The Switching Study

The Canadian Financial Services Switching Study helps you understand the motivations and influences behind switchers.

About the Study

Each year, nearly 6 million Canadians make the decision to switch one or more of their financial products—whether it’s a savings account, mortgage, credit card or investment—from one financial provider to another. Understanding what drives these choices is essential for institutions looking to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving landscape of traditional banks and fintech disruptors.

Now part of Environics’ suite of syndicated research offerings, the Canadian Financial Services Switching Study offers a comprehensive, data-driven window into this behaviour. Since its launch in the late 1990s, the study has been conducted every two years, combining insights from 45,000 Canadians with 5,000+ detailed interviews with confirmed switchers to assess the motivations and influences behind their decision.

Contact our Switching Expert

Relied upon by Canada’s major banks for over a decade, the Switching Study has become the trusted source for understanding how, why and when Canadians move between financial institutions, across nine key product categories. It empowers decision-makers with the evidence they need to anticipate shifts, refine strategy, and stay ahead of the curve.

Screener surveys conducted online

Full interviews in English and French

Minute surveys with over 5,000 verified switchers

Main Report + 9 Product-Specific Reports

Benefits of the Switching Study

The Canadian Financial Services Switching Study delivers clear, actionable insight into who is switching, why they switch, and the most effective channel to reach them. With a focused lens on real consumer behaviour, the study empowers teams to make more confident, evidence-based decisions in a rapidly evolving financial services landscape.

It helps financial institutions:

Quantify the size and dynamics of the switching market

Understand switcher motivations, behaviours, and decision drivers

Track switching behavior by product, channel, and Financial institution

Optimize acquisition, retention, and product strategies

Improve media targeting and messaging

Target switchers by generational preferences

Track competitive movement and emerging threats

Stay ahead of market change and disruption

Heidi Wilson

VP – Retail Banking & Financial Services

Contact Us

Connect with our Retail Banking expert

Heidi brings more than 20 years of research and consulting experience to her role as Vice President, Financial Services at Environics. She leads the Environics Retail Banking practice, anchored by the Canadian Financial Services Switching Study, a long-standing syndicated program that tracks consumer behaviour, brand performance, and market share dynamics across Canada’s retail banking landscape.

Social Values Approach

For over 4 decades, Environics has been measuring Social Values and societal change in Canada, providing a unique lens on the deeper lying motivations that underpin consumer decision-making. In its annual Canadian Fintech Syndicated Study, Environics profiles the Social Values of customers of leading retail banks and fintech organizations. The 2026 edition of the Canadian Financial Services Switching study will incorporate Social Values insights to help contextualize the drivers of switching behaviour.

Social Values

Frequently Asked Questions

Because 1 in 4 Canadians switch financial products in a given year—and they’re not like everyone else. Switchers tend to be younger, more digitally engaged, and driven by distinct motivations. In an era of reduced immigration, future growth for many financial institutions will need to come from attracting competitors’ customers with compelling product and service offerings. The Switching Study zeroes in on this high-value segment, helping you target the people most likely to act.

Many studies explore intentions—what people say they might do. The Switching Study captures what people actually did and their reasons for doing it. By focusing on real decisions, not just opinions, it delivers a more accurate and actionable view of the factors that influence switching.

Today’s switchers are tomorrow’s mainstream customers. By examining current switching patterns, the study provides an early read on where the market is headed, helping your team anticipate changes before they happen.

Absolutely. The study tracks the rise of Fintechs and emerging digital players, revealing not just their market share – but the reasons they’re gaining ground. It offers essential insight for staying competitive in a shifting landscape.

What makes the Switching Study unique is its very large (n=45,000) screening sample used to identify consumers switching financial institutions across 9 distinct segments. Large, robust sample sizes allow for brand level comparisons of switching behaviours and motivations in each product segment. Only the Environics Canadian Financial Services Switching study can track changing switching behaviours and motivations through a longitudinal lens of 25 years.