Canadians Consider Themselves Knowledgable About Personal Finance

TORONTO, ON - Nearly six in ten Canadians (57%) consider themselves to be "highly" or "very knowledgeable" on personal finance issues but they don't always act as shrewdly as they might. For example:

• While a majority (84%) of Canadians use credit cards, less than half (41%) somewhat or strongly agree that they shop around for the best deal when it comes to credit cards and other types of credit.
• A quarter of Canadians say they are unsure or somewhat/strongly disagree when asked to confirm that they know the current interest rate on the credit card they use most often.
• More than half (63%) of Canadians agree that they know what a credit score is but only 36 percent know their personal score. Almost four out of 10 Canadians (36%) never review their credit report and only 20% check their credit report once a year.
• When asked about the credit tools they use regularly, nearly six in ten (59%) agree that they would use a credit card instead of a line of credit if the credit card had a lower interest rate. Of those who have a line of credit, four-in-ten (40%) do so, primarily because they feel it offers the best interest rate.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Capital One Canada. The poll was conducted from May 25 to May 29, 2006 and is based on a randomly selected sample of 1002 adult Canadians from the Ipsos-Reid Online Panel. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within +/- 3.02 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Majority use credit cards but less than half shop around for the best deal.

While a majority (84%) of Canadians use credit cards, less than half (41%) somewhat or strongly agree that they shop around for the best deal when it comes to credit cards and other types of credit.

A quarter don't know or are unsure of the rate on their primary card.

A quarter of Canadians say they are unsure or somewhat/strongly disagree when asked to confirm that they know the current interest rate on the credit card they use most often.

Canadians know what a credit score is but not how they score.

Nearly six in ten Canadians (57%) consider themselves to be "highly" or "very knowledgeable" on personal finance issues. For example, More than half (63%) of Canadians agree that they know what a credit score is but only 36 percent know their actual credit score. Almost four out of 10 Canadians (36%) never review their credit report and only 20% check their report once a year.

They would use a credit card instead of a line of credit if the card had a lower rate.

When asked about the credit tools they use regularly, nearly six in ten (59%) agree that they would use a credit card instead of a line of credit if the credit card had a lower interest rate. Of Canadians who have a line of credit, four-in-ten (40%) do so, primarily because they feel it offers the best interest rate.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Ray Kong
Ipsos Reid
(416) 324-2106
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 300 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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