Discover financial empowerment resources
Discover financial empowerment resources
The Canadian Bankers Association’s Cyber Security Toolkit for Newcomers to Canada, developed in collaboration with Get Cyber Safe, aims to educate newcomers on cyber hygiene best practices and empower them so that they are equipped to recognize and avoid common scams in Canada. The Toolkit...
March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada. This year's theme is "20 years of fighting fraud: from then to now", and will help Canadians recognize how fraud has evolved over the years. Canadians are encouraged to use learn more about common frauds and scams, use these promotional materials shared...
Investment scams often involve convincing you to put up money for a questionable investment – or one that doesn’t exist at all. In most cases, you’ll lose some or all of your money. There are many ways fraudsters can approach you. The digital era has allowed new kinds of scams as well as more...
Scammers continue to take advantage of people anxious about finding a new job by perpetuating scams with phony employment offers or by involving job seekers in a money laundering operation . Read this article by the Canadian Banker's Association to learn how to spot common red flags of an...
This toolkit was created to support the Virtual Self Filing tax filing model piloted in 2020-2022 by Canadian community agencies. In this model, individuals file their own tax returns, but receive support from community agency staff or volunteers to do so. In 2023, this toolkit was updated to...
Investing offers a way to potentially grow your money in a different way from savings. Many common investments involve the stock market. Head to the Ontario Securities Commission website to learn more about how investing...
The banking industry has long recognized that it has a role to play strengthening the financial literacy skills of all Canadians. That’s why the CBA administers Your Money Seniors, a free, non-commercial seminar program developed in collaboration with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada...
Generally speaking, overspending refers to spending more money than one can afford or more than was planned. Overspending can stem from various factors that may be within or outside of your control. Common causes of overspending within one's control include underestimating expenses, mismanaging...
People save for different reasons. For instance, you may want to save for emergencies, or for your children’s education, or for your old age. Having goals for your savings helps to keep you motivated. You sleep better knowing you have some money set aside. Saving accounts earn interest. That...
When it comes to investing, there are many considerations to make before choosing if and what types of investments are best for your situation. This webinar explores the topic of investor education and consumer protection for financially vulnerable Canadians. We'll start by discussing the basics...
Over the last two years, digital payment solutions, including peer-to-peer apps, digital wallets, and contactless payment solutions, have grown in popularity and adoption. With 125 million American mobile payment users predicted by 2025 Commonwealth sought to understand the potential for these...
Financial empowerment (FE) is an approach to poverty reduction that focuses on improving the financial security of people living on low income. Evidence shows that embedding FE interventions into municipal welfare, employment, housing, shelter and health services can significantly boost service...
Research shows that 15 percent, or close to five million Canadians, are underbanked, and three percent are completely unbanked, meaning that they have very limited or no access to financial services within the traditional banking sector. Ironically, underbanked individuals often come from...
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has published a pilot study on the use and understanding of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services in Canada as part of the Agency’s research on emerging consumers trends. Similar to instalment loans, BNPL services allow consumers to purchase goods and...
This infographic is a preview of Commonwealth's research survey of 1290 lower-and moderate-income people to understand their perceptions, needs, and uses of conversational...
This handbook covers the following topics: An understanding of why financial planning is important and how to align your financial objectives with your life goals and values. An overview of common financial planning components and tools available to individuals with a disability (including...
This report, Roadblocks and Resilience Insights from the Access to Benefits for Persons with Disabilities project, provides insights on the barriers people with disabilities in British Columbia face in accessing key income benefits. These insights, and the accompanying service principles that...
Canada’s digital divide has often been narrowly defined as the gap that exists between urban and rural broadband internet availability — Canadian urban centres have significantly greater internet subscription levels at faster speeds than rural communities.(Government of Canada, 2019). The cost...
In this webinar, Commonwealth in partnership with DCIIA Retirement Research Center (RRC) and SPARK Institute present findings from our new research about drivers and considerations of recordkeeper-provided emergency savings and host a discussion with industry...
There are also simple steps you can take to recognize cyber threats and protect yourself. With a cyber hygiene checklist and tips on how to spot common scams, the CBA’s Cyber Security Toolkit can help you protect against online financial...
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...
Household debt levels in Canada have been rising since the 1990s, which poses increasing risks for Canada’s economy and Canadians’ financial health. However, the debt ‘picture’ for an average low- or moderate-income household is likely to be quite different from higher income...
Financial shocks like these happen to financially vulnerable families every day. Such shocks destabilize household finances and can create hardships that threaten overall well-being. Having tools to manage financial emergencies is critical for people’s long-run financial security. The Asset...
The Asset Funders Network (AFN) developed this primer to inform community-based strategies that can help economically-vulnerable families to better manage financial setbacks, shortfalls, and shocks. The goal of this brief is to provide a common understanding and language for funders and financial...
This resource offers a set of common indicators that community organizations can use to measure the reach and impact of their financial empowerment (FE) programming. It is intended for any community organization that works to foster greater financial well-being for economically disadvantaged...