FDATA North America April 2023 Newsletter

by rebecca

FDATA NA News

FDATA North America Responds to Release of Canada’s 2023 Budget.  In response to the recent release by the Government of Canada of its 2023 Budget, FDATA North America Executive Director Steve Boms said in a statement: “We are disappointed at the lack of progress in Budget 2023 toward the implementation of Canada’s open banking regime, particularly since the timeline set forth in the 2021 Open Banking Advisory Committee report has now passed. Despite this omission, FDATA North America and its over 30 member companies look forward to continued collaboration with the Department of Finance as it seeks to make a new Canadian consumer-centered open banking system a reality in the coming months.”

FDATA North America Responds to Canadian Draft RPAA Regulations. FDATA North America recently submitted its response to draft regulations from the Bank of Canada and Department of Finance that would implement the Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA). The letter noted that adoption of these proposed regulations would see as many as 2,500 payment service providers (“PSPs”) overseen under a strong regulatory framework and would, once finalized and implemented, meaningfully advance the modernization of Canada’s financial services marketplace. It also respectfully suggested that the implementation of these regulations should facilitate an expedited inclusion into the scope of Canada’s open banking framework of payment use cases.

FDATA North America Submits Comments on Canadian Competition Act Review. FDATA North America submitted a letter in response to the Canadian government’s review of the Competition Act, expressing support for the development of a more competitive marketplace in which consumers and SMEs may choose the provider, tool or service that best fits their unique need. The letter stressed the important need to update the Competition Act to reflect today’s current business environment to maintain competition in the market for data-driven financial services. The letter described how restrictions on customer-directed data sharing that directly inhibit competition must be scrutinized under competition laws as the Department of Finance works to implement an open banking regime for Canada, and stressed that any new legislation or regulations regarding competition in the financial services marketplace should be aligned with the Department’s work on this file.

Register Now for FDATA’s Two Upcoming Summits in the US and Canada! FDATA North America will be hosting two Open Banking summits in 2023. The first will be held in Washington, DC, on April 20th, and the second in Ottawa, Canada on May 17th. These events will feature influential speakers, unique networking opportunities, and in-depth conversations with policymakers, public officials, and subject-matter experts from FDATA and its member companies. Space for both events is limited, so be sure reserve your spot via the links above!

Member News & Activity

Codat released a report entitled “America’s Small Business Credit Opportunity” that uses new research to explain how Open Finance can be used to widen access to credit, and how improved data flow can lead to more small business credit applications, higher acceptance rates, and additional revenue. The report can be downloaded here.

Envestnet’s Head of governance, Risk and Compliance Lisa Novier was featured in a Q&A profile in Open Banking Expo, where she explained why she has called for supervision of data aggregation platforms in her written recommendations to the CFPB regarding regulatory oversight of Open Banking, and how the US’s market-driven approach has generated strong demand from consumers for data sharing.

Flinks’ Content and Brand Marketer Annahita Mirsalari wrote a new post for their blog entitled: “Getting the Most Out of Your Financial Data – Broad Categorization vs Data Enrichment” which explained how broad categorization and data enrichment can turn raw financial data into valuable insights which can improve data-driven decision making, increase operational efficiency, and spearhead product innovation.

GoCardless featured a guest post on their blog from Cuckoo’s Principle Engineer Alexander Fenton which explained how open banking can drive innovation beyond just fintechs and online payments.

Morningstar’s Sheryl Rowling published an Advisor Insight article entitled: “Why Advisors Should Care About Open Banking” which explained open banking basics and gave a high-level overview of the CFPB’s work on issuing a new regulation under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act that would create a consumer data portability right in the U.S.

MX announced a partnership with Zūm Rails, an industry leader in data-powered, instant payment solutions, to power more seamless payments and money movement for customers of financial institutions and fintechs in Canada. Instant payment solutions from Zūm Rails and MX’s instant account verification (IAV) capabilities will work together to enable instant payments, including electronic funds transfers (EFT). This open banking approach streamlines the onboarding process and mitigates fraud risk for companies while also improving the money experience for end consumers who want better access to their financial data in a single view and the ability to transfer and use funds quickly.

Plaid’s Co-founder and CEO Zach Perret was recently featured in a CNBC interview, where highlighted how banks are gaining fintech market share, pointing out that, “The banks themselves are the biggest fintech companies.”

Vopay published a new guide to understanding APIs and financial data aggregation. This guide is written in clear, understandable language and includes several infographics to help explain the mechanics and benefits of data aggregation to those who may be entirely unfamiliar with it.

Events and Submission Deadlines

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