Safe financial products – Prosper Canada Learning Hub

Checking registration

June 30, 2022/0 Comments/in Ontario Securities Commission Consumer protection Financial education, Fraud, investing, Safe financial products Ontario Securities Commission Tools Article Canada, Ontario Consumer protection, OSC /by Shermeen Beg

Checking registration helps protect you from unqualified or fraudulent individuals. Always check the registration of any person or business trying to sell you an investment or give you investment advice by using the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search.

Titles like financial advisor, financial planner, investment consultant, and investment specialist aren’t legally defined terms or official registration categories. Some advisers or dealers may have designations that allow them to use specific titles, such as Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Checking registration tells you what specific products and services they are (and aren’t) qualified to offer you, regardless of title.

State of Fair Banking in Canada 2020: Borrower and Lender Perspectives

February 5, 2021/0 Comments/in DUCA Impact Lab Consumer protection, Credit & Debt, Research and evaluation Banking, Credit unions, Debt, Demographics, Household debt, Lending, Mainstream financial services, Race/ethnicity, Safe financial products Angus Reid Group, DUCA Impact Lab Research Report Canada Asset building, Budgeting, Credit, Credit cards, Goal setting, Mortgage, Payday lending, Saving, Student loans /by Carrie Wong

The DUCA Impact Lab defines fair banking as any financial product or service that lives up to the following set of principles:

Pricing is clear, transparent, and well understood
Pricing is representative of the cost of funds, cost of administration and risk, rather than what the market will bear
It is clear to all parties how any personal data is being used by the lender
Personal data is only used for purposes agreed to by both the borrower and lender
The terms and conditions, including penalties and the rights of each party are clearly explained and well understood by both lender and borrower
Products are only recommended that will bring the borrower closer to their expressed goals
The borrower is clear on what the institution will do (and not do), with deposits to earn a return
The assessment of risk is objective, transparent and not prejudicial
Financial institution recommendations are not biased towards in-house product recommendations
Products empower consumers when they need access to financial services, not just when they do not

Their Fair Banking 2020 report presents data on the following areas:

Debt load and its impact on Canadians
Financial confidence
Divide between borrowers and lenders
How financial products are priced
Poor credit and ability to access to financial product and services
Demographic snapshot: People of colour and Indigenous Canadians

Targeting credit builder loans: Insights from a credit builder loan evaluation

November 11, 2020/0 Comments/in CFPB - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Credit & Debt Consumer protection, Credit, Credit scores, Safe financial products CFPB - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Research Report United States Credit counselling, Credit unions, Financial coaching, Financial education /by Carrie Wong

This report presents the results of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) funded evaluation of a Credit Builder Loan (CBL) product. CBLs are designed for consumers looking to establish a credit score or improve an existing one, while at the same time giving them a chance to build their savings.

The study used random assignment to explore four research questions:

How does the CBL affect participants’ likelihood of having a credit score?
For participants who already had a credit score, how does the CBL affect their score?
How likely are CBL borrowers to make late payments on the CBL and other loans?
Does the CBL affect participants’ savings balances?

Credit Characteristics, Credit Engagement Tools, and Financial Well-Being

September 1, 2020/0 Comments/in CFPB - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Financial well-being Consumer protection, Credit, Credit rating, Credit scores, Debt collection, Demographics, Financial education, Financial literacy, Financial well-being, Fintech, Safe financial products, Student loans Éva Nagypál, Jeremy Tobacman Research Report United States /by Carrie Wong

This report presents results from a joint research study between the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Credit Karma. The purpose of the study is to examine how consumers’ subjective financial well-being relates to objective measures of consumers’ financial health, specifically, consumers’ credit report characteristics. The study also seeks to relate consumers’ subjective financial well-being to consumers’ engagement with financial information through educational tools.

Employer Solutions: From Emergency to Resiliency

June 30, 2020/0 Comments/in AFN - Asset Funders Network Financial well-being COVID-19, Employment, Financial well-being, Low income, Safe financial products, Workplace Evelyn Stark, Melissa Gopnik, Rachel Schneider, Ronnie Washington Miscellaneous Webinar United States /by Carrie Wong

In light of COVID-19, the financial security of workers has never been more in question. The workplace is an important delivery channel for tailored financial products and services that can help meet employee’s immediate financial needs and build long-term financial stability.

The workplace is a unique platform to identify, target, and meet the specific financial needs of employees. This webinar gives funders the tools and inspiration to respond effectively to the low- and moderate-income workforce in this moment and beyond.

When a Job Is Not Enough: Employee Financial Wellness and the Role of Philanthropy

June 30, 2020/0 Comments/in AFN - Asset Funders Network Financial well-being Childcare, Credit, Emergency savings, Employment, Financial well-being, Safe financial products, Student debt, Workplace Ellen G. Frank-Miller, Mathieu R. Despard Research Brief United States /by Carrie Wong

This report sheds light on the role employers and philanthropy can play in best promoting financial well-being for workers through the offering of Employee Financial Wellness Programs (EFWPs). Data suggests that EFWPs improve employees financial stability and help create a more productive work enviroment.

Saving for Now and Saving for Later: Rainy Day Savings Accounts to Boost Low-Wage Workers’ Financial Security

November 7, 2019/0 Comments/in Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) Asset building and saving, Service system integration Asset building, Emergency savings, Financial inclusion, Financial planning, Financial shock, Financial well-being, Income volatility, Safe financial products, Systems change, United States David Newville, J. Mark Iwry, Joanna Ain Research Report United States /by Carrie Wong

This report discusses the vulnerability of millions of people in the US who lack adequate emergency savings. A workplace-based solution—rainy day savings accounts— can potentially help workers with low savings weather financial shocks.

Consumer Perspectives on Fintech

November 7, 2019/0 Comments/in Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) Best practices, Consumer protection, Financial inclusion, Service system integration Barriers to services, Best practices, Consumer behaviour, Consumer protection, Financial capability, Financial planning, Safe financial products, Service integration Kate Griffin, Pamela Chan Research Brief United States /by Carrie Wong

This brief raises consumer perspectives on financial technology (fintech), and offers guidance for fintech developers on how to best serve low- to moderate-income clients.

Building consumer financial health: The role of financial institutions and FinTech

July 3, 2018/0 Comments/in Prosper Canada Financial inclusion, Financial well-being Consumer behaviour, Financial inclusion, Fintech, Income volatility, Lending, Mainstream financial services, Prosper Canada conferences, Safe financial products, Saving, United States CFSI - Center for Financial Services Innovation, Rob Levy Research Video United States /by Glenna Harris

In this video presentation Rob Levy from the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) examines the role of financial institutions in building consumer financial health.

This presentation was given at the Prosper Canada Policy Research Symposium on March 9, 2018.

Read the slide deck that accompanies this presentation.

Pour lire les diapositives de la présentation, cliquez ici.

View the full video playlist of all presentations from this symposium.

Using Design to Deepen Relationships in the Financial Sector

May 17, 2018/0 Comments/in Bridgeable Research and Design Financial behaviour/decisions, Financial inclusion Canada, Capacity building, Credit unions, Fintech, Instructional design, Low income, Safe financial products, Technology Bridgeable Research and Design Training/Toolkits Report United States /by Jenni Bolton

This publication reveals the outcomes of Bridgable's work with a federal credit union, cutting through their overwhelming number of offerings to better engage with their low-income members. It also discusses why agility is a better bet than digitization when it comes to our changing financial ecosystem. Finally, it will break down their approach to one of the most popular design methods today, the design sprint, and how it can produce results while also lowering risk. Note: This link will allow you to download the document from the Bridgeable website.