Canada Prepaid Card and Digital Wallet Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - Q1 2026 Update

Accelerate prepaid as a daily-use “spend” product (not only a retail shelf item)

• Reloadable prepaid cards are increasingly marketed and used as spend tools (for everyday purchases and ATM access) rather than single-purpose cards. EQ Bank explicitly positions the EQ Bank Card as a prepaid reloadable Mastercard, packaged with a digital account experience rather than a retail card rack.
• The underlying pull is continued consumer preference for digital payments in both in-store and online contexts, which makes “card acceptance everywhere” a practical requirement even when the product proposition is account-led. Bank of Canada’s 2024 Methods-of-Payment work (published 2025) reinforces that cash remains present but electronic payments continue to dominate purchase value, sustaining demand for widely accepted card rails.
• Expect more “account and prepaid card” propositions (especially from digital-first brands) with competition moving to onboarding friction, funding speed, and controls (limits, notifications, sub-accounts). This trend is likely to intensify because prepaid issuance can support mainstream acceptance while allowing product teams to design budgeting and spending constraints more tightly than credit cards do.

Expand prepaid issuance through embedded finance for B2B disbursements and controlled spend

• Canadian platforms are launching branded prepaid programs for business payments, expense use cases, payouts, and rewards, where the prepaid card serves as a programmable disbursement endpoint. Zūm Rails’ 2025 launch of Mastercard-powered prepaid card programs in Canada is positioned directly around business payment workflows and near-real-time money movement.
• Companies want faster disbursements and tighter spend governance without rebuilding end-to-end payment infrastructure; prepaid programs provide a distribution-ready instrument that works across merchants. This aligns with wider embedded-finance adoption in Canada, where platforms prefer standard issuance stacks (an issuer network program manager and an API layer) rather than building bank-like rails.
• The number of prepaid programs is likely to rise, but not all will scale unless stronger risk filtering is applied based on performance, servicing costs, and issuer appetite. Competitive pressure will concentrate on compliance readiness, fraud controls, and economics (fees/interchange split), so the market should intensify at the infrastructure layer even if brand-level offerings proliferate.

Raise operating standards as RPAA supervision moves from “policy build” into enforcement reality

• Entities that function like PSPs, often adjacent to prepaid programs because they may hold customer funds, are now operating in a clearer supervision regime. The Bank of Canada announced it would begin publishing a PSP registry starting September 8, 2025, and it maintains a registry and applicant list for RPAA coverage.
• The policy objective is to reduce operational and insolvency risks in retail payments and to improve accountability for fund handling and risk management. For prepaid ecosystems, this matters because many modern “prepaid and app” propositions rely on partners that hold or move funds, not only on a bank’s internal ledger.
• Compliance and reporting burden will remain a structural factor in program viability; smaller operators may need to partner with larger issuing stacks or exit certain use cases. This will likely intensify, with more consolidation/standardization at the program manager and sponsor bank levels.

Tighten consumer disclosure expectations for prepaid products (fee/feature clarity)

• Consumer-facing disclosure for prepaid is being operationalized through clearer templates and expectations for how features, fees, and limitations are presented. FCAC updated its examples of prepaid payment products information boxes in October 2025, reinforcing standardized disclosure requirements for federally regulated institutions.
• As prepaid propositions expand beyond gift into everyday spending, consumer harm can come from confusion about fees, expiry, access to funds, and limitations. Standardized disclosure reduces ambiguity and supports comparability across providers in a market where product bundles (account and card + app) can obscure cost drivers.
• Providers with complex fee schedules or inconsistent disclosures will face higher complaint and supervisory risk, pushing the market toward simpler pricing and clearer product framing. This should remain persistent, especially as more prepaid programs move into digital distribution, where disclosures must work on mobile UX.

Competitive Landscape of the Canadian Prepaid Card Market

• Competition is increasingly “stack-based”: issuers/sponsors, processors/program managers, and distribution partners each determine time-to-market and unit economics. The Bank of Canada’s PSP registry rollout (effective from September 2025 publishing) creates a cleaner environment for those operating in payments value chains, which matters for partner selection and risk management.
• At the product layer, consumer propositions are blending reloadable prepaid into digital accounts (e.g., EQ Bank’s prepaid reloadable Mastercard positioning). That shifts competitive intensity away from retail shelf placement and toward app onboarding, funding convenience, and dispute/service handling.

Key players and new entrants

• On the consumer side, EQ Bank is a visible example of a bank-led digital proposition using prepaid rails for everyday spending. This creates competitive pressure on other providers to match product usability (account linkage, controls, transparent fees) rather than competing only on card availability.
• On the embedded/program side, Zūm Rails is a recent entrant expanding prepaid as an infrastructure-led offer for Canadian businesses, with Mastercard network support. This increases competition for program launches, as platforms can offer card programs as configurable modules rather than as bespoke bank projects.

Recent partnerships

• Zūm Rails’ 2025 Mastercard-powered prepaid programs are a clear signal that partnership structures (platform and network) are being used to compress launch timelines and broaden eligible use cases (disbursements, rewards, expense flows). This partnership model is likely to be replicated by other embedded-finance providers targeting specific verticals.
• Consumer propositions also rely on tightly defined issuing relationships and network licensing; EQ Bank’s prepaid reloadable Mastercard is explicitly issued under Mastercard licensing via Equitable Bank. The competitive implication is that issuer/network relationships remain foundational even when the front-end brand is digital-first.

Merger and acquisition

• While not a prepaid-issuer deal, Reuters reported in August 2025 that RBC and BMO were exploring a sale of Moneris, one of Canada’s largest payment processors. Any strategic shift in merchant acquiring can influence prepaid acceptance economics indirectly through merchant pricing and routing dynamics.
• In prepaid specifically, the recent pattern is more partnership-led scaling than large M&A announcements, with platforms and issuers focusing on distribution agreements and stack consolidation. For senior executives, the practical takeaway is to monitor who controls the distribution rails (embedded platforms) and who controls compliant issuance capacity (sponsors).

Market Evolution (Next 2-4 Years)

• RPAA-linked supervision and the PSP registry are likely to raise the “minimum operational bar,” favouring scaled providers that can support governance, safeguarding frameworks, and auditability. This encourages consolidation at the infrastructure layer and increases the importance of resilient partner selection for prepaid programs.
• At the same time, embedded issuance will likely increase the number of branded prepaid programs competing for the same business workflows (rewards, payouts, expenses). That combination usually results in more offers in-market, but fewer durable operators, those with lower servicing cost per account and better risk performance are positioned to take share.

Regulatory changes

• Bank of Canada PSP registry/RPAA operationalization (Aug-Sep 2025): The Bank announced the publication of the PSP registry starting September 8, 2025, and maintains registry/applicant resources that affect partner due diligence and compliance planning.
• FCAC prepaid disclosure templates (Oct 2025): Updated examples of the prepaid payment product information box reinforce standardized consumer disclosures for prepaid products issued by federally regulated institutions.
• Consumer-driven banking policy direction (Nov 2025): Budget 2025 materials outline the consumer-driven banking framework (API-based sharing), which can influence how prepaid-linked accounts connect to third-party apps and how data-sharing risks are managed.

Overview of Prepaid Cards and Digital Wallet Market

Prepaid Card Market Analysis

• Metrics Assessed: The study examines the prepaid card market through various lenses, including transaction value, transaction volume, average transaction value, load value, and the total number of cards in circulation.
• Card Types: A distinction is made between open-loop and closed-loop prepaid cards, providing insights into their respective market shares and growth trajectories.
• Usage Categories: The report segments the prepaid card market into various categories such as general-purpose cards, business and administrative expense cards, travel forex cards, and meal cards.
• Business Segmentation: Further segmentation is provided based on business size and type, including small-scale businesses, mid-tier businesses, enterprise-level businesses, government entities, and retail consumers.
• Sector-Specific Applications: The analysis extends to specific sectors utilizing prepaid cards, including transit and toll payments, healthcare and wellness services, social security and other government benefit programs, fuel purchases, utilities, and more.

Digital Wallet Market Insights

• Key Segments: The digital wallet market is dissected across five primary spending categories: retail shopping, travel, entertainment and gaming, dining establishments, and recharge and bill payments.
• Performance Metrics: For each segment, the report evaluates transaction value, transaction volume, and average transaction value, offering a granular view of consumer spending behaviors.
• Retail Spend Breakdown: An in-depth analysis is provided for retail spending via digital wallets, covering categories such as food and grocery, health and beauty products, apparel and footwear, books, music and video, consumer electronics, pharmacy and wellness, gas stations, restaurants and bars, toys, kids and baby products, services, and other miscellaneous categories.

Virtual Prepaid Card Market Segmentation

• Categories Analyzed: The virtual prepaid card market is segmented into key categories, including general-purpose cards, gift cards, entertainment and gaming cards, teen and campus cards, business and administrative expense cards, payroll cards, meal cards, travel forex cards, transit and toll cards, social security and other government benefit program cards, fuel cards, utilities, and other miscellaneous categories.
• Performance Evaluation: For each category, the report assesses transaction value, providing insights into the adoption and usage patterns of virtual prepaid cards across different consumer segments.

Consumer Usage Trends

The report delves into consumer behavior concerning prepaid cards, segmented by:

• Age Groups: Identifying usage patterns across different age demographics.
• Income Levels: Analyzing how income brackets influence prepaid card adoption and usage.
• Gender: Examining differences in usage trends between genders.

Report Scope

Canada Prepaid Payment Instrument Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card vs. Digital Wallet

Canada Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Segments

Canada Digital Wallet Market Size and Forecast by Key Segments

• Retail Shopping (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Travel (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Restaurant (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Entertainment and Gaming (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)
• Recharge and Bill Payment (Value, Volume, Avg. Value)

Canada Digital Wallet Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

Canada Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Load Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards
• Market Share Analysis by Functional Attributes - Open Loop vs. Closed Loop
• Market Share Analysis by Prepaid Card Categories

Canada Open Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Canada Closed Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Number of Cards

Canada Prepaid Card Consumer Usage Trends

• By Age Group
• By Income Group
• By Gender

Canada Prepaid Card Retail Spend Dynamics

• Food and Grocery - Transaction Value
• Health and Beauty Products - Transaction Value
• Apparel and Foot Wear - Transaction Value
• Books, Music and Video - Transaction Value
• Consumer Electronics - Transaction Value
• Pharmacy and Wellness - Transaction Value
• Gas Stations - Transaction Value
• Restaurants & Bars - Transaction Value
• Toys, Kids, and Baby Products - Transaction Value
• Services - Transaction Value
• Others - Transaction Value

Canada General Purpose Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Canada Gift Card Market Size and Forecast

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Gift Card
• By Closed Loop Gift Card

Gift Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail Consumer Segment
• By Corporate Consumer Segment

Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Retail Categories

• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Gifting Occasion
• Gift Card Market Share Analysis by Purchase Location

Canada Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Canada Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Teen and Campus Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Functional Attribute

• By Open Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card
• By Closed Loop Teen and Campus Prepaid Card

Canada Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Canada Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Payroll Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Canada Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Meal Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Canada Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Travel Forex Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast by Consumer Segments

• By Retail
• By Small Scale Business Segment
• By Mid-Tier Business Segment
• By Enterprise Business Segment
• By Government Segment

Canada Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Canada Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast

Canada Fuel Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Canada Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards Market Size and Forecast

Canada Virtual Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness

• Transaction Value Trend Analysis
• Transaction Volume Trend Analysis
• Average Value per Transaction
• Market Share Analysis by Key Virtual Prepaid Card Categories

Canada Virtual Prepaid Card Market Size by Key Categories

• General Purpose Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Gift Card - Transaction Value
• Entertainment and Gaming Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Teen and Campus Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Business and Administrative Expense Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Payroll Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Meal Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Travel Forex Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Transit and Tolls Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Social Security and Other Government Benefit Programs Prepaid Card - Transaction Value
• Fuel Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value
• Utilities, and Other Prepaid Cards - Transaction Value

Reasons to Buy

• In-depth understanding of Canada’s prepaid card and digital wallet market dynamics: Gain a structured view of market opportunity, operating models, and competitive dynamics across 80+ segments and sub-segments, spanning prepaid cards (open-loop and closed-loop), digital wallets, wallet-linked prepaid credentials, and virtual prepaid cards. Analysis focuses on how stored value is issued, funded, used, and regulated in Canada’s payments ecosystem.
• Understand Canada’s market opportunities and key trends with forward-looking forecasts (2021-2030): Assess historical performance and future outlook for prepaid cards and digital wallets using core KPIs such as transaction value, transaction volume, active users, and average transaction value, with clear separation between consumer and commercial use cases and wallet-based versus card-based spend.
• Develop Canada specific prepaid and digital wallet strategies: Identify high-growth segments and structurally resilient use cases to support market-entry, expansion, or optimisation strategies. Evaluate Canada-specific drivers, constraints, and risks, including regulation, macroeconomic conditions, and adoption patterns, to inform realistic, market-aligned strategic decisions.
• Detailed analysis of Canada’s market share by key players across prepaid and wallet categories: Understand competitive positioning through issuer and platform-level market share analysis across major prepaid card types, digital wallets, and virtual prepaid instruments. Coverage highlights how banks, fintechs, and wallet providers compete across funding sources, acceptance reach, and use case depth.
• Insights into Canada’s consumer attitudes and payment behaviour: Analyse how consumers use prepaid cards, virtual prepaid cards, and digital wallets for everyday spend, e-commerce, subscriptions, and controlled payments. Understand behavioural shifts, frequency of use, and value per transaction to support ROI optimisation, product design, and targeted go-to-market strategies.