Square Reveals Canada's Top Tippers

27 Mar 2014

Ottawa Named Country’s Most Generous City

OTTAWA, ON - (Mar 27, 2014) - Ottawa is known for many things; its canal, which is the longest skating rink in the world, its beautiful and historic Parliament buildings, and its capital status as the seat of the Canadian federal government. Now, you can add another title to that list – Canada's most generous tippers.

Square, the leading mobile payments company based in San Francisco, released data of
how Canadian's tip.

  • Ottawans tip 76.7 per cent of the time with an average tip of 15.6 per cent. Neck and neck for second place were Montreal and Toronto, who tip an average of 14.4 and 14.5 per cent on their bills, respectively. 
  • Montreallers tip more often than Torontonians at 70.4 per cent vs. 65.5 per cent. 
  • Vancouver came in with an average tipping amount of 13.4 per cent with 62 per cent of transactions being tipped. 
  • Calgary brought up the rear of the list, tipping an average of 13.3 per cent, but only 59.4 per cent of Calgarians left a tip when they had the opportunity. 

Square's digital tipping options makes tipping easy for customers paying at Square businesses. Approximately 45 to 50 per cent of all transactions on Square's system involve a tip.

For Meghan Pyne, manager and esthetician at Forbes Beauty, an Ottawa-based boutique spa, tips are seen as recognition of a job well done. "We do our best to go above and beyond our customers' expectations," said Pyne. "For people in the service industry, tips are our bread and butter and Square makes it easy for our customers to recognize our hard work."

Since Square was launched in Canada in the fall of 2012, it has processed over $100-million in credit card transactions for over 50,000 merchants across the country.

ABOUT SQUARE

Square makes commerce easy for everyone. From accepting credit cards to managing a full point of sale, Square offers simple and affordable tools for businesses starting and growing. Square Reader, the free credit card reader for the iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, allows businesses to accept credit cards anywhere, anytime, for one low, transparent rate. Square’s suite of business tools include Square Register, an analytic dashboard, and Square Stand. Founded in 2009, and headquartered in San Francisco, Square is currently available in the United States, Canada, and Japan. Square chose Kitchener-Waterloo to house its first permanent office in Canada.