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Cision Canada
6 days ago
- Business
- Cision Canada
Canadians nearly three times more likely to encounter payment fraud using cash versus credit cards, despite cash being perceived as safest payment method, reveals new Payments Canada study Français
Thirteen per cent of Canadians experienced payment fraud during a six-month period in 2025, with a disproportionately higher incidence (25 per cent) among newcomers; One in four (25 per cent) Canadians risk missing bill payments due to scam fears. OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 7, 2025 /CNW/ - While the percentage of Canadians who experienced payment fraud remained consistent year-over-year in 2025, new research from Payments Canada reveals shifts in the types of fraud and varying rates of fraud among different age demographics. Thirteen per cent experienced payment fraud over a six-month period in 2025, comparable with the level of fraud since 2021. "While the rate of payment fraud has remained steady over the last few years, we saw shifts in the types of payment fraud that Canadians experienced," said Jon Purther, Director, Research. "In particular, our research reveals that Canadians encountered the highest level of fraud when using cash compared to any other payment type. This may be due to the longevity of cash versus other payment forms, with fraud tactics, such as counterfeiting, becoming more sophisticated over time. Old techniques continue to prevail, such as pickpocketing and scams involving cash payments, such as romance scams, advance fee scams and impersonation scams. Fraudsters constantly evolve their techniques, which requires continued diligence by consumers and the payment ecosystem working together to stay one step ahead." Key study findings: 60 per cent of payment fraud incidents involved money loss. 32 per cent of Canadians don't know which payment-related communications are legitimate. 53 per cent say that concerns about fraud impact payment preferences and shopping habits. Many Canadians fail to use password best practices; 19 per cent use the same password for all accounts and six per cent have given out their personal and banking details via email or text message. Fraud was disproportionately higher among newcomers and younger Canadians: Canadian newcomers experienced nearly twice the rate of payment fraud compared to the overall population (at 25 per cent versus 13 per cent, respectively). Nearly two in five Canadians who were the targets of payment fraud experienced it within the last month. Of this group, young Canadians (18-34) represented the largest demographic at 58 per cent, followed by middle-aged Canadians (35-54) at 32 per cent and older Canadians (55+) at 24 per cent. Canadians experienced nearly three times more payment fraud experiences using cash versus credit cards: The research revealed that Canadians encountered the highest average number of fraud experiences when using cash versus any other payment method at 22.4 times over a six-month period in 2025. This was followed by prepaid cards at 10.5 times and credit and debit cards, both at 8.8 times. Money loss from payment fraud was typically less than $500; majority of losses were fully reimbursed: Among Canadians who experienced payment fraud, 37 per cent report that no money was taken but their personal financial data was stolen, versus 60 per cent who experienced money loss. In most cases, the amount lost was less than $500. Of those who experienced money loss through payment fraud, 80 per cent reported it to their financial institution; 65 per cent of incidents were fully reimbursed by their bank, credit union or card provider and 21 per cent were partially reimbursed. Older Canadians were significantly more likely not to have lost money compared to middle-aged and young Canadians (60 per cent versus 34 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively). The majority of Canadians say that concerns over fraud impact their payment and shopping behaviours, but that they feel protected by their financial institution: More than half (53 per cent) of respondents said that fraud concerns impact their payment behaviour, although 58 per cent feel protected by their bank, credit union, or credit card provider. Concern around payment fraud influenced many Canadians' shopping habits, including 67 per cent who verify the safety of e-commerce sites and only shop with trusted sites and 51 per cent who stick to local and in-person dealings when making online peer-to-peer transactions on marketplace sites like Kijiji and Craigslist. One in four Canadians are at risk of missing bill payments due to concerns about scams: Almost a third of Canadians (32 per cent) struggle with distinguishing between legitimate payment-related communications and requests received by telephone or email and those that are potentially scams. One in four Canadians (25 per cent, up from 22 per cent in 2024) felt that they were at risk of missing their bill payments because they avoided responding to payment-related communication that they were concerned was a potential scam. Cash considered most secure payment method: Despite cash-related payment fraud being nearly three times higher than credit card related fraud experiences, cash is perceived to be the safest payment method by 72 per cent of Canadians, followed by Interac e-Transfer (60 per cent), credit card (55 per cent), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) (55 per cent) and debit card (54 per cent). Canadians take a mix of measures to protect themselves against payment fraud: Many Canadians practice key fraud mitigation measures including; limiting how much personal information is shared (78 per cent); using passwords with more than 10 characters and a mix of upper and lowercase, numbers and symbols (70 per cent, up from 48 per cent in 2024); and enabling two-step authentication to access accounts whenever available (67 per cent). Despite the measures Canadians are taking, there is still room for improvement. Nineteen per cent tend to use the same password for all their accounts and six per cent have given out their personal and banking details via email or text message. Unauthorized transactions and impersonation fraud are among the most prevalent types of payment fraud, but levels are down from 2024: Outside of cash-related fraud, unauthorized transactions appearing on a bank or credit card statement and impersonation fraud were the most prevalent types of payment fraud experienced by Canadians, similar to 2024. However, the incidence level for each fraud type shifted in 2025 compared to 2024: Fraudulent transaction on bank or credit card statement: 33 per cent (38 per cent in 2024) Impersonator fraud via email, text, phone or social media: 24 per cent (34 per cent in 2024) Unauthorised purchase made through stolen credit card information: 20 per cent (18 per cent in 2024) Online purchase made via a fraudulent website: 17 per cent (14 per cent in 2024) Deceived into sending payment under false pretences: 11 per cent (11 per cent in 2024) Fraudulent purchase made using stolen debit card information: 10 per cent (7 per cent in 2024) Fraudster stole bank account information to take money: 8 per cent (6 per cent in 2024) "Payment fraud is a global challenge with constantly evolving fraudster tactics and Canada is no exception," said Donna Kinoshita, Chief Payments Officer at Payments Canada. "Supporting industry collaboration is a key area of focus for Payments Canada, including through our role with the Canadian anti-scam alliance, working alongside over fifty organisations from financial, telecom, digital platform, law enforcement and government sectors to lend our payment infrastructure and security expertise. We are also excited to be the first country to implement a centralized fraud system for Canada's forthcoming Real-Time Rail payment system from day one of launch, for which the technical build is on track to be completed in the coming weeks." About the study: 1,500 Canadians were interviewed online between February 24 and March 7, 2025, using Leger's online panel. The margin of error was +/- 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20. About Payments Canada: Payments Canada makes payments easier, smarter and safer for people living in Canada by providing secure and resilient national infrastructure where payments are cleared and settled between financial institutions. We are a public purpose organization that owns and operates Canada's payment systems, Lynx, the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) and the forthcoming Real-Time Rail (RTR), and are responsible for the by-laws, rules and standards that support these systems. In 2024, our systems cleared and settled $107 trillion — more than $424 billion every business day. Some of the transactions that pass through our systems include debit card payments, pre-authorized debits, direct deposits, bill payments, wire payments and cheques. Payments are an essential part of our economy and way of life. From a down payment on a home, an invoice paid to a local business or a first paycheque — payments keep Canadians and the economy moving forward.
Associated Press
18-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Canadians have polarizing views on evolving payment innovations with security concerns being top-of-mind, reveals new Payments Canada study
The appeal of new technologies such as GenAI, social commerce, passkeys and pay-by-bank are viewed through a 'security first' lens by Canadians. OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 18, 2025 /CNW/ - Canadians are divided in embracing evolving technologies that have the potential to change our shopping experiences along with how we pay and get paid. Concerns around security, lack of familiarity and a sense of contentment with existing payment and shopping experience technologies impact the appeal of newer innovations. This concern surrounds current and potential innovations like generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), social commerce and pay-by-bank reveals a new study from Payments Canada. 'Canadians prioritize security and privacy while also expecting ease and convenience in their shopping experience, particularly in the way they pay,' said Jon Purther, Director of Research at Payments Canada. 'They seek innovations that strike a balance between these factors. However, Canadians are divided on the appeal of innovations that have the potential to reshape our shopping and payment experiences, with security being a key concern. In our study, we also found that many Canadians had not yet formed a view around their appeal, which infers that they are reserving judgment until they become more familiar with newer technologies.' Key study findings: Canadians have polarizing perspectives around leveraging GenAI (generative artificial intelligence). GenAI has many applications when it comes to making payments or receiving services. This includes generating personalized discounts or pricing for consumers, providing them with virtual shopping assistants such as chatbots or providing product recommendations. GenAI can also support fraud detection by flagging unusual transaction activities, predicting user payment preferences and auto-filling details to speed up the checkout process while also generating personalized loyalty programs. Canadians are divided on using GenAI to improve their work and lifestyle; 43% are interested in leveraging these technologies, 44% are not interested and 13% are unsure. Younger Canadians aged 18-34 have more interest (56%) than middle-aged Canadians 35-54 (48%) and older Canadians aged 55+ (31%). Fraud detection and prevention is thought to be the most beneficial way of leveraging GenAI among Canadians (45%). Canadians have mixed views on the appeal of GenAI to enhance the online shopping experience; 28% consider it appealing, 34% say it's unappealing to them and 38% say it's neither appealing nor unappealing. GenAI-enhanced online shopping experiences are more appealing to younger Canadians aged 18-34 (39%) compared to middle-aged Canadians (29%) and older Canadians (21%). More than 1 in 10 Canadians have used social media commerce but security concerns are a key deterrent. Social commerce enables consumers to buy and sell products directly through social media platforms without leaving the platform or app. Overall, 12% of Canadians have sent or received money from a friend or family member using social media platforms, such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger or TikTok. Overall, 13% of Canadians have made a purchase within social media platforms, such as Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. Social commerce appeals to around 1 in 5 Canadians (18%), with 46% who say it is unappealing and 36% who say it's neither appealing nor unappealing. Of those who consider social commerce appealing, reasons include convenience and ease (40%), useful and interesting (6%) and a preferential way of purchasing items (5%). Among those who do not find social commerce appealing, key concerns include security (48%), not being of interest or useful (14%), not using or liking social media (10%) and not wanting to make impulsive purchases (5%). Pay-by-bank, which allows consumers to make transactions directly from their bank account to the merchant, bypassing traditional payment methods like credit and debit cards, is appealing to 29% of Canadians. Consumers select pay-by-bank (also known as account-to-account) at checkout, typically on an e-commerce website, app or point-of-sale terminal, which then redirects the consumer to their online banking platform or app where they can then approve the transaction. Overall, 29% of Canadians find pay-by-bank appealing, 33% do not find it appealing and 38% are neutral. Newcomers to Canada (53%) and gig workers (47%) are significantly more likely to use pay-by-bank. The key attraction of pay-by-bank is security with 32% of Canadians indicating it offers greater security. This is because when making an online purchase consumers do not have to enter their credit or debit card information directly on the merchant site. Instead, they are redirected to their online/mobile banking platform to confirm the payment transaction. The payment is made via an account-to-account (A2A) transfer directly from the consumer's bank account. Incentives would encourage Canadians to use pay-by-bank, with 60% more likely to use it with incentives such as cashback offers or rewards points. Only 22% of older Canadians would use pay-by-bank, compared to 34% of young Canadians and 28% of middle-aged Canadians. Half of Canadians (50%) find passkeys an appealing alternative method of user authentication that eliminates the need for usernames and passwords. Passkeys are integrated into online payments during checkout and linked to the consumer's bank account, digital wallet or card issuer, with the consumer being prompted to authenticate the purchase with a passkey on their device using biometrics (for example, their fingerprint, facial or voice recognition). Passkeys are considered more secure than passwords because there isn't a string of characters to memorize, making them harder to hack. Passkeys do not need to be changed, cannot be stolen by someone guessing or peeking over your shoulder, and there is no way to accidentally use one on the wrong website. Overall, 47% of Canadians say they are likely to use passkeys instead of passwords for logging into their email and online/mobile banking accounts, or e-commerce sites if the option was available. However, 23% do not find passkeys appealing, and 27% remain neutral. Among those that do not find passkeys appealing, key concerns include it being less secure (27%), lack of interest or need (20%), a perception of complexity/finding it confusing (16%), lack of understanding (12%) and lack of trust (7%). About the study: 1,500 Canadians were interviewed online each wave, between February 26 and March 8, 2024, (wave 1) and between June 24 and July 5, 2024, (wave 2) using Leger's online panel. The margin of error for this study was +/ 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. About Payments Canada: Payments Canada makes payments easier, smarter and safer for people living in Canada by providing secure and resilient infrastructure where payments are cleared and settled between financial institutions. We are a public purpose organization that owns and operates Canada's payment systems, Lynx, the Automated Clearing Settlement System (ACSS) and the forthcoming Real-Time Rail (RTR), and are responsible for the by-laws, rules and standards that support these systems. In 2024, our systems cleared and settled $107 trillion — more than $424 billion every business day. Some of the transactions that pass through our systems include debit card payments, pre-authorized debits, direct deposits, bill payments, wire payments and cheques. Payments are an essential part of our economy and way of life. From a down payment on a home, an invoice paid to a local business or a first paycheque — payments keep Canadians and the economy moving forward. For media inquiries, please visit Payments Canada's media centre.
