Monday, January 20, 2014

Neil Squire Society news- survey information to fill out!


I am writing to you about some important work that is being undertaken by the Neil Squire Society.  The Neil Squire Society is a national organization that the Council of Canadians with Disabilities collaborates with on many important public policy issues that will contribute to an accessible and inclusive Canada. 

The Neil Squire is doing some important research on the accessibility of existing and emerging financial transactions.  As part of this work, the Neil Squire Society is doing a survey about the way people with disabilities deal with electronic banking and payments.  In order for this survey to maximize its success, information needs to get out to people with disabilities.  The Neil Squire Society is seeking to have participation in the survey by four major disability groups: mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive.

The accessibility of financial transactions and e-commerce is a very important issue.  In a recent email to CCD, Gary Birch, the Executive Director of the Neil Squire Society, made the following points which underscore the importance of existing and emerging practices regarding financial transactions, “There has been discussion in a number of provinces about the potential to moving all welfare payments to banking cards. This saves the provinces money as they can confirm transfer of the money and they don't have to absorb the cost if they need to re-issue cheques. The unknown question is how people who are un-banked or under banked deal with this as a bank account is required to use the banking cards. As most bank cards require the person to use a terminal to access or transfer funds we are wondering what issues people with disabilities are having with their financial transactions. Do they have a bank account or they do they use another method of cashing cheques? What issues do they have accessing terminals to complete electronic payments?”  This is one example of a barrier.


Attached you will find a document which contains some write ups about the survey for newsletters.  There is also a poster about the survey.

You can find out more about this work by following this link. http://www.neilsquire.ca/financial-transaction-survey/

Please have a look at the attached material.  It would be great if you would include information in about the survey in any newsletters that you are working on.  Feel free to pass on the information to other organizations.

Also, it would be great if you too would consider participating in the survey.  Please share information about this important survey and project with your colleagues in the disability community.

Any assistance that you can provide in getting the word out about this important project, will be greatly appreciated.

Accessible financial transactions are part of an accessible and inclusive Canada.

Thank you for considering this request.

English Language Brief Description of Survey

The Neil Squire Society would like to gain a greater understanding of the way people with disabilities handle their everyday banking and payment needs. The focus of this study is to look at the issues the technology might create for people with disabilities.

As part of this project we are seeking people with different disabilities who are willing to complete a short survey about the barriers they face when doing their banking and paying for items and services. We want to hear about any changes you would like to see in the way services are delivered. We also want to know what is working well for you right now with these services.

For more information about the Neil Squire Society survey please visit


If you would like to be entered in the draw to win a gift certificate enter your contact information at the end of the survey. One participant will be chosen at random to receive a gift certificate for $300 to a store of their choice.

Ultra Short English Description of the Survey

The Neil Squire Society would like to gain a greater understanding of the way people with disabilities handle their everyday banking and payment needs. As part of this project we are seeking people with different disabilities who are willing to complete a short survey about the barriers they face when doing their banking and paying for items and services.

For more information about the Neil Squire Society survey please visit


We Need Your Views on Electronic Banking
and Payment

The Neil Squire Society would like to gain a greater understanding of the way people with disabilities handle their everyday banking and payment needs. The focus of this study is to look at the issues the technology might create for people with disabilities.

We are seeking people with different disabilities who are willing to complete a short survey about the barriers they face when doing their banking and paying for items and services. We want to hear about any changes you would like to see in the way services are delivered. We also want to know what is working well for you right now with these services.

For more information or to complete the survey please go to:

http://www.neilsquire.ca/financial-transaction-survey/

If you would like to be entered in the draw to win a gift certificate enter your contact information at the end of the survey. One participant will be chosen at random to receive a gift certificate for $300 to a store of their choice.