Banking on the Margin in Canada

This article analyzes the socioeconomic characteristics of the financially excluded in Canada using the 1999 Statistics Canada Survey of Financial Security and two surveys sponsored by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada in 2001 and 2005. The authors find that financial exclusion is more concentrated among low-income Canadians; low-income, low-level of assets, and single-parent statuses are correlated with being unbanked. A review of banking preferences of low-income people indicates that economically disadvantaged households are more concerned about convenience and not as interested in new banking technologies.