The Digital Confidence Gap in Financial Services: How to Identify and Close It

Canada’s digital confidence gap reveals a potential disconnect between digital banking usage and customers’ confidence in navigating financial services. Drawing on research conducted by Leger for Interac, we explore this gap through a financial services lens, examining how institutions can identify barriers through behavioural and attitudinal research and address them through better customer experiences. 

Digital banking adoption is high in Canada. But usage doesn’t necessarily mean confidence. 

According to Interac’s 2026 Digital Prosperity Index, Canada ranks 13th out of 14 economies for digital prosperity and last for digital confidence. As part of this initiative, Leger analyzed international data and conducted surveys among Canadian consumers and business decision-makers to explore their digital experiences, confidence and barriers to participation. 

For banks, insurers, fintechs and other financial services providers, the digital confidence gap raises an important question: Are customers fully engaging with digital services, or are concerns about security, complexity and support limiting their participation? 

• 84% of Canadian consumers feel confident using digital tools, yet 69% identify fraud risk as a barrier to digital participation.
• 41% avoid certain digital services because of scams, while 42% increasingly rely on familiar services.
• 95% consider recovery support important when something goes wrong, while 48% identify insufficient help or support as a barrier to fuller digital participation. 

Source: Interac, Digital Prosperity Index 2026: Technical Companion, prepared by Léger. 

💡 For financial institutions, we define the digital confidence gap as the potential disconnect between customers’ use of digital financial services and their confidence in navigating unfamiliar experiences, managing risks and making financial decisions online. 

A customer may use mobile banking daily but hesitate to apply for a mortgage online, explore a new investment product or adopt an unfamiliar payment solution. 

Their digital engagement metrics look healthy. Yet their willingness to deepen the relationship may be limited. 

For financial institutions, this distinction matters. Trust in a financial institution, satisfaction with its digital services and confidence in one’s own financial capabilities are different dimensions of the customer relationship. 

Measuring one doesn’t necessarily explain the others. 

At Leger, we see three dimensions worth examining together:

• Digital usage: What services are customers using, avoiding or abandoning? Where do they return to assisted channels?
• Customer confidence: Do customers feel informed, secure and capable of completing financial tasks independently?
• Relationship behaviour: Does confidence influence their willingness to explore new products, deepen their relationship or choose another provider?

A customer who regularly uses digital banking but avoids unfamiliar features may have needs that traditional engagement metrics don’t reveal.

Connecting behavioural analytics, customer feedback, attitudinal research and brand measurement can help institutions identify these gaps across customer segments and journeys.

The objective is to understand what customers are doing, what they’re hesitant to do and why.

Why does closing the digital confidence gap matter? For financial institutions, the potential implications extend beyond digital adoption. Customers who hesitate to explore unfamiliar services may also be overlooking products that meet their needs, limiting opportunities for deeper engagement and relationship growth. Understanding where confidence breaks down can help institutions identify unmet needs, reduce friction and create experiences that give customers more reasons to stay, engage and choose them again.

The Interac research suggests that digital confidence involves more than access to technology. Fraud concerns, service complexity and inadequate support can all influence participation.

Addressing these barriers requires understanding which experiences strengthen confidence and which leave customers uncertain.

Through our Financial Services research expertise, Leger helps institutions investigate these challenges through:

• Customer segmentation: Identify customers with unmet needs and understand what limits their digital adoption.
• CX and UX research: Pinpoint friction, test digital journeys and evaluate whether experiences build confidence.
• Brand and reputation research: Examine how customer experiences influence trust, emotional connection and relationship strength.
• Product and innovation research: Test whether new financial solutions address customer needs and perceived risks.

We believe the next opportunity for financial institutions is to measure what happens beyond a completed transaction.

Does the experience leave customers feeling more capable? More willing to explore additional services? More confident choosing the institution for their next financial decision?

These potential connections require further research. The Digital Prosperity Index does not directly measure their commercial impact.

But it raises an important question for financial institutions: Are we building digital experiences that customers can use, or experiences that give them the confidence to do more?

Interac’s 2026 Digital Prosperity Index draws on Leger’s analysis of published international data and two online surveys conducted by Leger among 2,000 Canadian adults and 756 Canadian business decision-makers between March 31 and April 22, 2026. The international Index and Canadian surveys are separate research instruments. 

For detailed findings and methodology, consult the Digital Prosperity Index 2026 Technical Companion.