Sunday, August 9, 2026

The pay day loan company has begun a pilot project that allows people to trade gift cards for cash. But here’s the catch — you only get half of what the card is worth.

There was lots of reaction to this at Queen’s Park Thursday. The signs at Money Mart on King Street in Hamilton advertise quick cash in exchange for gift cards. But Tom Cooper of the Hamilton roundtable on poverty reduction says it takes advantage of Hamilton’s most vulnerable people: “It’s very disappointing especially at this time of year when charities particularly are giving out gift cards to people who are in vulnerable situations. It’s unfortunate that we have an industry set up that really preys on people who are vulnerable and tries to make money off of them.”

This is how the program works. You have a gift card, in this case worth $100 and you can take it in to Money Mart and trade it for cash, but you only get half of its value.

And that’s what has some members of the legislature concerned.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath: “I think it’s shameful that the industry is allowed to basically take half of the value of the gift card, it’s unbelievable. Why does this government allow Grinches like Money Mart to steal Christmas from our most vulnerable people in Ontario”

Cooper says the cheque cashing and payday loan industry is regulated but this new plan is falling between the cracks: “Unfortunately nobody ever envisioned them trading these gift cards for cash so they can really charge any amount they want and they’re doing just that. They are creating an unfair advantage.”

So you have $50 cash for the $100 dollar gift card. The whole process to about 20 minutes for a first time customer, I had to provide photo id and supply two references.

Then they call the company to verify the card.

We did reach out to Money Mart for this story. We called them numerous times for a comment but they didn’t return our call.

Some people think this is a great idea and will help put cash in the hands of those who need it.