Canadians are opting to carry more cash in their wallets despite the growing prevalence of digital transactions, a new survey from the Bank of Canada suggests.
A recent report published by the central bank on 2024 payment methods found that Canadians kept an average of $156 in cash in their pockets, compared to $140 in 2023.
“About 80 percent of Canadians had some cash on hand in 2024,” the Bank of Canada said. “This share has been fairly consistent since 2022, stabilizing at a level higher than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Canadians are more likely to carry cash now than they were in the years just prior to the pandemic, when the use of cash was steadily declining, the report found, noting a marked difference between Canada and the United States, which has seen continued annual declines in the use of cash….