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FDATA North America Outlines “Essential Ingredients” for Industry-Led Open Banking Work Groups

FDATA North America Outlines “Essential Ingredients” for Industry-Led Open Banking Work Groups

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

November 19, 2019, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America today announced the release of a white paper that provides guidance to United States and Canadian standards-creation bodies and policymakers as they seek to establish industry-led working groups that would begin to design voluntary standards around open banking regimes in their respective countries.

“As a chapter of the global organization that has been responsible for informing the creation and design of open banking regimes around the world, we believe these are the ingredients for any well-designed standards group,” said FDATA North America Executive Director Steve Boms. “For the benefit of consumers and small businesses – the ultimate end users of the financial services ecosystem – and to maintain the competitiveness of their respective economies, it is essential that any standards bodies created in the United States and Canada have representation from all stakeholders in the financial services and financial technology sectors and focus their work on the key issues the private sector can address.”

The white paper addresses the scope, composition, and essential subcommittees for proposed industry-led working groups, and advises that government representatives must guide the groups “to encourage participants to look beyond commercial interests and keep at the center of the body’s work the consumer’s and small business’ best interests at all times.”

FDATA North America also outlines several of the questions these working groups must answer. These include queries about technology, permissioning, accountability and liability, legal and regulatory issues, governance, and oversight.

Image result for paperclip iconFDATA North America Essential Ingredients of an Open Banking Working Group

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances. Existing FDATA North America members include: The Alliance for Innovative Regulation, Betterment, Envestnet Yodlee, Flinks, Intuit, Kabbage, Lendified, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Questrade, Quicken Loans, Petal, Plaid, The ID Co., TransUnion, Trustly, VoPay, Wealthica and others.

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FDATA North America Submits Whitepaper to Finance Canada on Digital Identity

October 4, 2019, Washington, DC – Today, FDATA North America submitted a whitepaper to Canada’s Department of Finance on digital identity and the notion that it is not a necessary component of open banking.

This paper follows a request from the Department for an assessment of the various digital identity tools available in the market today, the state of digital identity in other markets, as well as an analysis of the digital identity tools currently in the market and their availability to provide for a digital identity framework in Canada.

Image result for paperclip iconFDATA North America Digital Identity White Paper

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FDATA North America Submits Comments to US House Financial Technology Task Force on Alternative Data in Underwriting

July 24, 2019, Washington, DC – Today, FDATA North America submitted comments to the US House Financial Services Committee Task Force on Financial Technology in advance of its July 25th hearing, “Examining the Use of Alternative Data on Underwriting and Credit Scoring to Expand Access to Credit.”

Image result for paperclip iconFDATA Fintech Task Force Letter for the Record

To watch the hearing, click here.

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FDATA North America Welcomes Five New Members

FDATA North America Welcomes Five New Members

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

July 9, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America today announced it added five new members in June, bringing the association’s total membership to 22.

“The remarkable growth over the last month indicates support for Open Banking in the United States, Canada and Mexico is expanding rapidly,” said FDATA North America Executive Director Steve Boms. “Financial technology firms are eager to engage in Ottawa, Washington, D.C. and Mexico City in an effort to create a modern and safe system that puts consumers in charge of their data, and their financial lives. As Open Banking increasingly becomes a global phenomenon, we hope FDATA’s growing presence will spur policymakers in North America to act with the same haste.”

The following organizations joined FDATA North America in the last month:

  • Axcess. Based in Ontario and Victoria, Australia, Axcess provides solutions in the product management area, including loans and investments, to financial institutions.
  • Mogo. Serving more than 800,000 consumers throughout Canada, Mogo leverages technology and design to help users manage their finances and improve their financial health.
  • The ID Co. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland with operations in Canada, The ID Co. works with banks, lenders, innovators and nonprofits to help businesses use their financial data to expand.
  • TransUnion. With operations throughout North America, TransUnion uses credit data to provides the tools and insight that consumers need to make informed financial decisions.
  • Wealthica. Based in Montreal, Wealthica works with more than 60 Canadian financial institutions to give consumers an unbiased view of their investments.

“In the United Kingdom, nearly 10,000 consumers a day are signing up to access the Open Banking network,” said FDATA Global Chair Gavin Littlejohn. “Our member companies were an important part of the movement that is giving consumers more control over their financial data in Europe. To ensure their constituents have the same opportunities, North American policymakers must move quickly but deliberately. Axcess, Mogo, The ID Co., TransUnion and Wealthica, along with FDATA North America’s other member companies, provide some of the most innovative products on the market today. We look forward to a landscape where more consumers and businesses can capitalize on these tools.”

Existing FDATA North America members include: Cardlytics, Envestnet Yodlee, Flinks, Intuit, Kabbage, Lendified, Moven, Morningstsar, MX, Onist, Questrade, Quicken Loans, Petal and Plaid, among others.

FDATA North America recently published white papers for Canadian and U.S. policymakers that outline the benefits of Open Banking and provide policy and oversight recommendations for lawmakers and regulators. “Opportunities in Open Banking” for the United States is here. The Canadian paper is here.

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances.

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FDATA North America Highlights Importance of Consumer Data Ownership Before U.S. Congress

In advance of the first hearing of the United States House of Representatives’ Task Force on Financial Technology, titled “Overseeing the Fintech Revolution: Domestic and International Perspectives on Fintech Regulation,” the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America submitted a Letter for the Record on the importance of adopting a modernized financial regime, similar to other countries around the world, that provides consumers with the legal right to their financial data in a well-managed, safe and secure ecosystem.

To read FDATA North America’s Letter for the Record, click here.

For more information on the Fintech Task Force hearing taking place on June 25, 2019, click here.

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Financial Data and Technology Association and OpenID Foundation in Global Agreement

Not-for-profits to campaign jointly on open finance initiatives.

The OpenID Foundation (OIDF), the international standardization organization which maintains a standard known as the Financial-grade API (FAPI), and the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA Global), the global trade association for companies working to promote ‘open finance’ and best practice financial data sharing, have signed a liaison agreement to enable them to work jointly across the world.

Under the agreement, FDATA Global, with chapters in Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand, will lead policy efforts to implement open banking frameworks across the globe while OIDF will focus on the technology behind a digital identity solution. The agreement will:

  1. Provide a mechanism for the parties to work together on mutually approved white papers, press releases, activities, presentations and other communications;
  2. Allow participation of each party’s staff and members in the other party’s meetings, as mutually agreed by both parties;
  3. Provide a line of communications in order for the parties to communicate (without obligation and only to the extent each party chooses) about new work under consideration and about upcoming meetings;
  4. Support their common goals, including where appropriate and mutually agreed, to promote common standards across markets, and to collaborate on the development and implementation of certain standards and publications of common interest; and
  5. Avoid market confusion regarding their respective organizations and activities.

FDATA Global works with governments, regulatory authorities, and the financial services industries to open up the financial sector all over the world to the benefits of financial data and technology, including advocating for the adoption of open banking frameworks and open banking standards.

The OIDF is an international standards development organization of leading identity and security architects, with a broad range of communities and companies developing open standards that enable firms and customers to safely interact in digital channels. The FAPI working group of OIDF has collaborated to produce the FAPI security profile, which is an integrated set of schemas, security and privacy recommendations and protocols which enables common connections that enable API to easily connect and for financial data to be safely shared and privacy protected.

As Open Banking and Open Finance initiatives develop across the world, the FAPI profile will be the starting point for markets seeking to reduce complexity, risk and engineering costs, making it easier for firms to connect and test their APIs.

Commenting, FDATA Global’s Chairman Gavin Littlejohn said:
“Open finance is the single biggest movement in financial services globally. It will change the world, and it will change the lives of young and old, rich and poor.

“The core components of delivering this change are the enshrining of the customer’s right to share their data, a regulatory environment that supports this right and an implementation capability that transitions the market access to high quality secure APIs.

“In the UK API initiative, the introduction of the FAPI security profile and FAPI conformance testing suites ensured that both sides of the API connection conformed to the profile. This had a transformational impact on the implementation experience, making connections easier between banks and fintech firms, making it easier for regulators to understand that security standards were being met, and greatly reduced the complex engineering and maintenance costs across the industry.

“As the Australian, Japanese, US and some of the European groups are developing their API initiatives, it is great to see the FAPI Security Profile discussed in the standardization agenda. FDATA Global is happy to be able to support the brilliant work of the OIDF and recommend that the FAPI working group output become the starting point of that conversation and a cornerstone of the implementation experience.”

Don Thibeau, Executive Director of the OpenID Foundation, said:
“The development of open global standards like FAPI require the painstaking commitment and contributions of a wide variety of companies, communities and individual developers. This is demonstrated in the ongoing work of the OpenID Foundation’s FAPI Work Group and the leadership of Nomura Research, Microsoft, Intuit and many others. Open standards are only as valuable as their adoption and adoption is driven by trust.  The FAPI Self Certification Test Suite enables trust by helping assure interoperability across computing platforms and international regulatory regimes.

“Our collaboration with FDATA and others demonstrates the importance of the ongoing improvement of trusted standards and certification tests needed by a diverse and dynamic set of financial services players. Open Standards like FAPI enable the easy to use, secure and privacy protecting solutions for clients, consumers and consumers worldwide.”

NOTES TO EDITORS

  1. FDATA Global is a not-for-profit global association for financial services companies operating in fintech. Our members provide innovative financial applications and services to empower customers to make better decisions and take fuller control of their financial lives across all their accounts, credit cards, loans and investments. We seek to work with government, regulatory authorities and the financial services industry in our mission to open up the financial sector all over the world to the benefits of financial data and technology. We have chapters in Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand, with other territories being developed. www.fdata.global
  2. The OpenID Foundation promotes, protects and nurtures the OpenID community and technologies. It is a non-profit international standardization organization of individuals and companies committed to enabling, promoting and protecting OpenID technologies. Formed in June 2007, the foundation serves as a public trust organization representing the open community of developers, vendors, and users. OIDF assists the community by providing needed infrastructure and help in promoting and supporting expanded adoption of OpenID. This entails managing intellectual property and brand marks as well as fostering viral growth and global participation in the proliferation of OpenID. www.openid.net
  3. Images of Gavin Littlejohn and Don Thibeau can be downloaded via the links.
  4. For more information on FDATA contact Andy Maciver, Message Matters, +44 (0)7855 261 244, [email protected]
  5. For more information on OIDF contact Don Thibeau [email protected] Michelle Parkes at [email protected]
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FDATA North America Highlights Benefits of Open Banking for U.S. Consumers

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

April 2, 2019, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America today released a new paper, “Opportunities in Open Banking,” that outlines the benefits of open banking for U.S. consumers, businesses, financial institutions and the economy.

“The ‘data revolution’ is reshaping nearly every element of Americans’ lives – how we connect, communicate, travel and work,” said FDATA North America Executive Director Steve Boms. “It’s also fueling a fundamental shift in how people and businesses spend, save and manage money around the world. To spur improved financial outcomes and to keep up with global innovation, policymakers in the United States should implement an open banking regime that provides consumers with the legal right to their financial data and builds appropriate safeguards around a well-managed ecosystem.”

The new paper discusses:

  • The consumer demand for open banking and why the right to share data is at the heart of it;
  • The benefits of open banking, including empowering customer choice, ensuring customer protection and enabling industry innovation;
  • Consumer consent in an Open Banking system;
  • How data and technology are shared and utilized in an open banking ecosystem; and
  • Policy and oversight recommendations for U.S. lawmakers and regulators.

“If implemented properly, open banking will preserve the security and stability of the financial system while empowering customers and accelerating opportunities for innovation,” said Boms. “This paper provides an outline for success in the United States, based on lessons learned from other jurisdictions. Other countries, including Canada, Australia, Russia and China are moving swiftly in the direction of open banking. U.S. policymakers must act if they want to enhance financial inclusion and ensure their constituents to have similar opportunities for financial success.”

FDATA North America also recently submitted comments to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking in response to its request for information on data privacy. In that letter, Boms argued, “Under an Open Banking system, data empowerment goes hand in hand with data privacy. By placing consumers and small businesses – the owners of financial data – at the center of the framework, end users are given complete control over their data. This construct provides them with the opportunity to improve their financial wellbeing by empowering them to use their data for value-based services of their choice, and to control which entities have access to their financial data at all times.”

FDATA’s “Opportunities in Open Banking” is available here. The letter to the Banking Committee is here.

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA

FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018 by several firms whose technology-based products and services allow consumers and small businesses to improve their financial wellbeing. Its members provide approximately 3.5 million Canadians, or roughly 15 per cent of Canada’s adult population, with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances.

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FDATA North America Highlights Benefits of Open Banking for Canadian Consumers

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

March 20, 2019, Washington, DC – In advance of a Canada Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce hearing on March 21, the Financial Data and Technology Association today released a new paper, “Opportunities in Open Banking,” that outlines the benefits of open banking for Canadian consumers, businesses, financial institutions and the economy. Executive Director Steve Boms will testify before the committee tomorrow to present the paper.

“Canadians increasingly depend on technology-powered tools to improve their financial lives,” said Boms. “To foster innovation and spur improved financial outcomes, Canada should implement an open banking regime that provides consumers with the legal right to their financial data and builds appropriate safeguards around a well-managed ecosystem. For the sake of consumers’ financial wellbeing and innovation, the time to act is now.”

The new paper discusses:

  • What open banking is and how it recognizes consumer demand and needs make it necessary to share financial data;
  • The benefits of open banking, including empowering customer choice, ensuring customer protection and enabling industry innovation;
  • The need to ensure consumer access, consent and protection;
  • A discussion of how data and technology are shared and utilized in an open banking ecosystem; and
  • The importance of implementing effective policy and regulatory oversight.

“If implemented properly, open banking can preserve the security and stability of the financial system while empowering customers and accelerating opportunities for innovation,” said Boms. “This paper provides an outline for success, based on lessons learned from other jurisdictions.”

In his testimony before the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce, Boms also will discuss how open banking has been embraced by other countries, outlining how the technology-powered products and services provided by incumbent financial services and fintech firms are supporting consumers and businesses as they manage and improve their finances. “Canadian consumers are already demanding the same opportunity, and they deserve to receive it,” Boms will conclude.

FDATA’s “Opportunities in Open Banking” is available here. The hearing will begin at 10:30am EST. To watch via webcast, click here. Boms’ written statement is available here.

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA

FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018 by several firms whose technology-based products and services allow consumers and small businesses to improve their financial wellbeing. Its members provide approximately 3.5 million Canadians, or roughly 15 per cent of Canada’s adult population, with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances.

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Open Banking in the UK: Setting the Record Straight 

Across the world, governments, regulators, banks and fintechs are talking about open banking, and also trying to follow the progress and success of UK Open Banking. They sense excitement, threat and opportunity, and there is much talk about innovation, security, standards and risk. But are we all talking about the same thing? What ​is ‘open banking’?

Image result for paperclip iconSetting the record straight on UK Open Banking – Feb 2019

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