The Bank of Canada surveys Canadian consumers to get a better understanding of how they pay for goods and services. The Methods-of-Payment survey provides a representative snapshot of Canadians’ payment choices, with a focus on cash use.
As Canada’s sole issuer of bank notes, it is important for the Bank to understand the rapidly evolving payments landscape.
This survey includes a questionnaire and a diary where participants record their payments and cash withdrawals over the course of three days. Using this information, we calculate the share of payments made with cash, credit cards, debit cards and other methods.
The payment choices of consumers and merchants are a two-way street. If you are interested in the payment methods accepted by small and medium-sized businesses, check out the latest Merchant Acceptance Survey.
Latest results
- Since 2021, cash shares at the point of sale have been relatively stable. They plateaued above 20% in volume and above 10% in value but declined to about 18% in volume and 10% in value in 2025.
- Canadians continue to hold positive views of cash, and 80% of them report no plans to stop using it.
- Contactless card payments remain the dominant in-person payment method, accounting for more than 60% of transactions by both volume and value, while mobile payment adoption continues to grow.
To learn more about how Canadians pay, and their views on cash and cards, read the full survey report.
Cash on hand and ABM withdrawals
| Year | % holding cash on hand | Average cash on hand ($) | Made an ABM withdrawal in the past week (%) | Average ABM withdrawal ($) | Average ABM withdrawals per month (qty) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 95 | 72 | 50 | 113 | 4.3 |
| 2013 | 94 | 81 | 37 | 118 | 2.7 |
| 2017 | 89 | 106 | 27 | 140 | 2.3 |
| 2021 | 75 | 127 | 28 | 154 | 1.6 |
| 2022 | 79 | 130 | 29 | 156 | 1.7 |
| 2023 | 80 | 140 | 30 | 154 | 1.7 |
| 2024 | 79 | 156 | 32 | 176 | 2.1 |
| 2025 | 76 | 141 | 29 | 151 | 1.9 |
Note: For the 2024 report, a new cleaning method was applied to 2021–24 cash withdrawal data, and thus estimates published in prior reports may vary slightly from those shown in this table.