The countdown to open banking is finally reaching zero in Canada after years of recommendations, consultations, and promises. When Mark Carney took the helm of the Department of Finance’s Advisory Committee on Open Banking in 2018, many in the financial technology sector believed transformation was imminent. Now, nearly six years later, we’re only beginning to see concrete action.
Last month, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced that Canadian consumers will soon have greater control over their financial data, with implementation beginning this year. This framework, often called “consumer-driven finance,” will allow Canadians to securely share their banking information with authorized third parties – potentially revolutionizing everything from mortgage applications to budget apps.
But the question remains: is this too little, too late? And what role has Carney, the former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor, played in either advancing or delaying this initiative?
“Open banking isn’t just a technical change – it’s a fundamental rethinking of who owns financial data,” explains Koho Financial CEO Daniel Eberhard, whose company stands to benefit from the new framework. “We’ve been waiting for this moment since 2018, watching as countries like the UK and Australia moved ahead while Canada deliberated.”
The UK launched its open banking regime in 2018, with over 6 million active users today. Australia followed in 2020, and even Brazil has implemented a working system. Meanwhile, Canada has been stuck in what critics call “consultation purgatory.”
Carney’s advisory committee produced its final report in 2021, recommending a hybrid model of industry standards with government oversight. The report emphasized both innovation and security, noting that many Canadians were already sharing their financial information through less secure methods like screen-scraping, where users provide their banking passwords to third-party services.
“What’s been frustrating is watching Canada fall behind in financial innovation while we debated the perfect approach,” says Sue Britton, CEO of FinTech Growth Syndicate. “The delays have real costs. Startups that might have thrived here have moved to more open jurisdictions, and Canadians are missing out on better financial products.”
The Department of Finance estimates that approximately 4 million Canadians already use services that require sharing financial data, often without robust security protections. The new framework aims to create safer standards for this increasingly common practice.
Data from the Financial Data Exchange suggests that properly implemented open banking could boost Canada’s GDP by up to $10 billion annually through increased competition and new service offerings. For consumers, it could mean easier comparison shopping for financial products, streamlined loan applications, and more holistic financial management tools.
Critics argue that Carney’s approach to open banking has been overly cautious, prioritizing established institutions over innovation. However, supporters counter that Canada’s unique banking landscape – dominated by a handful of major players – requires careful consideration.
“The big banks have legitimate security concerns,” notes Ryan Clements, assistant professor at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Law. “But they also have obvious competitive reasons to slow-walk open banking. Carney’s challenge has been balancing these interests while moving the process forward.”
Canada’s implementation will begin with read-only access – allowing third parties to view but not change financial data. Write access, which would enable initiating payments or transferring funds through third parties, will come later.
Small business owners stand to benefit significantly. Kelly Zytaruk, who runs a landscape design company in Vancouver, describes the current process of applying for business loans as “unnecessarily painful.”
“I have to download statements from multiple accounts, convert them to PDFs, and email them to potential lenders,” Zytaruk explains. “With open banking, I could authorize a temporary one-time access to my financial data, saving hours of work and probably getting faster approval.”
The government’s timeline calls for initial implementation in 2023, with a functioning framework by 2025. Skeptics point out that similar promises have been made before.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” says Benjamin Bergen, President of the Council of Canadian Innovators. “The announcement is positive, but we’ve heard commitments before. What we need now is decisive action and a clear roadmap.”
For his part, Carney has defended the deliberate pace, arguing that getting the framework right matters more than speed. In a recent speech at the Economic Club of Canada, he emphasized that consumer protection must remain paramount.
“Financial data is highly sensitive,” Carney stated. “The system we’re building must balance innovation with rigorous security protocols. This isn’t about moving fast and breaking things – it’s about creating sustainable infrastructure for the next generation of financial services.”
As Canada finally moves forward with open banking, the true test will be adoption rates among both consumers and financial institutions. Will Canadians embrace these new capabilities, or will security concerns and institutional inertia maintain the status quo?
What’s certain is that for financial technology startups, the wait has been costly. Several promising Canadian fintech companies have either relocated to more receptive jurisdictions or shut down entirely during the prolonged consultation period.
Perhaps the most significant question is whether Carney’s careful approach will ultimately deliver a more robust system or if Canada has simply fallen too far behind its peers. The answer won’t be clear until Canadians can actually begin using these services in their daily financial lives.
For everyday users like Toronto resident Maya Chen, the technical details matter less than the practical benefits. “I don’t care about the regulatory framework,” Chen says. “I just want to see all my accounts in one place and stop emailing bank statements every time I need a loan. If open banking delivers that securely, I’m in.”
As implementation begins, Carney’s legacy on this initiative remains unwritten. Will he be remembered as the steady hand who guided Canada to a superior system, or as the overly cautious steward who left Canadian innovation lagging? For Canada’s financial future, the stakes couldn’t be higher.
