The Best eWallets in Canada

Electronic wallets have been the easiest way to make a payment for the last 10 years: with a simple mobile application, we can send money to any person or institution within seconds at almost no cost. A retail store, website, online Canadian casino, government agency – almost every company and organization support payment with e-wallets. Because of this popularity, there are almost dozens of options available. So, which of these are the best for Canada?

In this article, you can see a list of the best e-wallets in Canada. While creating this list, we took into account the market shares of the relevant services, how popular they are in Canada and their ease of use. You can start using any of them on your iOS or Android-based devices (or desktop computers) right now.

PayPal

PayPal is one of the world’s largest e-wallet services and is available in 203 countries. Canada is one of them: PayPal has a market share of over 20% in this country, and we can say that it is the most popular e-wallet. With its “touch-free” feature, you can also make payments in physical stores by scanning a QR code, so it is not only used for online payments. PayPal also collaborates with companies like Honey, Indigo.ca, Hudson’s Bay and Walmart.ca in Canada. You can add a credit card, debit card or bank account to the PayPal app: all banks in Canada are supported. You can send or receive money at no cost using your PayPal balance. But if you use your credit card for payment, you have to pay a 2.90% + 0.30 CAD fee.

Apple Pay

You can find this e-wallet app on all iOS devices (iPhone & iPad), it comes preinstalled. You can add American Express, Interac, Mastercard, Visa credit and debit cards to your Apple Pay wallet. However, these have to be issued by certain banks in Canada, so, for example, you cannot add any VISA card. Before you can add a card to Apple Pay, Apple must first sign an agreement with the bank that issues the card. The current list covers almost every bank in Canada, but this is still a restrictive feature. After adding a payment method, you can make contactless payments in physical and online stores using just your iPhone. Apple Pay has a market share of just over 15% in Canada, making it the second most popular option after PayPal.

Google Pay

The market share of Google Pay is a little over 12% in Canada, which makes it the most popular third option. It works exactly like Apple Pay: you add a credit/debit card and use it to make contactless payments in physical & online stores using any Android phone. However, there is a difference: Google Pay supports all VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Interac cards, no matter which bank issues them. Unlike Apple, Google does not need to sign an agreement with that bank first. So, while it works exactly like Apple Pay, it also covers more cards.

BMO Mobile Banking

With a market share of 10.1%, this e-wallet of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) is pretty popular in Canada. It works like any other electronic wallet, but you can only add BMO issued credit cards and debit cards. While this is a limitation, you get lots of advantages. First, you can send money to more than 50 countries with almost no fees. Second, you can pay all kinds of bills automatically. Third, you can ask for money from anyone: this feature uses the infrastructure of Interac e-Transfer. While you can only add BMO issued cards, the app offers all the advantages of other e-wallet services.

RBC Wallet

This is the electronic wallet service of the Royal Bank, and it only supports credit or debit cards issued by this bank. Its wallet supports Apple Pay, oogle Pay, Samsung Pay, and Fitbit Pay too. So, for example, you can use it on wearable products made by Fitbit. You can enjoy contactless payments up to 250 CAD and earn rewards/miles/cashback with all your purchases.

ecoPayz

ecoPayz is one of the oldest e-wallet services in the world: it has been available for more than 20 years. While not as popular as PayPal, it offers the same fast, practical and safe experience. It also comes with a MasterCard, a prepaid card you can use in stores or to make ATM withdrawals. You can fund your ecoPayz account using Interac Online, ecoVoucher codes, codePayz and EFT (electronic fund transfer). All transactions are instant and almost free of charge. The only setback can be the account limits: “classic” (basic) users are limited with a 3,453.94 CAD balance. In order to remove this limit, you need to upgrade to a “silver” membership at least. However, even after doing so, there will be deposit and withdrawal limitations.