I’m always amazed at the number of new Fintech startups in the market, many of which are creating fantastic new experiences and services to help facilitate banking, payments, wealth management and others. And all of these seem to be targeting the same consumer - the tech savvy, mobile-enabled millennial. While this is all well and good, there is a darker side to this innovation - namely that it’s creating larger and larger gaps between this target group and many other Canadians who are not yet comfortable or capable of operating in this brave new world.
In the tech world, there is a term for this - the digital divide. For individuals who could not afford broadband internet connectivity, they were left out of many services that many Canadians take for granted, and this put them at a structural disadvantage when it comes to information and access to services. Thankfully, in large part due to government accessibility programs and declining costs of broadband access, this gap is closing. But there is still a significant way to go.
Similarly, in the financial world, so many companies are focused on the tech millennial that they are ignoring a significant portion of Canadians - what we call the Financially Excluded. While ignoring this segment has negative impacts on society, I’m also amazed that more organizations don’t see opportunity in creating solutions or applications to this very real need. For example, in the payments space, most wallet solutions only support credit card or bank account connections, but 40% of Canadians have credit card debt, 26% have a running balance and up to 15% have low or zero balance bank accounts.
At Payment Source, we are doing what we can to include the financially excluded.
On September 1, Diane Lebouthillier the Minister of National revenue presented in Whitehorse some new support services around tax services that are particularly focused on Northern regions. One of these services is the ability for Yukon taxpayers to pay their taxes at Canada Post using our Loadhub service.
Right now individuals or businesses can create a custom payment QR code on a web portal that can be printed or delivered via email or SMS. Taxpayers can then walk into any Canada Post, present the QR code and make their payment using cash or debit. The payment is considered received by CRA at the moment they hand over the funds and so it is quicker and more reliable than sending a cheque.
Beginning in 2018, the Loadhub QR code will start to be printed right onto tax remittance forms which means it will become even more accessible to Canadians.
Thankfully, I am starting to see positive change - other well known brands such as Amazon and PayPal have recognized the value of building financially inclusive solutions, and some smaller startups such as ChangeJar are thinking about how they support a broader ecosystem. As the competition for the wallet share of the tech-savvy millennial gets more and more crowded, hopefully other organizations will begin to see the value in providing these solutions and begin to reduce some of the very real gaps that exist in Canada.