Canadian consumers have shown skepticism toward the widespread early adoption of the Bank of Canada’s (BOC) concept of a digital dollar. The Canadian central bank recently conducted research to understand consumers’ changing preferences for payment methods as it prepares for the potential development of an in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC).
A BOC research paper released on October 28 reaffirmed Canadians’ long-standing preference for traditional, fiat-based payment systems despite increasing support for a digital Canadian dollar. According to a Bank of Canada survey conducted in July, Canadians still strongly prefer cash and card payments for everyday purchases. Less than 3% of Canadians have used Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for day-to-day transactions since 2022.
While 42% of survey participants expressed favorable initial impressions of a hypothetical digital Canadian dollar, only 20% actively “disliked” or “hated” the idea. The remaining 38% either took a neutral stance or lacked an understanding of the technology.
The report noted that while survey participants were open to CBDC issuance to address certain limitations of fiat-based payments, this interest does not necessarily translate to adoption. Participants indicated that a digital dollar would need to “demonstrate flawless reliability from day one” to achieve widespread early adoption. Other key preferences included ease of use, privacy of personal information, transaction data security, convenience, and a superior user experience.
Most participants stated that offline functionality was not a critical feature for adoption, preferring cash in emergencies instead. Canadians also emphasized that any digital dollar would need to significantly outperform the current cash system for them to consider adoption.
In addition to developing a superior payment system, the Bank of Canada sees a need for substantial investment and an awareness campaign to drive the adoption of a digital Canadian dollar. Despite this push, the Canadian central bank recently announced that it is scaling down its work on a retail CBDC and shifting its focus toward broader payment system research and policy development.
Australia and Colombia have similarly halted plans to launch their respective in-house CBDCs, reflecting the challenges faced by central banks globally in gaining consumer acceptance of digital currencies.