Small loans for consumers : Petits prêts aux consommateurs : quelles solutions? : rapport final du projet

Given the current scale and cost-effectiveness of financial services offered to the poor in developing countries, how is it that low-income people in Canada don't have access to the traditional financial services they need? In recent years, the traditional financial institutions have withdrawn from the small loans market, thus leaving the door open to the alternative consumer credit market, which has seen phenomenal growth. This alternative market gives consumers access to short-term credit (pledge lenders, payday lenders, etc.) and makes credit available to people who otherwise would probably not have access to it (bad credit history, no bank account, etc.). Other services have appeared, such as cheque-cashing services, which don't necessarily compensate for lack of access to small-amount credit, but do offer various services to consumers who don't have a bank account or want to avoid the rigidity of financial institutions and, lacking cash in many cases, to have immediate access to money.