Editorial note: This story was updated on Oct. 5 with comment from the Department of Finance.
In an effort to urge the federal government to act on open banking and payments modernization, a group of fintechs has launched a campaign to raise awareness among Canadians.
On Wednesday, Fintechs Canada said its Choose More campaign is a response to the significant financial strains that Canadian consumers and businesses are experiencing, such as high banking fees and payments processing costs.
“Canadians are really feeling the pinch across a range of sectors, and the financial sector is one of them,” said Alex Vronces, executive director of Fintechs Canada, in a release. “While our global counterparts are making their financial sectors work harder for their customers, Canadians are still waiting for their government to do the same.”
By fulfilling promises on open banking and payments modernization, the federal government can “put more money back into the pockets of Canadians,” the release said.
Open banking, a system that allows financial institutions to securely share client account details (with clients’ consent) with third parties, would benefit Canadians by giving them a complete financial picture of their balances across all accounts, and identifying saving and investment opportunities.
In 2021 a government-appointed advisory committee recommended that open banking be up and running by January 2023. In June of this year, the Department of Finance said the federal government remained committed to presenting a model of open banking in 2023, and that Canada’s open banking lead, Abraham Tachjian, had participated in over 200 stakeholder consultations since being appointed in March of last year.
Tachjian is supported by four working groups, and the most recent working group meeting occurred in May, according to the government’s website. His term was slated to end in September, but was extended to Dec. 22.
In an emailed statement, the Department of Finance said it “is continuing to work on consumer-driven finance.”
Fintechs Canada, with membership that includes Wealthsimple, ATB Financial, EQ Bank and Portage Ventures, among several other firms, said its campaign aims to give Canadians a way to participate in the national debate and demand change.