Executive Director Steve Boms will testify before the committee tomorrow to present the paper.

“Canadians increasingly depend on technology-powered tools to improve their financial lives,” said Boms. “To foster innovation and spur improved financial outcomes, Canada should implement an open banking regime that provides consumers with the legal right to their financial data and builds appropriate safeguards around a well-managed ecosystem. For the sake of consumers’ financial wellbeing and innovation, the time to act is now.”

The new paper discusses:

• What open banking is and how it recognizes consumer demand and needs make it necessary to share financial data;
• The benefits of open banking, including empowering customer choice, ensuring customer protection and enabling industry innovation;
• The need to ensure consumer access, consent and protection;
• A discussion of how data and technology are shared and utilized in an open banking ecosystem; and
• The importance of implementing effective policy and regulatory oversight.

“If implemented properly, open banking can preserve the security and stability of the financial system while empowering customers and accelerating opportunities for innovation,” said Boms. “This paper provides an outline for success, based on lessons learned from other jurisdictions.”

In his testimony before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, Boms also will discuss how open banking has been embraced by other countries, outlining how the technology-powered products and services provided by incumbent financial services and fintech firms are supporting consumers and businesses as they manage and improve their finances. “Canadian consumers are already demanding the same opportunity, and they deserve to receive it,” Boms will conclude.