According to the Smarter Loans' Canada FinTech Lending Study 2022, which gathered the feedback of 2,462 Canadian fintech lending customers the pandemic has inspired more Canadians to move their financial habits online with nearly 70% saying they managed more of their finances online now than they did 12 months prior. The overall rating for the Canadian lending industry is 3.4/5 , up from 3.3/5 in 2020.
This shift is happening across a wide array of financial services including lending, Insurance investing, checking, savings and more. Canadians are doing more comparison-shopping than ever before as the number of players in the fintech space continues to grow.
Online search remains the top destination for financial information gathering with Facebook and YouTube standing out as the most popular platform across all age groups, with Instagram and Tick Tock emerging as key sources of information for younger customers. These customers are also much more likely to choose a loan provider that offers informative videos about their products services and the company itself with 60% indicating that video increased their confidence in the provider. 3% of personal loans were also issued in 24 hours, the highest measure in 4 years, suggesting that same-day-funding is becoming more and more popular.
The overall fintech lending experience has been gradually improving in Canada, reflected in higher scores for transparency around lending products and speed of funding, both of which have trended up since 2018. Several key trends also indicate that the lending industry is becoming more mature with more consumers securing a loan through an online provider. Over 76% felt confident that they had enough information to make an informed decision from their online interaction.
Canadians are also now more generally confident and fintech products and services. Younger Canadians spend more time online especially on social media and express the most interest in moving more of their everyday financial services interactions to fully online. While shopping for financial services men and women differ how they research their products and services and what features they prioritize from their lenders of choiuce. Men were more likely to discover their provider through personal recommendations and TV ads while women were more likely to find them through online search and social media. Men were also more likely to prioritize transparency of interest rates and terms while women were more concerned with customer service speed and the ease of the application process.
It clear to see from this report that the demand for digitally accessible financial products in Canada is continuing to grow at a very fast pace.