In early 2017 Momentum reached out to over 50 community members and participants to better understand local experiences with high-cost alternative financial services. In addition to connecting with individuals through interviews, Momentum hosted community consultations in partnership with Poverty...

Many Albertans turn to high-cost alternative financial services when they need a short-term fix for a financial issue. Though these services are expensive and unsafe, they are often the only option for low-income individuals, particularly those who struggle to obtain credit at mainstream financial...

This activity sheet is from Module 4 of the Prosper Canada Financial Literacy Facilitator resources. Take a few minutes to how this workshop relates to your life, and set one or two goals for your use of banks and other financial services. To view the full Financial Literacy Facilitator resources,...

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...

Canadian investors need more and better information to protect themselves  both when they act on their own and when they retain lawyers. This handbook is intended to help Canadian investors better understand the choices they face when making a complaint and the impact of those choices. It can also...

Islamic finance is growing rapidly, outpacing the growth of the conventional finance industry and even grabbing market share from it. This success has been driven in part by the internationalisation of Islamic finance as it reaches beyond its core markets of the Middle East, North Africa and...

This report examines the growing racial wealth divide for Black and Latino and the ways that accelerating  concentrations of wealth at the top compound and exacerbate this divide. It looks at trends in wealth...

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...

CFSI presents their 2017 Financially Underserved Market Size Study that illustrates the growing opportunity to address the needs of financially underserved consumers and identifies significant trends driving marketplace evolution and...

This brief and an accompanying interactive map were commissioned by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment. The brief provides information on how many New Yorkers are unbanked and underbanked, recognizing their links to financial health. It also...

The United Kingdom is at the forefront of the global finance industry and is a leader in the fields of financial services, technology and innovation. Despite this high standing, a sizeable number of UK citizens lack access to even the most basic financial services, while still more are forced to...

This is a presentation by Jerry Buckland at the AFOA Canada Conference in February 2017. It covers: 1.An Indigenous Financial Wellness Framework: demonstrates the need to boost capability and inclusion; 2.Results from a Manitoba case study of financial exclusion; 3.Lessons from abroad: the...

The link between economic equity and financial and economic inclusion has long been the focus of community development financial institutions (CDFI). In this brief, we first examine what scale means for CDFIs and note participants’ focus on scaling impact and their concerns about conflating size...

The report begins by defining and quantifying Canadian financial exclusion and then presents various theories offered to explain it. It then proceeds to provide a set of suggestions as to how banking services can become more relevant for low-income households. Finally, it runs through a set of...

Opening a bank account is the first step towards financial inclusion and building long-term wealth. Yet nearly 9 million U.S. households are unbanked, meaning no person in the household holds a bank account. In addition, 25 million households are underbanked, meaning that they have a checking or...

This manual is intended to help tribal leaders and their attorneys, financial advisors, and money managers in Native communities in the US think about innovative ways to structure minor’s trust programs. It turns out there are a lot of simple things that can be done to help kids make good...

This is a guide from the FCAC on TFSA savings accounts. A Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) is a kind of savings account registered with the federal government. The key benefit is that you do not have to pay taxes on earnings within the account (including interest, dividends or capital gains) or on...

This is a short guide by the FCAC on how to cash a government of Canada cheque for free. Under Canadian law, you have the right to cash your Government of Canada cheque for free. You can cash a Government of Canada cheque for free at any bank, even if you are not a...

This is a guide on cheque hold periods when banking in Canada. When you receive a cheque, you may consider two things before deciding where to cash it: When can you get your money? How much will it cost you to cash the cheque? Although cheque cashing services may make money available immediately,...

This is a guide on how to choose a chequing account to manage day-to-day banking needs. A chequing account is a deposit account offered by financial institutions for managing day-to-day financial transactions, such as paying bills, making purchases with a debit card, depositing your paycheque, and...

This is a guide by the FCAC on how to choose the right savings account for you. A savings account is a good way to save money for short-term goals or to build an emergency fund for unexpected expenses. The interest rate, account fees and the ability to access your money easily are important factors...

This short guide explains what rights customers have when a financial institution closes a branch. When a financial institution is planning to close a branch, it must provide proper notice to its customers in order to minimize any inconvenience. To give consumers and communities time to find other...

This guide explains how to open a bank account in Canada, and your rights when opening a bank...

The purpose of this report is to provide policy makers, supervisory agencies, researchers, industry stakeholders and the general public with a systematic analysis and broad understanding of the trends related to the banking fees levied on consumers’ deposit accounts in Canada. The principal...

We experimentally test the impact of expanding access to basic bank accounts in Uganda, Malawi, and Chile. Over two years, 17%, 10%, and 3% of treatment individuals made five or more deposits, respectively. Average monthly deposits for them were at the 79th, 91st, and 96th percentiles of baseline...