FDATA North America October Newsletter

by rebecca

FDATA North America Monthly Newsletter for October 2024

Welcome to FDATA North America’s monthly newsletter! These regular dispatches will share developments from our organization and our 30+ member companies, all of which are promoting financial access and inclusion with open finance use cases. We also include a list of upcoming industry events, and coverage of any market developments that impact fintech innovators. Know someone who’d like to receive these monthly updates? Send them here to sign up.

FDATA North America News

FDATA North America Submits Comments to the Department of Finance’s Consultation on Budget 2024 Measures. On September 4, 2024, the Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA North America) submitted a comment in response to the Canadian Department of Finance’s consultation on Budget 2024 measures to promote fairness across generations. FDATA North America’s submission emphasized the need to explicitly include small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Canada’s open finance regime, advocated for a tiered accreditation approach to support smaller market entrants while maintaining data security, urged the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) to maintain a focused role within the open finance ecosystem, and called for liability to be assigned to the responsible entity in the event of data breaches to ensure proper consumer and SME protection. FDATA released a statement on its submission of the letter, which can be found here.

Member News & Activity

FDATA North America members MX and Prism Data were featured in an American Banker article discussing the impact of the CFPB’s proposed open banking rule. MX’s Jane Barratt emphasized that institutions providing the best customer experience will have a competitive edge, while Prism Data’s Jason Rosen noted that the rule aims to level the playing field, but small banks need a solid strategy to fully benefit.

Codat was featured in The Fintech Times article highlighting the hesitation of US mid-sized businesses to move away from paper cheques despite increasing fraud risks, with projected losses exceeding $24 billion by 2024. Codat’s head of commercial banking, Charles Kreitler, emphasized that banks need to effectively communicate the benefits of digital payments, as businesses are becoming more concerned with security and are open to switching if digital methods offer strong fraud protection.

Envestnet Yodlee published insights from industry leaders and regulators on the opportunities, challenges, and consumer benefits of Open Banking in South Africa. The discussion highlighted the evolving regulatory landscape, new business opportunities for financial institutions, and the empowerment of consumers with greater financial control. The webinar also addressed the technical and operational challenges in implementing Open Banking frameworks in the region, emphasizing the potential for innovation and inclusivity in the financial ecosystem.

Fiserv published an article discussing how financial institutions can prepare for the upcoming CFPB open banking rule under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The article suggests four key actions: mapping data elements within the institution, consolidating data for efficient access, understanding current data-transfer uses to evaluate costs and benefits of implementing developer interfaces, and embracing the opportunities that open banking can bring for enhancing products and services. Fiserv emphasizes that the rule presents possibilities for improved efficiency and customer engagement beyond regulatory compliance.

GoCardless published a blog highlighting their “Instant Bank Pay” solution, which uses open banking to provide instant, low-cost, bank-to-bank payments for one-off transactions. This feature aims to reduce transaction fees, improve security, and offer a better customer experience compared to traditional payment methods like cards and bank transfers.

MX was featured in a Fintech Takes article, which explored the future of the financial data economy. The piece highlighted how MX’s solutions, particularly their data access and customer analytics platforms, enable financial services providers to seamlessly link and verify financial accounts. By transforming consumer-permissioned data into actionable insights, MX helps institutions create a comprehensive view of core banking, aggregated, and open banking data, allowing them to better analyze, engage with, and act on this information.

Plaid started a series on “The Age of Open Finance” with John Pitts, Head of Policy at Plaid, titled “Becoming the center of your customers’ digital financial lives.” The episode discusses the upcoming CFPB open banking rule under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act and how it will require financial institutions to provide secure access to consumer financial data via APIs, or “developer interfaces.” Pitts and Meredith Fuchs, Plaid’s Chief Legal Officer, emphasize that while compliance is essential, the real opportunity lies in positioning financial institutions as the hub for their customers’ entire digital financial experience, offering seamless access to popular apps and services.

Events and Submission Deadlines

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