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How to Pay With Bitcoin in Canada
Research Overview
If you have never paid with Bitcoin before, it can sound much more technical than it really is. For a straightforward purchase, you do not need to understand cryptocurrency trading, blockchain technology, or how Bitcoin works behind the scenes.
For this guide, we use Shakepay, a Canadian platform that allows customers to fund an account in Canadian dollars using Interac e-Transfer, purchase Bitcoin, and send that Bitcoin to an external payment address.
The basic process is:
Set up Shakepay → Add Canadian dollars → Buy Bitcoin → Choose Bitcoin at checkout → Copy the payment address → Send
Your Shakepay account only needs to be created and verified once. Shakepay says many identity-verification submissions are approved within minutes, although some require additional review.
The goal of this guide is not to teach you how to invest in Bitcoin. It is simply to show how Bitcoin can be used as a payment method.
For a first-time customer, there are two parts:
One-time setup: create and verify your Shakepay account.
Making the payment: fund the account, buy the required Bitcoin, copy the SilverLeaf payment address, and send.
A reasonable estimate is around 10–15 minutes of active time to set up your account and approximately 15–30 minutes of active time for the complete first experience. Verification, banking, or Bitcoin-network processing can sometimes add waiting time, so these should be treated as estimates rather than guaranteed completion times.
Once the account is already set up, the active process becomes considerably shorter.
The Big Picture
Bitcoin payments become much easier to understand when you stop thinking about the technology and look only at what you are actually doing.
You start with Canadian dollars.
Those Canadian dollars are moved from your bank into Shakepay using Interac e-Transfer. Inside Shakepay, you convert the amount you need into Bitcoin. You then send that Bitcoin to the payment address provided by SilverLeaf.
In simple terms:
Your bank → Shakepay → Bitcoin → SilverLeaf
Shakepay now supports Interac e-Transfer Request Money, which is particularly useful for beginners. You start the request yourself inside Shakepay and then approve that same request through your own bank. This avoids having to manually create Shakepay as an e-Transfer recipient.
How It Works
Create and Verify Your Shakepay Account
Creating the account is the only part that requires meaningful one-time setup.
Shakepay currently asks new users for an email address, a chosen shaketag/username, password, a valid Canadian mobile number, full legal name, date of birth, address, and occupation. Shakepay only accepts valid Canadian mobile numbers and does not support VoIP numbers for registration.
Identity verification may require a government-issued photo ID and a video selfie. Shakepay currently accepts documents including valid passports, Canadian driver’s licences, provincial photo identification cards, and Canadian residence permit cards. Screenshots, expired identification, and temporary paper licences are not accepted.
This identity verification is not unusual for a Canadian financial platform. Shakepay states that customer identity verification is part of its regulatory Know Your Customer requirements, and that submitted identity documents and selfies are encrypted.
Add Canadian Dollars
Once your account is verified, you need Canadian dollars in Shakepay before you can buy Bitcoin.
For the simplest beginner process, start inside Shakepay:
Add → Interac e-Transfer → enter the amount → select your bank → approve the request through your bank
The important point is that you create the request yourself.
Shakepay then directs you through the Interac process, where you choose your financial institution and approve the request through your normal mobile or online banking.
Shakepay says e-Transfers should be allowed up to one hour to arrive. Funds for a personal Shakepay account must come from a personal bank account rather than a third party or business account.
Buy the Bitcoin You Need
Once the Canadian dollars appear in Shakepay, buying Bitcoin is a short step.
Shakepay’s current app instructions are:
Open Shakepay → tap the blue arrows at the bottom centre → enter the amount → Review Order → Buy Bitcoin.
You do not need to purchase an entire Bitcoin.
If you need approximately $250 worth of Bitcoin for a payment, you can purchase approximately $250 worth.
Shakepay does not charge a separate trading commission, but its normal buy price includes a spread. Shakepay says it generally targets a spread of 0.5%–2.0% over its benchmark price, depending on market conditions and liquidity.
Because Bitcoin’s price moves continuously, the BTC amount received can change slightly between viewing the price and completing the purchase.
Putting It Into Practice
Choose Bitcoin at SilverLeaf Checkout
Complete your order normally and select Bitcoin as the payment method.
SilverLeaf currently offers Bitcoin and Interac e-Transfer as payment methods, with a 10% product-price reduction when Bitcoin is selected.
Your Bitcoin payment screen will provide the Bitcoin amount required and the Bitcoin payment address.
A Bitcoin address is simply the destination for the payment.
It is a long sequence of letters and numbers, so there is no reason to type it manually.
Always use Copy Address.
That reduces the chance of introducing a typing error.
Send Your Bitcoin
Now return to Shakepay.
Shakepay’s current instructions for sending Bitcoin to an external address are:
Open Bitcoin, select Send, paste the address, enter the amount, select Continue, choose the available speed, and select Send. If crypto-withdrawal email confirmation is enabled, the customer must also confirm the withdrawal through the email received from Shakepay.
Before pressing Send, compare the details with the SilverLeaf payment screen.
Check:
Address → Amount → Bitcoin
Once the Bitcoin has actually been sent, the transaction generally cannot be cancelled or reversed.
Common Mistakes & Good Research Practice
Most beginner mistakes are avoidable.
The biggest one is manually typing a Bitcoin address instead of copying it. Bitcoin addresses are long enough that even one incorrect character can direct a transaction somewhere unintended.
Another common problem is assuming a Bitcoin payment can simply be cancelled afterward. Shakepay specifically states that outgoing crypto transactions are irreversible after they have been sent.
Other mistakes to avoid include sending a different cryptocurrency instead of Bitcoin, copying an address from an old order instead of the current checkout, sending the wrong amount, and ignoring a required Shakepay email confirmation.
There is one other practical issue worth knowing: Shakepay currently applies minimum withdrawal amounts depending on the speed selected. Its help material lists a minimum of 0.00005 BTC for Fast and 0.0005 BTC for Normal withdrawals. That can matter on very small orders.
Good Research Practice
For this article, the most useful “good research practice” is really good payment practice: verify the information before committing the transaction.
Start the process from your actual SilverLeaf order rather than from an unexpected email or text message. Copy the address directly from the current checkout screen.
Before sending, compare the address and amount shown in Shakepay with the information shown by SilverLeaf.
Never share your Shakepay password, passkey, verification codes, or banking credentials with SilverLeaf. Shakepay now supports passkeys using device security such as Face ID, fingerprint, or device lock, specifically to strengthen account security and reduce phishing risk.
If anything looks different from the process explained in this guide, stop before pressing Send.
There is no penalty for checking first.
Once the Bitcoin is sent, correcting an error may no longer be possible.
Key Takeaways
The complicated-looking part of Bitcoin is mostly the first-time setup.
Once your Shakepay account is created and verified, you do not repeat that process every time.
And if you choose to keep enough CAD or Bitcoin in your Shakepay account for a future purchase, the payment itself becomes particularly short:
Choose Bitcoin at SilverLeaf → Copy the payment address → Open Shakepay → Send
That can reduce the active payment process to only a few minutes.
Keeping a balance is entirely optional. The purpose of mentioning it is simply to show why repeat Bitcoin payments can become much easier than the first one.
Sources & Further Reading
The operational details in this guide were checked against Shakepay’s current official documentation.
- Creating a Shakepay account — registration information, Canadian mobile-number requirement, and sign-up sequence.
Shakepay: How to create an account in the mobile app - Identity verification — accepted identification, video-selfie process, privacy, and verification timing.
Shakepay: Verifying your account - Funding with Interac e-Transfer — Request Money process, personal-account requirement, and transfer timing.
Shakepay: Fund your account with Interac e-Transfer - Buying Bitcoin — current in-app buying sequence.
Shakepay: How to buy or sell crypto - Sending Bitcoin — external wallet process, confirmation emails, transaction speeds, minimums, and irreversible transactions.
Shakepay: Send crypto to an external wallet - Pricing and spread — how Shakepay incorporates its spread into buy and sell prices.
Shakepay: How Shakepay makes money and determines pricing - Account security — passkeys, biometrics, and device security.
Shakepay: Account security
Further Reading
For customers who want additional information beyond what is needed to make a payment:
Official Shakepay iPhone app — Apple App Store Canada
Official Shakepay Android app — Google Play Canada
How to receive Bitcoin in Shakepay and understand Bitcoin addresses
IN THIS ARTICLE
Table of Contents
Did You Know?
You can set up Shakepay before you ever place an order.
Download the app, complete the one-time verification, and you’ll be ready when you want to pay with Bitcoin.
For Canadians, Shakepay is designed to work with Interac e-Transfer, supports Bitcoin purchases and sends, and is available on both iPhone and Android. Shakepay is also a member of CIRO and is registered as an investment dealer in Canada.
Why do it now?
Once your account is verified, future Bitcoin payments can take only a few minutes of active time — especially if you already keep a small CAD or Bitcoin balance in the app.
Download the official Shakepay app:
Tip: Only download Shakepay from the official Apple App Store or Google Play listing.
Research Tip
Copy — don’t type.
Always copy the Bitcoin address directly from your SilverLeaf payment instructions.
Check before sending.
Confirm the address, amount and that Bitcoin is selected.
Don’t rush.
Nothing is sent until you press Send.
If you’re unsure, stop.
Contact SilverLeaf before completing the payment rather than guessing.
You Don’t Need a Whole Bitcoin
Bitcoin can be divided into very small amounts.
If your order requires $200 worth of Bitcoin, you can simply buy approximately the amount needed for that payment.
You do not need to buy one whole Bitcoin or become a cryptocurrency investor.
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