Dear Minister Freeland,
The Competition Bureau recently confirmed what many of us already knew intuitively: The Canadian economy is a less competitive place than it was twenty years ago.
Le Bureau de la concurrence a récemment confirmé ce que bon nombre d’entre nous savaient déjà intuitivement : l’économie canadienne est moins concurrentielle qu’il y a vingt ans.
A lack of competition stifles innovation, drives up prices, and leads to stagnation. Canadians suffer as a result. During this cost of living crisis, there’s never been a greater need to give Canadians more control over their money.
L’absence de concurrence étouffe l’innovation, fait grimper les prix et conduit à la stagnation. Les Canadiens en subissent les conséquences. En cette crise du coût de la vie, le besoin de permettre aux Canadiens d’exercer un plus grand contrôle sur leur argent n’a jamais été aussi important.
In the financial services sector, we see our global peers delivering new products to make financial services more convenient, more widely available to unbanked citizens, and driving down costs. It’s time for Canada to catch up with the European Union, the United States and the UK to ensure we have affordable and innovative open banking.
Nous voyons nos homologues mondiaux proposer de nouveaux produits pour rendre les services financiers plus pratiques et plus largement accessibles aux citoyens non bancarisés, tout en réduisant les coûts. Il est temps que le Canada rattrape l’Union européenne, les États-Unis et le Royaume-Uni pour que nous disposions d’un système bancaire ouvert, abordable et innovant.
Through open banking, we have seen countries empower their consumers by allowing them to securely access and share their own financial data. We know this is possible, and we have seen the benefits it brings.
Nous voyons des pays dotés d’un tel système bancaire ouvert favoriser l’autonomie de leurs consommateurs en leur permettant de consulter et de partager leurs propres données financières en toute sécurité. Nous savons que c’est possible, et nous en avons constaté les avantages.
Too often, we hear commentary in Canada that amounts to small-minded protectionism. The belief that Canada’s financial sector is strong because it is concentrated in a handful of very large banks is deeply misguided.
Trop souvent, nous entendons au Canada des commentaires qui relèvent d’un protectionnisme borné. La croyance que le secteur financier de notre pays est fort parce qu’il est concentré dans une poignée de très grandes banques est profondément erronée.
The reality is that a wave of innovation is well underway within global financial services, and the most competitive and forward-looking leaders are based elsewhere. We cannot wall ourselves off from this, and if we did, Canadians would be poorer for it.
La réalité est qu’une vague d’innovation déferle au sein des services financiers mondiaux, et que les leaders les plus concurrentiels et visionnaires s’établissent à l’étranger. Nous ne pouvons pas nous y soustraire, et si nous le faisons, les Canadiens en seront perdants.
The longer we wait to implement a secure, 21st century financial system, the greater risks Canadians will be exposed to. As cybercrime rises, it’s critical that we protect the hard-earned money of Canadians with best practices and the best technology.
Plus nous attendrons pour mettre en place un système financier sûr, digne du 21e siècle, plus les risques seront grands pour les Canadiens. Face à l’augmentation de la cybercriminalité, il est essentiel de protéger l’argent durement gagné des citoyens au moyen des meilleures pratiques et des meilleures technologies.
The commentators who say that open banking pits small innovators against large, incumbent financial institutions fail to see the bigger picture. The fact is that global tech giants like Apple, Google, Amazon and Uber are all exploring innovative financial services. What’s more, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced its intention to move forward with open banking rules in the United States that will only accelerate innovation.
Les commentateurs qui affirment qu’un système bancaire ouvert dresse les petits innovateurs contre les grandes institutions financières bien établies ne voient pas le tableau dans son ensemble. Le fait est que les géants mondiaux de la technologie comme Apple, Google, Amazon et Uber se tournent tous vers des services financiers novateurs. De plus, le Consumer Financial Protection Bureau des États-Unis a récemment annoncé son intention d’aller de l’avant avec de nouvelles règles pour un système bancaire ouvert dans le pays, ce qui ne fera qu’accélérer l’innovation.
Open banking gives Canadian players large and small the opportunity to innovate and remain competitive.
Le modèle de système bancaire ouvert donne aux acteurs canadiens, grands et petits, la possibilité d’innover et de rester concurrentiels.
Two years ago, we were excited to see the Liberal Party of Canada platform promise to enact open banking in Canada by the end of 2022. Ten months after that deadline has come and gone, we are still waiting.
Il y a deux ans, nous étions ravis de trouver dans la plateforme du Parti libéral du Canada la promesse d’un système bancaire ouvert chez nous avant la fin de 2022. Dix mois se sont écoulés en 2023 et nous attendons toujours.
Today, we are calling on you to reaffirm your promise to enact open banking, and release a clear roadmap for when we can expect to see it implemented. Many of us made business investments and built strategies around your election promise; we need assurance that you’re going to keep your word.
Nous vous demandons aujourd’hui de réitérer votre engagement envers un système bancaire ouvert et de publier une feuille de route claire précisant dans quels délais nous pouvons nous attendre à sa mise en œuvre. Nous sommes nombreux à avoir fait des investissements commerciaux et à avoir élaboré des stratégies sur la base de votre promesse électorale; nous avons besoin de l’assurance que vous tiendrez parole.
Sincerely,
Très cordialement,
Benjamin Bergen
President
Council of Canadian Innovators
Nick Schiavo
Director of Federal Affairs
Council of Canadian Innovators
Andrew Graham
CEO, Borrowell
Toronto, ON
Nic Beique
CEO, Helcim
Calgary, AB
Daniel Eberhard
CEO, KOHO Financial
Toronto, ON
Clara Angotti
President, Next Pathway
Toronto, ON
Neil Cawse
CEO, Geotab
Oakville, ON
Dan Belhassen
CEO, Neovation
Winnipeg, MB
Matthew Protti
CEO, BlackSquare
Calgary, AB
Lori Weir
CEO, Four Eyes Financial
St. John, NB
Michael Garrity
CEO, FinanceIt
Toronto, ON
Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf
CEO, Flinks
Montreal, QC
Andrew Chau
CEO, Neo Financial
Calgary, AB
Tarique Al-Ansari
CEO, Paystone
London, ON
Trevor Johnson
Co-CEO, Jane App
North Vancouver, BC
Cato Pastoll
CEO, Loop Financial
Toronto, ON
Jeff Lafrenz
President, VizworX
Calgary, AB
Devin Tuinstra
CEO, Wily Global
Burlington, ON
Abdul Naushad
CEO, Buckzy Payments
Toronto, ON
Matthew Tate
CEO, Upfeat Media
Winnipeg, MB
Dan Eisner
CEO, True North Mortgage
Calgary, AB
Robin Shaban
Co-Founder, Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
Ottawa, ON
Keldon Bester
Executive Director, Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
Ottawa, ON
Matt Spoke
CEO, Moves
Toronto, ON
Vladimir Kovacevic
CEO, Inovatec Systems
Burnaby, BC
Steve Uster
CEO, FundThrough
Toronto, ON
Adrian Schauer
CEO, Alayacare
Montreal, QC
Jon Shell
Managing Director, Social Capital Partners
Toronto, ON
Sachin Aggarwal
CEO, Think Research
Toronto, ON
Niraj Mathur
CEO, Blumind
Toronto, ON
Ehsan Mirdamadi
CEO, NuBinary
Toronto, ON
Jean Amiouny
CEO, Shakepay
Montreal, QC
Josef Zankowicz
VP, Canvass AI
Toronto, ON
Jeff Adamson
Co-Founder, Neo Financial
Calgary, AB
Chris Albinson
CEO, Communitech
Kitchener, ON
Krista Jones
Chief Delivery Officer, MaRS Discovery District
Toronto, ON
Sebastien Gendron
CEO and Co-Founder, Transpod
Toronto, ON
Dominique Ferst
Managing Partner, Ferst Capital
Montreal, QC
Sam Pillar
CEO, Jobber
Edmonton, AB
Eva Wong
Co-Founder and COO, Borrowell
Toronto, ON
Paul Donald
CEO, Encircle
Kitchener, ON
Elizabeth Duke
Principal Consultaant, DecAid Consulting
Orangeville, ON
Jeanette Jackson
CEO, Foresigaht CAC
Vancouver, BC
Moez Bawania
Founder, AMLB
Toronto, ON
Patrick Farrar
Director, Wealthcomfort
Halifax, NS
Jim Hinton
CEO, Own Innovation
Kitchener, ON
Nicholas Corney
Director, Business Development, Tabit
Ottawa, ON
Mike McDerment
Founder & Board Chair, Freshbooks
Toronto, ON
Andrew Lo
President & CEO, Embark Student Corp.
Toronto, ON
Jean Desgagne
Chair, Canada Stablecorp
Toronto, ON
Neill Cunningham
Sole Proprietor, Pandemonium Books an& Disks
Toronto, ON
Christine Bome
VP Public Affairs, MaRS Discovery District
Toronto, ON
Craig Asano
CEO, National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada
Toronto, Ontario
Rob Khazzam
CEO, Float
Toronto, ON
Louis Tullo
CFO/CCO/CRO, KuberMIC
Toronto, ON
Marc Lijour
Founder and CEO, Creative Energy
Toronto, Ontario
Joe Mayer
CRO, IDENTOS
Toronto, ON
Levi Cooperman
Co-Founder, Freshbooks
Toronto, ON
Nel Wechsler
CEO, OnDeck Canada
Montreal, QC
Eyal Sivan
VP - Open Banking & Smart Data, Raidiam
Toronto, ON
Add your voice.
Join fellow Canadian business leaders in calling for action on the Open Banking file.
About the campaign
During the 2021 federal election, the Liberal Party promised to enact regulations to create a system of open banking in Canada. They promised to get it done by the beginning of 2023, but as we near the end of the calendar year, the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) is concerned the Liberal's may be quietly abandoning their promise.
Open Banking is a framework that enables banks and other financial service providers to seamlessly share customer banking and transaction data through the use of APIs, if the end customer consents to it. This is a major shift away from the traditional banking model, as it empowers individuals and businesses to securely and efficiently share their financial information with authorized third-party providers. With customers in more control of their financial data, this creates opportunities for new and innovative services to be built by new entrants, increasing competition and consumer choice in Canada's financial sector.
Open Banking regimes have been implemented in advanced economies around the world, including the UK, European Union, and the United States. Fundamentally, open banking seeks to empower consumers, drive innovation, reduce fees, better protect data, and enhance the accessibility of financial services for businesses.
There's actually been a surprising amount of public chatter about open banking lately.
The Globe and Mail recently wrote an editorial calling for the federal government to enact open banking, and it has been a topic of discussion on the Betakit podcast. CCI covered the importance of open banking in our Mooseworks newsletter last month.
More recently, when the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a roadmap to adopt an open banking model decoupled from the big banks, south of the border.
The campaign we're launching today – Canadians for Open Banking – is not just about getting the government to fulfill an election promise. It's about increasing consumer control, security and choice in Canada's financial services sector. It's time for the government to heed this call to action, prioritize economic growth, and embrace open banking as a catalyst for a more competitive and innovative Canada.
We invite you to join our call and sign the letter today.
For more information about the campaign and CCI’s federal advocacy efforts, contact:
Nick Schiavo
Director, Federal Affairs \ Directeur, Affaires fédérales
Council of Canadian Innovators \ Conseil Canadien des Innovateurs
nschiavo@canadianinnovators.org