A consumer group is urgently calling on the federal government to follow other jurisdictions in the U.S and Europe and bring in legislation to stem the slide toward a cashless society.
Only 10 per cent of transactions in Canada today are done using cash, according to Carlos Castiblanco, an economist with the group Option Consommateurs.
“There is a need to protect cash right now before more merchants start refusing [it],” Castiblanco recently told CBC Radio’s Ontario Today.
It’s critical to act now, he added, before retailers begin removing all the infrastructure required to store and maintain physical money.
I find very interesting how Canada doesn’t have a bank controlled by the government that can provide affordable services.
E-transfer is also something I think should be maintained by the government like Brazil’s Pix. I’d happily welcome Open Finance as well, but that might be harder.