Shcherbakov, André Stenzel

  We study consumer cash inventory behavior by developing a dynamic model of forward-looking consumers and estimating structural parameters of the model using detailed consumer survey data. Consumers facing holding and withdrawal costs solve a discrete-time continuous-control dynamic programming problem to optimally use cash at the point of sale.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Econometric and statistical methods, Financial services JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, D14, E, E4, E41, E42, G, G2, G21

• 2024 Methods-of-Payment Survey Report: Cash in an Era of Alternatives

  Staff Discussion Paper 2025-12 Marie-Hélène Felt, Anna Chernesky, Angelika Welte

  We present core findings from the 2024 Methods-of-Payment Survey, highlighting results from both the survey questionnaire and three-day shopping diary. Although cash holdings have increased in nominal terms, we find that cash usage remains unchanged since 2020. Mobile and other alternative payment methods continue to grow in importance.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Digital currencies and fintech, Financial services JEL Code(s): D, D8, D83, E, E4, E41

• Incorporating Trip-Chaining to Measuring Canadians’ Access to Cash

  Staff Working Paper 2025-16 Heng Chen, Hongyu Xiao

  Our paper employs smartphone data to construct an improved cash access metric by accounting for both spatial agglomeration and households’ travel patterns. We find that incorporating trip-chaining into the travel metric could show that travel costs are from 15 to 25% less than not incorporating trip-chaining and that the biggest decrease is driven by rural residents.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Financial services, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): D, D1, D12, O, O1, O18, R, R2, R22, R4, R41

• Canadians’ access to cash in 2023

  Staff Analytical Note 2025-13 Heng Chen, Hongyu Xiao, Daneal O’Habib, Stephen Wild

  This study updates our measure of Canadians' access to cash through automated banking machines and financial institution branches. We find that in 2023 overall access to cash remains stable, while rural Canadians continue having less access.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff analytical notes Research Topic(s): Bank notes, Financial services, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): J, J1, J15, O, O1, R, R5, R51

• Tech Reluctance: Fostering Empathy for Canadians Facing Challenges with Digital Systems

  Staff Discussion Paper 2025-2 Sebastian Hernandez, Helena Wang, Badr Omrane, Vera Roberts, David Pereyra

  We find that individuals who require help performing banking tasks or who are reluctant to adopt technology avoid digital payment systems they expect to lack usability. Addressing these issues through standard accessibility practices, live assistance and thoughtful interface design can enhance user interaction and trust.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff discussion papers Research Topic(s): Accessibility, Bank notes, Central bank research, Digital currencies and fintech, Digitalization, Financial services JEL Code(s): A, A1, A14, C, C9, C90, D, D8, D83, O, O3, O33, Y, Y8, Y80