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Technology Stocks : IVI Checkmate (CMIV) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bron-y-aur who wrote (1718)	12/12/1998 9:02:00 AM
From: Ian Murray	Respond to of 3721

Just a little interest story on some Canadian numbers.... Dec 11, 22:47 est Debit cards 'replacing cheques' TORONTO (CP) - Canadians love to swipe the stripe. In just four years, the Interac direct-payment system, which deducts purchases straight from bank accounts, has grown to more than a billion transactions annually. Canadians swiped the stripe an average of 32 times a second every hour of every day last year, and the Interac Association projects a 40 per cent increase in the current year. ''Canadians love their plastic,'' said Mary Beggan, marketing manager at the bank-controlled central clearing organization. ''There's no question we've seen phenomenal growth in debit-card use.'' At the end of November, Canada had 389,672 Interac terminals, and an average of 5,000 new terminals enter the marketplace each month. Bank analysts credit convenience for the success of direct payment. Using a debit card to shop is safer than carrying cash, the money moves from bank account to store faster than by cheque, and there is a record of all purchases. A 1997 survey conducted by Strategic Counsel Inc. found direct payment is the preferred method for purchasing items that cost $25 to $100. Merchandise that costs more than $100 tends to be purchased with credit cards, and items under $25 are mostly bought with cash. Debit transactions are rising at the expense of other payment methods, particularly cheques, according to a yearly survey Strategic Counsel conducts with 2,000 Canadians. In 1995, 58 per cent said they preferred to pay with cash; 16 per cent favored credit cards, 12 per cent cheques and only nine per cent debit transactions. This year cash remains first, but at only 45 per cent. Direct payment is second at 31 per cent, followed by credit cards at 18 per cent and cheques at five per cent. ''Debit is replacing cheques,'' said Jim Okamura, a retail consultant at J. C. Williams Group in Toronto. ''When you think about it, it seems almost painfully slow to write a cheque these days.'' Data from the Canadian Bankers Association show the number of cheques written for less than $50,000 dropped last year by 7.4 per cent. Debit transactions are ''automatic, and much more convenient than cheques,'' said Sharon Wilks, a spokesperson for the bankers association. ''Some retailers have announced that they won't accept cheques any longer.'' Senior citizens may keep cheques alive for a while yet. People 65 and older are most likely to write cheques and least likely to use debit cards. ''Younger people who aren't technophobic jumped right on this,'' said Okamura, but among older people ''you'll always find cheque writers.'' Okamura adds that it's unlikely debit cards will replace credit cards. ''The grace period you have on paying down your credit card is still very attractive to people,'' Okamura said. ''So are the affinity programs attached to credit cards, such as Air Miles; you know, the incentives that keep people loyal to credit.'' But the popularity of direct payment has prompted the Royal Bank of Canada to launch an insurance package similar to ones offered with credit cards. Items bought with Royal Bank client cards are insured against breakage, loss or theft for up to 90 days, and warranties can be extended free of charge. So far, Royal is the only Canadian bank to do this. But incentives to use debit cards may grow as the market diversifies. Will Canada ever become cashless, dealing entirely in debit and credit cards? ''I doubt it,'' said Okamura. ''Cash will always have its place.'' The CBA's Wilks agrees: ''If you're picking up a paper, are you going to put down a loonie, or break out your bank card and start punching in numbers?'' (Toronto Star) selection and arrangement copyright © 1996-1998, Torstar Electronic Publishing Ltd.