INTERAC DIRECT PAYMENT CLOSING GAP ON CASH
By Adnews Staff
The Interac Direct Payment system is taking Canada by storm. The system was introduced in 1995. At that time, 58% of debit cardholders said they use cash most often and 10% said they used IDP, according to a study done by The Strategic Counsel of Toronto. This year, 45% of cardholders say they most often use cash, while 31% said they use IDP. IDP is very popular with women. This year, 79% of women cardholders have used the debit payment system and 54% are frequent users. When looking at age, 18 to 24-year-olds are mostly likely to try IDP, with 96% choosing the system. But people over the age of 45 are catching up. Sixty-three per cent of consumers in this age group have tried it, a 20% increase over 1996. The study was commissioned by the Interac Association, an organization of financial institutions and technology services providers.