Most modern interfaces are made up of complex menus and workflows, which make them hard to follow, especially for older adults. Canadian financial institutions and policymakers must prioritize inclusivity. Considering the ongoing evolution in digital payments, it is crucial to enhance and ensure accessibility for everyone.
In 2022, Statistics Canada reported in its Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD)that nearly 1.95 million Canadians aged 15 and older experienced memory-related disabilities, 2.3 million faced learning disabilities, and 3.9 million had mental health-related disabilities. These numbers highlight the importance of designing financial tools that improve universal accessibility.
In a recently published Staff Discussion Paper by Bank of Canada called "Digital Payments: A Framework for Inclusive Design", experts are exploring how digital payments, which dominate the payment landscape in Canada, can be made more cognitively accessible. Recognizing that traditional payment methods like bank notes lack the flexibility for customized accessibility features, the focus is on removing cognitive barriers present in many digital interfaces and products. The paper suggests an inclusive approach to design, testing, and refinement of these interfaces and products, particularly involving people with cognitive disabilities as being crucial to eliminating cognitive accessibility barriers.
This is where the University of Ottawa’s own researcher, Professor Virginie Cobigo, made a major contribution, bringing years of expertise in cognitive accessibility research to the Bank of Canada. In fact, the Bank of Canada framework cites an important white paper co-authored by Cobigo with peers from University of Ottawa and Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, titled "Towards a Functional Definition of Cognitive Disability". This white paper challenges the consistency and clarity of terms like cognitive disability, limitation and impairment, and provides a more comprehensive definition of cognitive disability that is central to the Bank of Canada framework's focus on accessibility. This research strongly influenced the framework's focus on creating digital payment systems that are accessible and usable for a neurodiverse population.
The proposed framework puts particular emphasis on system learnability and user workload, which are seen as two big measures of cognitive accessibility. System learnability evaluates how easily users can understand and interact with the system, taking into account the learning curve, the efficiency achieved after mastering the system, and support necessary for initial usage. User workload means the degree of cognitive effort users apply in accomplishing payment tasks, subdivided into measures such as mental demand, time pressure, user frustration, and overall performance. Together, these measures enable a fine-grained analysis of the user experience.
Though originally developed for a digital Canadian dollar, the framework has wide implications for global digital payment systems. It offers a blueprint for policymakers, practitioners, and developers on how to design digital payment solutions that are accessible and usable for persons of all cognitive abilities.
With over 70 peer-reviewed publications, numerous successful grant projects, and accolades such as the CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) Research Chair in Children and Youth Mental Health, Professor Cobigo is a recognized leader in her field. Professor Cobigo's commitment to inclusivity earned her recognition in the “uOttawa More Inclusion, Better Research: Inspiring Stories” competition in 2021, as well as the FSS Excellence in Research Award in 2024.
Full Professor at the School of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Sciences and a registered clinical psychologist, she founded and directs Open Collaboration for Cognitive Accessibility, an innovative knowledge mobilization model, standing as the world's only social enterprise dedicated to fostering inclusive research on cognitive accessibility. Open connects academic research with real-world application, and serves as a hub where individuals with cognitive disabilities actively contribute their lived experiences to enrich scientific knowledge and advance solutions for accessibility.
Open’s expertise was essential in developing and testing a voice payment prototype for the Bank of Canada specifically designed for users with cognitive disabilities. Determining accessibility barriers and related solutions was impossible without their direct involvement. This work involved an inclusive, iterative design process, incorporating feedback from cognitively disabled participants with lived experience, ensuring the prototype addressed the specific needs of this user group.
Open is now home to over 80 advisors self-identified as neurodiverse or as having a cognitive disability, with their experience and unique input, they play a key role in informing accessibility standards and design, creating a user-centred approach.
Professor Cobigo’s work aligns closely with the Faculty of Social Sciences’ commitment to Social Justice, Equity, Social Groups, and Inclusion and Health and Human Development. By removing cognitive barriers in digital payments, her efforts advance accessibility and empower individuals with cognitive disabilities on both national and global scales, showcasing her meaningful impact on the Faculty’s mission to foster equity and health innovation.
To explore more on Professor Cobigo's research on cognitive accessibility, visit Collabzium and explore the innovative research being conducted at the Faculty of Social Sciences.