The types of financial services in the Arctic are very limited. If you consider the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, there are 58 communities, and nine of those communities have financial institutions—all chartered banks.
Many people in the Arctic have virtually no experience with or exposure to financial institutions. Many people do not have bank accounts, and as a result are not able to access the economy the way people in southern Canada can.
Part of the work we're doing is the development of a financial literacy program to try to raise the level of financial understanding for ordinary people across the Arctic.