Three in Ten (28%) Online Canadians Have Sent Money Electronically In the Last Year

Toronto, ON -- Three in ten online Canadians (28%) have sent money to someone else online within the last year, either through a bank's website or a third party, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of PayPal. Canadians aged 18 to 34 are much more likely (37%) to indicate that they have sent money electronically than those aged 35 to 54 (23%) or aged 55+ (26%). Interestingly, men (31%) are more likely than women (25%) to say the same.

Canadians have given money to a friend, family member or colleague for a wide range of reasons, including `paying their portion of a bill that was split at a restaurant' (56%), `splitting the cost of a gift for a wedding or baby shower, etc' (44%), `sending cash as a gift' (40%), `pitching in for a portion of a weekend getaway or excursion' (22%), `concert tickets' (19%), `team dues or recreational activity' (16%), or `sending money to somebody abroad' (8%). With the exception of sending cash as a gift, those aged 18 to 34 are more likely to say that they've given money to a family member for all of the above-mentioned reasons.

Despite having been in situations that required them to give money to a friend, family member or colleague, among the 72% who have not transferred money online in the past year, a majority (76%) indicates that they've had no need to. Perhaps this is because most say they pay back the money immediately (53%), within 24 hours (20%), or within a week (18%), with women (57%) being significantly more likely than men (48%) to say they pay back the money they owe immediately, as are those aged 55+ (64%) when compared to those aged 35-54 (55%) or 18-34 (37%). Very few individuals take longer than a week to pay back the money they owe: within a month (4%), more than a month (2%) or never (3%).

But some Canadians indicate that there are other reasons why they haven't used online services to send money, including never having thought about it (12%), not wanting to pay the fees associated with the transactions (7%), not knowing how to perform the transaction (7%), believing there's too much hassle with setting up the transaction (6%), or some other reason (7%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted June 12-16, 2009, on behalf of PayPal. For this survey, a national sample of 1,073 adults aged 18 and older from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the Canadian adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 of what the results would have been had the entire adult population of Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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