From Merchant to Consumer: a Payment Overview

The Bank of Canada (BOC) has published two survey reports in the last few months.

The first was the Methods of Payment (MOP) survey 2021 ¹ and the second the Merchant Acceptance Survey (MAS) Pilot Study ². These surveys cover the payment stakeholder spectrum and offer, therefore, an interesting overview of changing payment dynamics.

MAS survey pilot study

The MAS is important because it provides data on what is happening to merchant cash acceptance and payment trends. An MAS was carried out in 2018 but the pandemic disrupted the normal schedule. This MAS is also an opportunity for BOC to understand the conditions for the potential issue of a CBDC.

Acceptance of different payment methods depends on the size of merchants, the industry and region. This version of the MAS was slightly different in that it targeted small and medium size businesses (SMBs), namely businesses with up to 49 staff.