Open banking implementation in Canada
Despite the nomination of a government lead, a question remains...
On March 22, Abraham Tachjian was named the open banking lead by the Government of Canada. This was a long time coming but COVID-19 happened and reforms often take time in the Great White North.
Interestingly, this follows an open letter dated March 14 signed by various Canadian fintech executives (including Andrew Graham, CEO of Borrowell; and David Feller, CEO of Mogo) encouraging the federal government to speed up the open banking implementation process which was detailed in a final report last year. As per such, the live date is slated to occur in January 2023.
Many in the fintech community have doubts about this proposed timeframe.
Dominique Samson, Chief Operating Officer at Flinks (a Montreal-based company which specializes in financial data connectivity) recently told Betakit: “… while we celebrate Mr. Tachjian’s nomination and Minister Boissonnault’s drive, it only represents a first step. No tangible progress has been achieved yet, and the new open banking lead needs to start implementing the Advisory Committee’s final report in full, as soon as possible.”
Because so much time has passed since initial talks in 2019 at the Senate, a 2023 go-live date is probably wishful thinking at this point. I would not be surprised if the Trudeau government postpones such to 2024.
While the nomination of Tachjian (a lawyer who has direct experience working with fintech firms) will appease some stakeholders, it may not prevent further delays.