A new survey commissioned by a non-profit credit counselling service and a credit card company has found surprising differences in financial knowledge between Canadians who were born here and newcomers to the country.

While the general population has a financial literacy edge, the results show that newcomers are more familiar with credit scores than the general population.

According to the survey conducted on behalf of Credit Canada and Toronto-based Capital One Canada, 65% of newcomers who have been in the country for five years or less and 74% of those who’ve been in the country for six to 10 years report that they know enough to make good decisions about their credit score, this compares to just over half (52%) of the general population.

The survey results also show that, as individuals’ financial knowledge and familiarity with the Canadian banking system improve, their perceptions about their personal finances improve as well. In fact, Canadian newcomers who have been in the country for six to 10 years are significantly more positive about their finances than the general population, with 75% of these newcomers reporting their finances are good to very good compared to 69% of the general population.

“Our survey also identified a specific subset of new Canadians — the majority of whom are low-to-moderate income women — who report their financial situation as “poor” and say that they have difficulty accessing credit. The data shows that they are also more frequent victims of financial fraud,” says Laurie Campbell, executive director, Credit Canada.

The Angus Reid Public Opinion poll was conducted as part of Credit Education Week 2010 — this year’s public awareness campaign focuses on addressing the unique challenges that Canadian newcomers face when accessing our financial system.

The poll identified a number of interesting differences between newcomers who’ve been in the country for only one to five years, those who’ve been in the country from six to 10 years and the general population including:

> Compared to newcomers, Canada’s general population is more likely to describe the Canadian financial system as confusing (44% to 26%). By contrast, newcomers to Canada find Canada’s financial system significantly more stable (53% to 44%) and accessible (38% to 28%) as compared to Canada’s general population.

> While the vast majority of new Canadians have credit cards (85%) and debit cards (83%), only 37% have a Line of Credit compared to 49% of the general population.

> While family is the top choice for both groups to turn to for financial advice (45% for new Canadians and 40% for the general population), newcomers are significantly more likely to pick friends (37% to 24%), the internet (27% to 17%), government (12% to 2%) and banks (41% to 28%)

> Growing up, new Canadians are twice as likely as the general population to have been taught in depth about saving money (26% to 13%).

IE