INTERAC GETTING AS POPULAR AS CASH
By Adnews Staff
After cash, Canadians use Interac Direct Payment more than any other payment option, according to a study by The Strategic Counsel. While IDP continues to gain in popularity, cash and cheque use are declining. Since 1995, 13% of cardholders switched to IDP as the payment method they use most often, while cash is 8% less popular and cheques fell to last place. Findings also showed that 70% of automated banking machine cardholders have used IDP, compared to 55% in 1995. Almost 85% of IDP users rate their level of satisfaction as good to excellent. Respondents prefer IDP because it is convenient, safer than carrying cash and saves time from going to the branch or the banking machine. Preference for IDP is strong for purchases between $25 and $100. For purchases of $50 to $75, IDP is preferred over cash, credit and cheques. IDP is also being used more frequently, with 43% of the respondents saying they use the card either frequently or very frequently, This figure compares to 41% in 1996 and 37% in 1995. Over 676 million IDP transactions occurred last year, up from 185 million in 1994.