FINANCIAL EQUITY IN THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND BANKS

Access to Safe Finance by Removing Structural Barriers for Economic Safety and Security

Based on our recent research and consultations with survivors, it appears that most major Canadian financial institutions are unfamiliar with economic abuse, as they lack the necessary policies or procedures to assist victims and survivors in rebuilding their lives.

To remove the structural barriers, we collaborate with the members of our National Task Force for Women’s Economic Justice Financial and Banking Services Committee, victims, stakeholders, financial institutions and women’s service organizations, to identify critical policy, services and procedure gaps, and to develop new approaches, products, and services for victims.

“Perpetrators may be partners, family members or people on whom customers depend for support and the perpetrator may use the customer’s money in a way that limits the customer’s actions and future plans; they may be left with no money for basic essentials such as food and clothing for themselves or their children,” Head of Sustainable Banking Louise, O’Mahony

What is New?

• Learn more about Financial Futures Summit: Best Practices In Banking to Support Survivors of Economic Abuse
• Download the full Financial Future Summit
• Download our joint open letter with Women’s Shelters Canada: A Call to Action to End E-Transfer Abuse to Canadian Banks and Interac 

How Can Canadian Banks and Financial Institution Help?

Five Ways You Can Help

CCFWE has developed a comprehensive list of measures to fight economic abuse in collaboration with Canadian and international partners and experts on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), economic empowerment, banking, mental health, and family law. By implementing these programs and policies, your organization can help protect survivors  Economic Abuse and support such individuals in becoming financially independent. Informed in part by the Canadian code of conduct to protect seniors, a few of the action items CCFWE recommends include:

1. Implementing policies to protect the privacy of survivors in collaboration with CCFWE Policy and research experts.  
2. Training staff to detect and respond to Economic Abuse in collaboration with CCFWE and Economic Abuse experts.  
3. Developing a Voluntary Financial Abuse Code of Practice to protect survivors.
4. Supporting both the CCFWE  and survivors by appointing a representative from your organization to join our National Task Force for Women’s Economic Justice, Banking and Finance Service committee. 
5. Tailoring personal and business accounts and services for survivors. 

Our team is available to share more insights and recommendations from our recent Financial Future Summit Action Plan on how you can implement survivor protection policies, programs, and practices in your organization.

“My bank didn’t allow me to arrange payments on my mortgage while I was in transition housing. They were exposing my personal information to my ex husband while I was hiding in transition housing.  This was problematic since we had a joint mortgage, and as the breadwinner, the payments were taken out of my accounts, not his” – Survivor Story (Ashton)

Our Engagement 

• In 2021, we participated in a round table consultation on the Financial Consumers Agency of Canada (FCAC)’s National Financial Literacy Strategy. Additionally, we were early adopters of the FCAC’s National Financial Data Strategy.
• CCFWE participated in “The 2022 Payments Canada SUMMIT” on The impact of payment modernization and open banking on financial inclusion.
• CCFWE Advocated for the development Financial Code of Conduct to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.

Our national call to action and awareness campaign to advocate for the adoption of new products and services for victims was supported by Miss Canada 2020

Participate 

• Sign our pledge to find Economic Abuse in the financial institutions
• Join the National Task Force for Women’s Economic Justice ( Finance and Banking Service Committee 

Join and sponsor the National Movement for Financial Equity and National Awareness Month. Your institution will:

• Becoming one of the first major Canadian Financial Institutions to join as CCFWE’s partner to fight against Economic Abuse among financial institutions.

• Receiving access to a free groundbreaking webinar on “How to Identify and Respond to Economic Abuse in Financial Institutions”. This will allow your institution to create confidence among its vulnerable customers and help make your institution more profitable.

• CCFWE will promote your institution for up to a year in all CCFWE’s communication and education materials distributed to women across Canada.
• Your institution’s logo will be placed on CCFWE publications including Survivors Banking Booklet, Financial Abuse education materials ( for bankers and, health workers, legal experts, shelters employee), and other promotional material for the event.

To sponsor our National Awareness Month (Help us rise) Please email us: info@test.ccfwe.org

Read about submissions for the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada:

• CCFWE Policy  Recommendations for the Banks, Credit Unions and Financial Institutions on Addressing Economic Abuse in the Context of Gender-Based Violence in Canada
• CCFWE Submission for Financial Consumer Agency of Canada on Complaint-Handling Procedures for Banks and Authorized Foreign Banks

Resources 

• Watch the Special Message from Miss World Canada 2020 to urge financial institutions to support survivors of Economic Abuse
• Read our blog on “The Need to Educate Canadian Financial Institutions Regarding Economic Abuse”

Our CBC interview about E – Transfer Abuse “Two national women’s organizations are demanding that Canada’s banks do more to stop threatening and abusive messages in e-transfers, which are sometimes used by abusers to contact their victims after they are blocked on other communication platforms”