Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected]
Washington, DC, December 16, 2024 – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA), a trade association representing more than three dozen financial technology and open finance companies in the United States and Canada, today expressed its disappointment with the proposals laid out by the government in the Fall Economic Statement (“FES”) to expand the Consumer-Driven Banking Act (“CDBA”), and the government’s announcement that implementation of consumer-driven banking would be delayed by at least another year.
Steve Boms, Executive Director of FDATA North America, released the following statement:
“After almost seven years of deliberations and consultations, the Government has unfortunately put forth an open finance framework that will only further the status quo. By adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, the consumer-driven banking framework advanced by the Government loses the forest for the trees, burying innovative fintech providers in a sea of compliance obligations with little to no consumer protection benefit and guaranteeing that few, if any, fintech platforms will be able to use the open finance system the Government has spent the last several years designing.
A one-size-fits-all-approach will ensure that only the very largest tech companies and financial institutions will have the means to participate in the open finance system the proposed legislation would create. This is a direct contradiction to the Government’s stated goals of fostering competition in financial services and improving affordability for Canadians. This framework will discourage new entrants and stifle the very innovation that open banking was meant to support. Instead of promoting a vibrant and competitive fintech ecosystem, this framework threatens to further formalize a market dominated by just a handful of large incumbents.
We urge the Government to prioritize delivery of consumer-driven banking as soon as possible and to its approach to accreditation, as the current approach risks thwarting the promise of open finance in Canada and denying consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises the benefits of increased choice and innovation that a true open finance framework can provide.”