Digital payments are coming of age. The COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the shift towards fast, flexible and secure digital payments and reinforcing the importance of payments modernization. Central 1 is well advanced in preparing for Payments Canada’s modernization initiative which aims to provide consumers, businesses and financial institutions (FIs) with a modern, fast and convenient payment system. As a leader in the payments space and...

What happens when the world as we know it changes entirely? As we’ve seen throughout 2020, and as we begin to envision a post-pandemic landscape, the need for financial institutions to adapt to customer needs is crucial now more than ever. But how and where does one start? How can financial institutions be leaders in helping larger organizations reimagine a new normal?  Larger Organizations are Slower to Adapt  A global survey by Harvard Business Review indicates that executives at larger organizations expect the pressure to digitally transform will only accelerate...

Only 36.2 per cent out of approximately 466,000 disability tax credit (DTC) eligible Canadians had Registered Disability Savings Plan, according to 2017 Employment and Social Development Canada statistics.   This means the available government incentives for this segment of the population are not being paid out to those who may need it most.   Launched in 2008, a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) is a government-assisted and tax-deferred savings account designed...

Prior to COVID-19, a sense of belonging, the experience of being accepted and included by those around you, and its correlation to employee engagement was a top priority for our credit unions. Our rich history of ”community first” lends itself to belonging. Then the pandemic began and a shift ensued: many of us are working remotely and have an increased reliance on technology. More of us are experiencing heightened stress levels, moral fatigue, uncertainty and longer hours. This places an employee’s need for belonging even further to the forefront.   To...