Canadian Consumer Experience and Concerns with Digital Debt Payment During COVID-19

Author

Carling M. Baxter; Matthew M. Young

Organization

Credit Counselling Canada

Published

2023

Summary

Societal closures and restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have had an enormous impact on the lives of Canadians. In 2020, a group of organizations led by Credit Counselling Canada (including representatives from Greo, Angus Reid, and TransUnion), sought to understand the effect of the pandemic on Canadians’ financial health.


This report documents how both access to digital communication technology and capacity to use digital financial products influence financial health and financial-related stress. Specifically, the results demonstrate that people who experience limited access to digital communication technology appear to experience poorer overall financial well-being, greater likelihood of falling behind on payments and increased levels of stress related to online banking and electronic billing payment cycles. These results indicate that access to digital communication technology is important for providing opportunities to improve their financial inclusion, while a lack of access to such technology can exacerbate financial hardships.

These results also indicate that limited capacity to use such products may be specifically linked to experiences of financial harm caused by the shift to online banking and bill payments necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This report concludes that policies or management practices that focus on improving access to internet (e.g., by improving infrastructure, subsidizing costs to consumers, or providing free Wi-Fi in public spaces), as well as those that improve access to electronic devices may be an effective tool toward developing financial well-being.

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OCA Funded Research
This research received funding support through the Office of Consumer Affairs' Contributions Program.

Contact information

Source: Consumer Policy Research Database