Emma Parsons banned her ex-boyfriend from her phone and all her social media apps after he bombarded her with unwanted text messages.

The nursing student in Ottawa said, "The messages were extremely abusive," "They were mean, trying to belittle me and bully me, telling me how bad I was doing."

He even used fake phone numbers to breach the safety wall she tried to build for herself, as she began receiving electronic transfers from him accompanied by nasty messages.

She said, "The first one was for one dollar, then I think the other one was less than five dollars," "I was so shocked. I was very surprised that he was sending an electronic transfer."

Parsons added that she felt so embarrassed and uncomfortable that she couldn’t report the electronic transfers to the bank or police.

She said, "I don’t feel they would take me seriously enough," "the police may say, 'Oh, here's your case number. We'll see you in a few years.'"

But when she and her mother, Carmen, heard how a woman in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, received a wave of abusive and threatening electronic transfers before her ex-husband killed her in October, they decided to speak out.

Carmen said, "People need to know that this is happening and that there are probably things we can do about it."

Survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) said that Canadian banks need to ramp up their efforts and do more to protect victims from abuse through their platforms, as some other countries do.

Canada's Bankers Association confirmed that its members have some policies in place to protect customers, and they are always exploring ways to combat abuse, but they did not provide many specifics.

Some survivors of sexual partner violence say that with such abusive messages coming through, banks are not doing enough.

Australia Sets an Example

It’s an issue the banking industry in Australia decided to tackle head-on after a horrific and high-profile domestic violence case in 2014 that involved the murder of an 11-year-old boy by his father, a man with a long history of abusive behavior.

Katherine Fitzpatrick, a former banking executive at the largest bank in the country and a financial safety consultant, said, "We just saw it, and we said: we can’t look away, we need to make changes, many other sectors have followed suit."

"What we decided in Australia is that it can’t just be one bank that moves on this; it has to be everyone."

Fitzpatrick's data team at the Commonwealth Bank analyzed 11 million transactions over a three-month period and found more than 8,000 customers who had received what she described as "abusive messages" through their bank accounts.

She said, "I read one message that was a series of 900 messages, one sent each time saying things like: I want to kill you. I want to kill them all."

Since then, Australian banks have implemented several measures to end the abuse of banking platforms by perpetrators, including the introduction of an AI program that blocks messages containing abusive language and in-app self-reporting tools for survivors to report abusive messages to banks as soon as they arrive.

Two banks in particular have sent warning messages to customers engaged in abusive behaviors, and Fitzpatrick mentioned that in 90% of those cases, the abusive behavior ceased across banking platforms.

Fourteen Australian banks are also including financial abuse clauses in their terms and conditions that clearly state if a customer engages in abuse through their platform, it could lead to account closure or suspension.

Many Australian banks have also created resource pages containing extensive tools and tips for people experiencing various forms of financial abuse related to IPV, including counseling services.

Fitzpatrick said, "The really insidious thing about this kind of technology abuse is that it often is the last resort," noting that creating safety tools falls on the industry.

"It shouldn’t be left to the user to keep themselves safe. So you have to take steps to design your platform with safety in mind."

Fitzpatrick added that the measures taken in Australia have prevented more than one million abusive messages in real time since 2020.

She shared the experiences and solutions of the Australian banking industry with the International Banking Federation at a meeting held on October 27, 2022, where she also presented the Commonwealth Bank program. The program that filters out abusive words is now being shared for free with banks worldwide.

She said, "I think every bank around the world should implement the filter, and certainly identify patterns and abuse in bank accounts," "We have the technology, and it’s available for free now."

Fitzpatrick describes financial abuse as a powerful weapon used against survivors and says businesses need to disable it.

She said, "I would really encourage every bank in Canada to look at how Australian banks and some banks in Britain and New Zealand are starting to move on this issue."

Canadian Banks Respond

CBC News reached out to five major banks in Canada: Scotiabank, Montreal Bank, CIBC, Toronto Dominion Bank, and Royal Bank of Canada, to ask if any of them had implemented measures to prevent this type of financial exploitation.

CBC News also asked the five major Canadian banks if they had added intimate partner abuse clauses to their terms and conditions. They did not respond.

All five banks referred CBC News to the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA), which represents more than 60 domestic and international banks operating in Canada.

The CBA issued a statement via email stating that its members have policies and procedures in place to protect customers affected by harassment and other forms of abuse.

The statement encourages customers experiencing abuse to report it to the banks they deal with and law enforcement, adding that they can withdraw banking services from individuals involved in abusive behavior.

The CBA also stated that "banks are continuously exploring ways to combat any form of abuse, including financial abuse facilitated by technology, while managing legal, privacy, and operational considerations."

 Who is Responsible for Stopping Them?

No further details were provided despite CBC News's repeated requests for more information and clarity.

Interac also provided a statement via email that using its payment service to facilitate abuse and harassment violates its terms of use. The company stated it is committed to enhancing its services to help customers but offered little detail.

An IPV survivor wants the banks to be proactive

A survivor of IPV in Quebec feels frustrated that Canadian banks don’t seem to be doing more.

The woman, who CBC did not identify due to concerns about her personal safety, wants to see the banks here more proactive by implementing programs like those offered by the Commonwealth Bank that block abusive messages.

She said, "I feel very disappointed. "It frustrates me to think that banks continue to be profitable, even in the current economic situation, yet they don’t see it as important enough to invest money in creating some sort of system like this."

The woman, who relies on spousal and child support payments from her ex-husband, shared a series of electronic transfers with CBC News where her ex-husband insulted her or asked security questions that required her to demean herself to access the funds.

She said, "When you’re waiting to get money to pay your bills, you can’t say to the aggressive person: please ask me a nice question," "You kind of have to bend and accept what comes at you."

Carmen and Emma Parsons also feel disappointed that there doesn’t seem to be significant movement on this issue from Canadian banks.

Carmen said, "Why are we waiting for someone to tell them they have to? Especially in this case, where it’s good and will be helpful and beneficial."