The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Canadians to embrace online shopping and contactless payments, accelerating a shift that’s seen consumers reach more for credit cards than loose change in recent years.
Despite that, cash is thriving.
At the end of 2020, about $100-billion worth of banknotes were in circulation, a year-over-year increase of $13.8-billion, according to a new paper by Bank of Canada staff. With typical growth rates, banknotes would have swelled by $4.9-billion last year – meaning the pandemic led to an extra $8.9-billion surge in demand.
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Despite that, cash is thriving.
At the end of 2020, about $100-billion worth of banknotes were in circulation, a year-over-year increase of $13.8-billion, according to a new paper by Bank of Canada staff. With typical growth rates, banknotes would have swelled by $4.9-billion last year – meaning the pandemic led to an extra $8.9-billion surge in demand.
Read more
Banks' strategy leads to cahsless societies
