How do people in Canada pay online?
E-commerce is a growing slice of retail. Statistics Canada reported retail sales of CAD 74.6 billion in August 2026, with e-commerce sales of CAD 5.6 billion, up 1.1% on the month and 7.6% of total retail trade.
Credit cards are the first choice. Payments Canada’s Canadian Payment Methods and Trends report, published on 2 October 2025, counted 22.5 billion retail payment transactions worth CAD 12.2 trillion in 2024. Credit cards made up 33% of payments by volume, debit cards 30%, online transfers 7% and cash 11%. Contactless payments reached 58% of transactions, and mobile contactless payments rose 28% to 3.4 billion.
Interac Debit works online through wallets. Interac is the national debit network. A shopper whose bank takes part adds their Interac debit card to Apple Pay or Google Pay and can then pay in apps and online. In February 2026 Interac announced that Stripe merchants in Canada could offer Interac Debit for online and in-app purchases through participating digital wallets. Interac says Canadians use its products over 20 million times a day on average, and nearly 300 financial institutions are connected to its network.
What rules shape online payments in Canada?
Sales tax is GST or HST. The federal GST is 5%. Provinces with harmonised sales tax charge 13% in Ontario, 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025, and 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island. Since 1 July 2021, a non-resident vendor of digital products and services to Canadian consumers generally has to register for GST/HST if its threshold amount of these sales exceeds CAD 30,000 over any 12-month period.
Credit card surcharges are allowed, with limits. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada explains that merchants may add a surcharge to a credit card transaction, except in Quebec. Some networks cap the surcharge at 2.4%, and it must be disclosed before the transaction is completed, at the point of sale in store and online, and on every receipt. Some networks do not allow surcharges on debit.
Consumer protection is provincial. In Ontario, the Consumer Protection Act covers online transactions worth more than CAD 50. Before the purchase, the business must give key details such as the total amount and the terms and methods of payment, and give the shopper a chance to accept, decline or correct errors. It must then send a copy of the internet agreement in writing within 15 days.
Personal data falls under PIPEDA. The federal privacy law applies to private-sector organisations that collect, use or disclose personal information in commercial activity. Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own substantially similar laws for activity within those provinces, but PIPEDA still applies to information that crosses provincial or national borders.
How would Omno route payments in Canada?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, currency, amount and customer group. In Canada:
- Card pay-ins would be routed by the merchant’s rules, for example by BIN, card type, amount or customer group, with cascading: if a provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment moves to the next provider in the rule until one accepts.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay would be offered on the hosted checkout next to the card form and routed to providers that support them, under the same rules as cards.
- Interac Debit could be reached through providers that accept it in Apple Pay and Google Pay, with a rule sending these wallet payments only to those providers.
- Saved cards would let returning customers pay without typing their card again, and each charge would follow the merchant’s routing rules.
Webhooks would report the final status of every payment, the record a back office should trust before shipping an order, and the routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for credit cards and wallets first. Credit cards carry a third of all payments, and mobile contactless payments are growing fast.
Plan for Interac Debit through wallets. Shoppers who prefer to pay from their bank account can use it in Apple Pay and Google Pay if your provider supports it.
Plan for GST/HST by province, and register under the digital economy rules if you sell digital products to Canadian consumers above CAD 30,000 a year.
Plan for provincial checkout rules. Show the total and payment terms before the order, let the shopper confirm or correct it, and send a written copy of the agreement.