This report presents the results of the Survey of Consumer Views on Debt (“survey”) which was conducted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“Bureau”) between December 2014 and March 2015. The survey results substantially expand the understanding of debt collection in the United...

Over the last decade, initiatives to enhance the financial stability of the economically vulnerable population have multiplied and shown promise. But there is as of yet no strategy on a national scale that addresses the unique consumer financial product and service needs of low-income and...

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a guide to assist intermediaries in serving individuals to access their Economic Impact Payments (EIPs). The guide, Helping Consumers Claim the Economic Impact Payment: A guide for intermediary organizations , provides step-by-step...

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 2013 Survey of Consumer Payment Choice (SCPC) is the sixth in a series of annual studies conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to gain a comprehensive understanding of the cash and noncash payment behaviour of U.S. consumers. This report summarizes data collected in the 2013 SCPC and...

The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), with support from the Ford Foundation, has undertaken extensive consumer research to examine the needs, decisions, and experiences of SDC consumers, with the goal of promoting the development of high quality SDC solutions. As CFSI defines it,...

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...

Scammers are taking advantage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to con people into giving up their money. Though the reason behind their fraud is new, their tactics are familiar. It can be even harder to prevent scams right now because people 62 and older aren’t interacting with as many...

To better understand the financial state of U.S. households, the Federal Reserve Board conducted a new consumer survey, the results of which are described in this report. The Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED) was conducted by the Board’s Division of Consumer and Community...

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...

he CFPB and the Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity (the Office of Fair Lending) have taken important strides over the last year in our efforts to protect consumers from credit discrimination and broaden access to credit, as we identify new and emerging fair lending risks and monitor...

The CFPB conducted research on consumer challenges in tracking spending and keeping to a budget. The research found that consumers aspire to manage their spending but for many reasons, many consumers spend more than intended and sometimes have\ difficulty in staying within their budgets. In...

Consumer protections safeguard all consumers from predatory practices and enable honest businesses to thrive by ensuring a fair and vibrant marketplace. More than just a regulatory tool, consumer protections—for example, protections against abuse by debt collectors, deceptive advertising by used...

Very little is known about the number or characteristics of credit invisibles or consumers with unscored credit records. This Data Point documents the results of a research project undertaken by Staff in the Office of Research of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to better...

The 2019 Financial Literacy Annual Report of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau highlights the Bureau’s Start Small, Save Up campaign, the Office of Financial Education’s foundational research, in conjunction with the Office of Older Americans, to understand the pathways to financial...

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s (FCAC’s) mandate is to protect Canadian financial consumers and strengthen financial literacy.  The National Strategy is a 5-year plan to create a more accessible, inclusive, and effective financial ecosystem that supports diverse Canadians in...

The challenges that credit invisibles and consumers with unscored records face in accessing credit markets has generated considerable attention from researchers and industry participants. Despite all of this attention, very little is known about the number or characteristics of credit invisibles...

Banks and credit unions can and should be doing much more to support consumer credit building – and, importantly, they can do so in ways that align their own success with the success of their customers. CFSI has identified a number of initiatives that financial institutions can implement over the...

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

This report used a longitudinal, nationally-representative sample of approximately five million de-identified credit records maintained by one of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies. Trends in debt settlement and credit counseling during the Great Recession and in recent years are...

This handout is from Module 9 of the Financial Literacy Facilitator Resources. Examples of how to deal with consumer problems. To view full Financial Literacy Facilitator Resources, click...

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...

This policy brief provides recommendations that can assist policy makers in their consideration of appropriate measures to help financial consumers, depending on the contexts and circumstances of individual jurisdictions, during the COVID-19 crisis. These options are consistent with...

Aspen Financial Security Program’s the Expanding Prosperity Impact Collaborative (EPIC) has identified seven specific consumer debt problems that result in decreased financial insecurity and well-being. Four of the identified problems are general to consumer debt: households’ lack of savings...

BDSC firms are using varied forms of non-traditional data—from mobile call data records and bill payments to Internet browsing patterns and social media behaviour—to create a new way to assess consumer risk, determine the creditworthiness of previously “invisible” consumers, and...