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March 24, 2021

More players roll out mobile and e-mail payment systems

When it comes to paying and getting paid, cash is no longer king.

Cash More and more Canadians are adopting a digital currency, using a computer or mobile phone to pay for tickets or parking as well as person-to-person transactions like splitting a restaurant bill or sharing costs, says PayPal, the leading online payment service. 

And business is booming.

The majority of us (62 per cent) are regularly transferring money online using our computer – whether it’s through PayPal, newcomers like Popmoney and Venmo, or through our bank account using the Interac network.

According to PayPal’s research, 33 per cent of those who also put their mobile phone to use this way say their use has increased steadily in recent years, and 20 per cent say, if they could, they would use it to pay for everyday purchases like their morning coffee or lunch.

If you're planning on attending a Facebook event, for instance, and you need to collect money from guests or pay off the organizer, you can use the Square Up with PayPal app to settle accounts.

But, if Visa has its way, all this may change. Later this year, Visa customers will be able to send money to any other Visa cardholder, regardless of where they bank or live as long as you have the recipient's 16-digit account number, cell number, or e-mail address.

Either the cash just shows up in the account linked to the recipients' card or the recipient gets a notice to OK the transfer.

I don’t know though. That’s a lot of info to share with the gang at the office. Things might work better if I could give them a number that only works to accept money, not to charge it.

But we’ll see. 

Are you a PayPal addict? Would you switch to a credit-card-based system if available? Or is it cash all the way for you?

By Gordon Powers, MSN Money

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Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...