More than 70 per cent of Canadians ready to go "cashless"

Canada NewsWire

TORONTO, June 13, 2012

Massive jump in Canadians' acceptance of cashless future, PayPal survey finds

TORONTO, June 13, 2012 /CNW/ - The idea of living in a cashless society is gaining considerable momentum in Canada. A new survey conducted on behalf of PayPal Canada by Leger Marketing shows that 71 per cent of Canadians are comfortable with never having to handle cash to make a purchase, up 27 per cent from 2011. In fact, many Canadians are already embracing this shift - a full quarter (25 per cent) of survey respondents go more than a week without using cash.

"The growth we're seeing in Canadians' eagerness to go cashless is significant," said Darrell MacMullin, managing director, PayPal Canada. "In Canada, 2012 marks the year that we've moved well beyond the tipping point towards embracing a digital future. Canadians understand that a digital wallet can be a safer and smarter way to pay and get paid."

More than four million Canadians already have PayPal accounts which enable them to go cashless today, by offering a safer and more secure digital wallet service. Canadians already use PayPal to pay and get paid using their bank account, credit cards and PayPal balance from their computer, smartphone or virtually any Internet-connected device.

Canadian's can also rely on PayPal's mobile app to help manage their money on the go. According to the survey, 56 per cent of Canadians are more likely to forgive and forget when someone owes them money for an everyday purchase, rather than follow-up about it. The "request money" feature on PayPal's app is an easy way to ask a friend or group of people for the money that is owed. Similarly, the app's "send money" feature is perfect for people that don't like the idea of owing anyone money - more than half (54 per cent) of survey respondents pay back small debts immediately. With PayPal sending money to friends and family in Canada is free if the transfer is funded by a PayPal balance or bank account.

PayPal is the safer way to pay and get paid on mobile devices - security and privacy are built into the service. PayPal doesn't store personal or financial details on any device, and never shares details such as a credit card number, bank account number or PayPal balance with merchants. All transactions take place in PayPal's secure environment.

PayPal's secure approach to mobile payments is important to making a cashless future a reality in Canada, as many Canadians have expressed concerns about the security of mobile payments. Results from a recent survey conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of PayPal Canada reveal that 43 per cent of Canadian smartphone users don't trust that their mobile phone applications and hardware will keep their personal details safe and secure, and 80 per cent are concerned about financial privacy and sharing personal or credit card details when making mobile purchases and transactions.

PayPal's mobile app is free to download and is available for iPhone™, BlackBerry® and Android™ smartphones. Visit www.paypal.ca for more information.

Leger Marketing methodology
The survey was completed online from May 28^th, to May 31^st, 2012 using Leger Marketing's online panel, LegerWeb, with a sample of 1500 Canadians aged 18+.

A probability sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.

Ipsos Reid methodology:
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between January 27 to February 1, 2012, conducted on behalf of PayPal. For this survey, a sample of 1,012 adults with a smartphone from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of smartphone owners in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error.

About PayPal
PayPal is the faster, safer way to pay and get paid online. The service allows members to send money without sharing financial information, with the flexibility to pay using their account balances, bank accounts or credit cards. With more than 110 million active accounts in 190 markets and 25 currencies around the globe, PayPal enables global ecommerce. PayPal is an eBay company. The company's open payment platform, x.commerce , allows developers to build innovative payment applications on multiple platforms and devices. More information about the company can be found at http://www.PayPal.ca

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