Canadian Debit Card Use On U.S. NYCE Network Averaged $60

NYCE Corporation has reported that Canadians’ PIN-debit transactions have averaged $60 since the program began last October. That’s when NYCE formed an alliance with Acxsys Corporation and five major Canadian financial institutions to enable Canadian consumers to use their debit cards in the United States. By comparison, Americans’ PIN-debit transactions average $38. Canadian shoppers completed more than 100,000 transactions totaling nearly $6 million at participating U.S. retailers since the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday last Oct. 11. Retailers in Florida, New York and California got the biggest boost from Canadian spenders, taking in more than $1.5 million dollars in December alone. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam recorded Canadian debit transactions. In addition to Florida, New York and California, the states of Washington, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Maine and Texas rounded out the top 10 states for December 2004 Canadian-debit transactions. Half of these debit transactions occurred in supermarkets; department stores, gas stations and specialty stores also accounted for a significant percentage of transaction totals and total dollars spent. For years, most Canadian consumers were unable to use their Canadian debit cards to pay for purchases in the United States. That changed on Oct. 8 when the first PIN-debit transaction by a Canadian consumer occurred at a Dean & DeLuca’s restaurant in Charlotte, N.C.