Debit Card Fraud at Record Lows

One of the few requirements that we look for in a business that is seeking to apply for a Merchant Advance is that they process debit and credit payments from their customers. This goes a long way to helping support the sustainable, non-disruptive repayment of your advance, however there is another reason to support the idea that both you and your customers should be confident using debit.
According to the head of Fraud and Risk programs at Interac, the amount of debit card fraud in Canada has declined 45% over the past year. Canadians in particular benefit from the widespread introduction of chip-based debit and credit cards, whereas the acceptance of these security methods in the United States has been slowed by the comparatively high cost of upgrading its larger user-base of point of sale terminals. It is estimated that 96% of Canadian retailers have converted to chip-based readers.
What does this mean for your small business? In theory, customers should feel more secure and comfortable than ever when using debit or credit to make purchases. A recent study by the Bank of Canada found that in the early 1990s, cash accounted for more than 80 per cent of the volume and about 50 per cent of the value of POS transactions. In 2011, however, these shares dropped to below 50 per cent in volume and less than 20 per cent in value.
Card-based transactions form one of the key functional pillars of the merchant advance system. As we grow to work with more businesses across Canada, we hope to see further consumer and business confidence in the conduct of business through these methods in a safe and secure manner.