Day One: Tuesday, April 5, 2022
10:00 EDT
15 minWelcome and Opening Remarks from the Chairs
Michelle Beyo, CEO, Finavator, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative
Eyal Sivan, Head of Open Banking, Axway, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative Canada
10:15 EDT
60 minEnsuring Open Banking Meets the Needs of All Canadians: Addressing Financial Barriers to Minority Groups and Small Businesses
Moderator: Ben Mulroney, Co-Founder / Chief Communications Officer, Orchard Technology, Inc.
The Honourable Colin Deacon, Senator, Senate of Canada
Isaac Olowolafe Jr., General Partner, BKR Capital
Keren Moynihan, CEO, Boss Insights
Tabatha Bull, President and CEO, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
This session includes business leaders across various sectors to discuss important topics such as:
- What are the longstanding banking and payment challenges facing BIPOC Canadians, small businesses and rural/remote communities?
- How can Open Banking be helpful in addressing some of these hurdles?
- What are the public policy challenges that Canada faces in this domain, and why is it crucial to act?
11:15 EDT
60 minStrategic Considerations for Open Banking Model
Moderator: Martin Ho, Director and Digital Payments and Commerce Leader, Deloitte
Howie Millard, AVP, Government Relations, TD Bank Group
Amit Monga, Fintech and Banking Expert
Hugh McKee, Head, BMO Partners, Bank of Montreal
Shekher Puri, Senior Director Digital Identity, APIs and Security, RBC Royal Bank
As open banking advances in Canada, there are several key elements of an open banking model which needs to be considered to drive adoption and meet the needs of multiple constituencies. This panel explores some of these key considerations in further detail.
- What are key principles to consider when shaping data scope for open banking? What are some considerations when it comes to reciprocity?
- What are key principles to consider when developing a liability model?
- How can we think about providing and monitoring access to open banking while ensuring safetysoundness and innovation?
- What needs to be considered from a consumer protection and education perspective?
12:15 EDT
45 minBreak
13:00 EDT
60 minAccreditation, Tech Specs and Standards
Moderator: Jason Chomik, Canadian Director, FDX
Katie Gibson, Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships, CIO Strategy Council
As the Open Bank Lead moves forward with the Industry in implementing Canada’s Open Banking framework, a number of areas are still left to be defined including the accreditation criteria as well as rules and standards. During this panel, hear from industry thought leaders on the need to have low barriers to entry to create an inclusive environment while protecting consumers, end users and other participants, and hear about use cases from first-to-market countries.
- Accreditation criteria except for federally regulated banks
- Accreditation process to be independent, transparent, coherent with other regulatory regimes
- Criteria intended to demonstrate ability to comply with the common rules on liability, privacy and security and financial capacity to ensure consumers are protected in the event of loss
- The need to keep barriers to entry low enough to allow participation by a wide range of entities while protecting consumers, end users and other participants.
- Recommendation for flexibility and tiered participation that is proportionate to the degree of risk to the system
- Technical expertise to develop technical specifications that support established public policy objectives
- Accessibility and inclusivity for all accredited system participants, safe and efficient transfer of data, the capability to evolve with technological change, and interoperability with international approaches.
- In the event that no adequate solution emerges, the Report suggests government intervention
14:00 EDT
60 minBank (and Credit Union) Strategies for Open Banking Success: Mergers, Partnerships and More
Moderator: Michelle Beyo, CEO, Finavator, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative
Tushar Tyagi, Senior Manager, Open Banking, Equitable Bank
Sumee Seetharaman, AVP, Open Banking, TD Digital Channels
Stephane Bousquet, Open Banking Leader, National Bank
Patrick Barr, Director, Strategy & Programs, Large Credit Union Coalition (LCUC)
With the pandemic, the need for digital, personalized and secure financial products and services became accelerated as consumers were asked to shelter at home. In the new normal and with the advent of Open Banking in Canada, there are a number of incredible opportunities for financial institutions and fintechs to partner and create innovative products and services for all Canadians. In this session, hear from industry leaders on how open banking is reshaping financial services, potential opportunities as well as innovative products and services that can be built in an open banking ecosystem.
- How is open banking re-shaping financial services?
- Will open banking drive innovation and revenue success?
- Where are the best opportunities?
- What opportunities are being missed without Open Banking in Canada?
- How can banks shift their focus to leverage open banking?
- How has Open Banking helped with the economic recovery from the pandemic in other countries?
- Some interesting examples of products and services built from Open Banking
- How are banks planning for the future?
- Learnings from initial pilots
- Will there be losses?
- Will relationships between banks and fintechs be monetized?
- What do partnerships look like?
- What does collaboration look like?
- How does the Open Banking Relationship compare to partnering or collaborating?
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Process barriers
- Technical issues
- IT incompatibility: banks’ legacy systems
- Need for banking industry to continually seek consumer consent for data to be shared
- What’s different about Credit Unions?
15:00 EDT
15 minBreak
15:15 EDT
60 minFocus on Fintech, Service SMBs
Moderator: Michelle Beyo, CEO, Finavator, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative
Elena Litani, Chief Product Officer, Pillar Financial
The pandemic was a particularly difficult time for SMBs, with many searching for innovative, digital, and convenient solutions to help them navigate this disruptive time. During this session, hear from industry experts on the challenges facing SMBs, how best to service them, and opportunities for the new normal.
- Funding for fintech globally sky-rocketed over this past year:
- The fintech sector is booming, with a record $91.5 billion in global funding so far this year
- The past quarter saw the birth of 42 fintech unicorns (startups valued at over $1 billion), bringing the year’s total to 200, according to CB Insights’ State of Venture Q3’21 Report.
16:15 EDT
15 min16:30 EDT
End of Day One
Day Two: Wednesday, April 6, 2022
10:00 EDT
10 minWelcome and Opening Remarks from the Chairs
Michelle Beyo, CEO, Finavator, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative
Eyal Sivan, Head of Open Banking, Axway, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative Canada
10:10 EDT
50 minLearning from the Open Banking Journey in the U.K and Insights as the World Moves to Open Financial and Open Data
Michelle Beyo, CEO, Finavator, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative
As Canada moves forward with its own Open Banking framework, it will be important to learn from another first to market country such as the UK to better understand lessons learned as well as opportunities to ensure that the Canadian framework is successful. During this session, hear from an industry expert on what can be learned from the UK’s implementation of Open Banking, what was successful and how Open Banking impacted how this market responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- What we learned
- Importance of consumer education
- Ensuring that the mobile interface / journey is convenient and easy to use
- What was successful?
- How Open Banking helped during the pandemic
- Products and services built on Open Banking
11:00 EDT
40 minInnovation for the Consumer: Consent Management and Digital ID
Moderator: Eyal Sivan, Head of Open Banking, Axway, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative Canada
Neil Butters, AVP, Digital Id and Innovation, Interac Corp
Doug Woolridge, Vice President, Financial Services, Head of Financial Services, EPAM Canada
Nathanael Coffing, Co-Founder, Chief Security Officer, Cloudentity
Open Banking has the opportunity to help strengthen relationships between organizations and their customers through enhanced trust, speed, convenience, control and consent. In this panel, join our industry experts as they discuss and explore consent management and digital ID.
- Who has consumer data? What does the current consent management process look like? Consumers need to know what data has, can or will be shared?
- How is the data being used?
- Need for a standardized process for providing and revoking consent
- The importance of collaboration in building an ecosystem approach to digital identity and securing the “lifecycle of credentials.”
- Addressing the growing demand for authentication and authorization
- Strengthening relationships between organizations and their customers through enhanced trust, speed, convenience, control and consent.
- The need for strong security protocols to protect personal information from being identified, accessed or misused.
- Current use cases of Digital ID
- Benefits
- Opportunities
- Current Status in Canada (BC, Alberta Ontario)
11:40 EDT
50 minFinancial Inclusion
How Do We Make Sure Everyone Can Take Advantage of Open Banking?
Alex Vronces, Executive Director, Paytechs of Canada
Michelle Winsor, CEO, Accelera
Mo Banjoko, Senior Manager, Business Consulting, EPAM Systems Canada Limited
Today in Canada, there are 5 million Canadians who are underbanked and 1 million Canadians who are unbanked. Open Banking provides an opportunity to change this current state. Through innovative and accessible financial products and services, learn how Open Banking can increase financial inclusion and education.
- How Open Banking will help create product and services for the underbanked / unbanked in Canada
- How it will increase financial inclusion
- Importance of consumer education
- Who is responsible for this? The government? Banks? FinTechs?
12:30 EDT
40 minBreak
13:10 EDT
50 minData Ownership, Consumer Data and Privacy Rights
Eyal Sivan, Head of Open Banking, Axway, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative Canada
Today, Canadian consumer’s financial data is not legally theirs. As this conversation evolves, the de facto answer to who owns financial data is however, increasingly, the consumer. During this session, our panel experts will explore data protection laws, the idea of data portability, risks, and how open banking will enhance the interests that individuals have in their personal financial information.
- How does data protection law define the nature and scope of a person’s interest in their personal information
- How GDRP and reform of PIPEDA would expand or enhance interests individuals have in their personal information
- The right to erasure
- How the right of data portability will enhance the ability to bring data together for analysis and provide new tools and services
- How open banking will enhance the interest that individuals have in their personal financial information
- How will open banking help increase financial literacy?
- What are the risks?
- How does a consumer authorize or de-authorize use of personal information
- How should consumers be educated to understand what they are consenting to
- Who should be educating the consumer?
- Should consent be standardized
- How narrowly should governments define open banking?
- Is Open Banking just one aspect of a broader open data policy?
14:00 EDT
15 minBreak
14:15 EDT
30 minPrivacy Legislation Reform In Canada
Max Jarvie, Privacy and Data Lawyer, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Cindy Zhang, Financial Services Regulatory Lawyer, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
Reforms in Canadian privacy laws, including both recently enacted amendments and proposed changes, are likely to advance consumer interests by providing for new rights and obligations related to transparency and meaningful consent, de-identification, and data mobility. Changes in these laws will also play an important role in ensuring that a Canadian Open Banking framework has a strong foundation to be successful, secure and interoperable. Industry experts will discuss the significance of these privacy law reforms and recent financial services regulatory developments and their impact on Open Banking in Canada.
14:45 EDT
30 minFireside Chat on Privacy Policies, Practices and Procedures to Protect Personal Information --- Managing Operational and Systemic Risks and Data Security
Cindy Zhang, Financial Services Regulatory Lawyer, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
In order for Open Banking to be successful in Canada, the need for defined and meaningful privacy policies and procedures will be an important part for adoption and growth of Open Banking. In this session, we will discuss the need to protect personal information, managing operational and systemic risks and data security.
15:15 EDT
45 minQ & A, Wrap Up and Take-Aways
Eyal Sivan, Head of Open Banking, Axway, Board Member, Open Banking Initiative Canada
16:00 EDT
End of Day Two