This report summarizes the main themes, ideas and discussion points that emerged from the fourth national conference on financial literacy, which was hosted by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) in Vancouver, B.C. on November 6 and 7, 2014. The conference brought together the top issues...

In June 2005, Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI), the Policy Research Initiative (PRI), and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) organized Canadians and Their Money: A National Symposium on Financial Capability. The conference stemmed from an initial examination by SEDI...

This brief is the joint submission of the Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN), Momentum Calgary, SEED Winnipeg, Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI), and St. Christopher House in Toronto – five non-profit organizations working to strengthen the financial inclusion and...

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...

Financial well-being is the extent to which you can comfortably meet all of your current financial commitments and needs while also having the financial resilience to continue doing so in the future. But it is not only about income. It is also about having control over your finances, being able to...

This report explores consumer financial health, wellness/ stress and resilience for Canadians across a range of financial health indicators, demographics and all provinces excluding Quebec. This report provides topline results from the 2019 Financial Health Index study and three-year trends from...

SEDI has prepared this report at the request of the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) to assess the current state of the production and delivery of financial capability services and products in Canada. This final report presents our main findings and conclusions based on the quantitative...

Payday loans are an expensive way for consumers to borrow money. The use of these short-term, high-cost loans has more than doubled in Canada recently to four percent of Canadian households. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) has been tasked with raising public awareness about the costs...

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) co-hosted the 2018 National Research Symposium on Financial Literacy on November 26 and 27, 2018 at the University of Toronto, in partnership with Behavioural Economics in Action at Rotman (BEAR). This report presents the key ideas and takeaways from...

On September 9 and 10, 2008, Reaching Higher: Canadian Conference on Financial Literacy was held in Montréal to highlight the effectiveness of current Canadian financial literacy efforts and to examine international strategies. The hosts of the conference were the Financial Consumer Agency of...

This guide from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada shares guidelines and financial tips to help Canadians during COVID-19. The topics include: getting through a financial emergency, where to ask questions or voice concerns, what to do if your branch closes, and...

The study examines consumers’ financial knowledge and confidence levels; financial and money stressors, financial capability aspects and financial management behaviours and practices (across the financial services spectrum). The study also explores external or environmental factors such as income...

To assess the current state of financial health in America and to glean insights that can inform cross-sector efforts to improve consumer outcomes, CFSI designed and commissioned a nationally representative survey focused on consumers’ financial behaviours, attitudes, and preferences. This report...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the CFPB) looked at the information sources consumers are exposed to when they make financial decisions. Empowering consumers to make the financial decisions that will help them meet their own life goals is a critical part of the mission of the CFPB. To...

In order to support and guide efforts to improve the effectiveness and quality of financial education, the CFPB is taking up this challenge to provide stronger evidence of what works to improve financial decision making and financial well-being, while ensuring the appropriate research protections...

The Government of Canada has long recognized the need to strengthen financial consumers’ knowledge and decision-making abilities, and has made it a key priority. When more Canadians feel more in control of their finances, the benefits are immediate and potentially far-reaching.  In this report,...

Mobile payments (m-payments) are an important aspect of mobile banking, which is a form of retail financial services that is growing rapidly around the world. Canadian consumers are increasingly migrating away from branch-based banking towards online and mobile banking. Research suggests that the...

In this toolkit you'll find materials to help you learn about what's involved in tax filing, and some materials to support setting up your own community tax clinic.  Added on September 14, 2020: Getting government payments by direct deposit Recevoir des paiements du gouvernement par dépôt...

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC)'s online tool helps you create a customized...

All banks, and trust, loan and insurance companies and retail associations that are federally regulated (or that are incorporated at the federal level) must have a complaint-handling process in place for individuals and small businesses. This process details how a customer may make a complaint, and...

This toolkit contains resources and information which may offer support to organizations, agencies, or frontline staff supporting individuals, during a challenging time. This toolkit was developed in response to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and more resources will be added as they become...

Firms and representatives in the financial services industry occasionally encounter situations where a client’s vulnerability causes the client to make decisions that are contrary to his or her financial interests, needs or objectives or that leave him or her exposed to potential financial...

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 can educate consumers and provide access to financial products and services. But how do we help consumers use their knowledge and tools to improve their financial behaviour and become financially healthy? With six stories and thirteen project profiles, Designing for Financial Health, leverages...

Financial literacy has been proposed widely as an effective approach to preparing people to manage their finances. This paper proposes an alternative concept, financial capability. Financial capability includes both the ability to act (knowledge, skills, confidence, and motivation) and the...