Some of Canada’s largest fintech companies have launched a campaign to garner public support for government action on open banking and payments modernization.
Industry group Fintechs Canada, along with prominent companies such as Wealthsimple, EQ Bank, and Wise, has initiated the Choose More campaign. This effort aims to educate Canadians and businesses about the advantages of open banking and real-time payments.
"Canadians deserve banking that allows them to keep more of their money in their pockets. It’s time to demand that the government upgrade Canada’s financial system," states the Choose More website.
Following a three-year investigation into whether Canada should adopt measures similar to the UK for allowing third-party financial services providers to access banking data, the government is slowly progressing toward the establishment of an open banking framework.
However, many industry participants have expressed frustration with the pace of progress, while consumers have largely remained uninformed. A June Deloitte survey revealed that only 18% of respondents were familiar with the concept of open banking, though familiarity increased to 35% among individuals aged 18 to 34. Additionally, just 35% of Canadians felt comfortable sharing their data online, rising to 45% once an open banking framework is implemented.
The Choose More campaign aims to shift this narrative by emphasizing how open banking can result in cost savings for Canadians through increased options and reduced fees.
The campaign also addresses the state of the Canadian payments system. In June, Payments Canada announced plans to conduct a second review of its proposed Real-Time Rail (RTR) payments system, which has faced delays and will push the delivery deadline further into the future.
According to the campaign website, "Payments modernization provides faster and lower-cost options for sending and receiving money, and Canada is falling behind the rest of the world."