Our Partnerships

In 2016, RBC enlisted the help of Credit Canada to help RBC customers acquire mortgages through financial education. Many RBC customers were having trouble acquiring mortgages due to past financial difficulties, and although their circumstances had improved to where mortgages could be considered, poor credit scores continued to haunt them. RBC believed financial literacy training would help RBC customers boost credit scores to move mortgage approvals forward.

Credit Canada began training RBC customers via our Financial Coaching Series, featuring nine learning modules covering vital aspects of personal money management (one dedicated to mortgages and new home ownership). The modules are offered individually or as a complete package, and are adaptable to various skill levels and budgets, with options for varying degrees of coaching support from industry-certified counsellors and educators. A new series of advanced e-learning modules are currently in development as an extension of this program.

In 2016, a formal partnership with the Actors Fund of Canada (AFC) was launched to help those professionals working in the arts foster and maintain a clear sense of financial stability in an industry where steady employment can be unpredictable. Working with AFC administrators, Credit Canada formalized a funded program where AFC clients could obtain free credit and debt counselling, money management training, debt management help via our Debt Consolidation Program. Our industry-certified counsellors and educators familiarized themselves with AFC’s clients and needs and developed industry-specific training and evaluations. Today, we provide timely support to AFC on demand.

By allying with Credit Canada, AFC has been able to support its mission and mandate, while strengthening the arts and entertainment community by helping people in an industry where employment can be uncertain and difficulties with personal finance are not uncommon.

As part of its ongoing mandate, OLG supports programs promoting responsible gambling; however, the organization wanted to deepen their understanding and mitigation of problem-gambling, which affects 340,000 people province-wide*. Given Credit Canada’s experience serving individuals experiencing financial difficulties due to gambling, OLG enlisted the help of our agency to support an R&D initiative, which launched in 2017. The funded project focused on studying the motivations and behaviour of gamblers who were currently on a Debt Consolidation Program through our agency. Program facilitators distinguished key characteristics of clients who reported gambling and how it influenced household budgets and debt.

The project helped determine when and how individuals seek help for problem gambling, as well as the barriers to seeking treatment. The resulting data has enabled OLG to improve tools and resources for addiction prevention and treatment.

* Extrapolating from data supplied by Statistics Canada and the Problem Gambling Institute of Ontario, we see that up to 3.4% of about 10 million Ontario adults and teenagers experience moderate to severe gambling problems.

In 2016, Ontario’s Hydro One invited Credit Canada to participate in a project involving 1,500 of its customers—able income earners who nonetheless struggled to pay their bill to the point of service disconnection. In response, Credit Canada implemented a training program including financial and debt counselling, money management tools, and free resources to help these people get back on track and stay on track.

It quickly became apparent that most of these clients simply lacked the skills, tools and know-how to manage money effectively. Through expert financial training and guidance—including explorations into negative, often unconscious attitudes towards money—we were able to break cycles of financial grief and motivate positive action. Today, Hydro One can count on many more dutiful paying customers, plus a remedial template for delinquent payments.

Celebrated for its career-focused programs in high-demand professions, Seneca serves 17,000 full-time students and 90,000 part-time and continuing education students. Understanding the socio-economic realities surrounding student debt, as well as job-markets tending toward contract work and self-employment, the college asked Credit Canada to provide financial literacy training to Canadian students and newcomers to the country.

In response, our agency developed workshops, seminars, and training tools covering a variety of subjects, from financial goal-setting and successful money management to budgeting and effective credit building. Strategies for saving in relation to needs, wants, and unexpected circumstances are examined, along with vital matters regarding credit bureaus, credit ratings, and related consumer rights and responsibilities. To date, we’ve helped countless students learn better money management, and looking ahead we expect to assist thousands more.

GREO is a leader in the field of gambling research, focused on gambling risks, prevention and treatment. In 2017, the organization sought to combine its R&D resources with Credit Canada to create a smartphone app that prevents problem-gambling.* Now in development, the free app engages users who have gambled within the last year with the aim of reducing and eliminating harmful behaviour.

Throughout development, Credit Canada supported GREO with knowledge and data based on years of experience working with gamblers. The project also engages Credit Canada clients currently in counselling who have indicated they participate in casino or lotto gambling, by sending personalized, real-time notifications via the app highlighting pre-set spending limits, odds-of-winning alerts, and more.

• According to the Responsible Gaming Council, gamblers are far easier to influence before difficulties arise. Intervening at the problem stage is much more costly, where three times more gambling revenue is allocated to treating the small percentage of problem gamblers versus responsible gambling initiatives.