The advent of Open Banking is an opportunity for credit unions and fintechs to provide more effective and cost efficient services to their clients in rural communities.

We need to have low barriers to entry to create an inclusive environment that allows participation by a wide range of entities while protecting consumers, end users and other participants. We need accessibility and inclusivity for all accredited system participants including safe and efficient transfer of data, the capability to evolve with technological change, and interoperability with international approaches. The accreditation process must be independent, transparent, coherent with other regulatory regimes. Working group progress on:

• Accreditation criteria to demonstrate compliance with common rules on liability, privacy, security and financial capacity to ensure consumers are protected in the event of loss
• Recommendation for flexibility and tiered participation that is proportionate to the degree of risk to the system
• Expertise to develop technical specifications that support established public policy objectives
• Use cases from first-to-market countries
• Australian approach – Consumer Data Right, insurance adequacy
• European Banking Authority Guidelines on insurance
• The Certification process by which conformance to certain technical requirements are tested and evidenced
• UK vs Australian certification

The need for authentication of digital identity, and consent management and privacy protocols is fundamental to a safe system. This session will cover challenges and solutions including:

• Data ownership
• Safeguarding privacy
• Need for the consumer to know how data is being used
• Need for a standardized process for providing and revoking consent
• Digital identity, authentication and authorization
• 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)
• Open Finance – retail platforms are increasingly providing financing and loan platforms, at arms length from the banks thereby stepping into traditional banks space at the pure retail level.
• Proposed changes to the US’s Dodd Frank Act to make consumer data more portable -direction for Canada proposed open banking?

• Who will take over the rulebook once it’s finally written?
• What banks want versus what fintechs and credit unions want
• How involved should government be?
• Who’s going to be the custodian of the data mobility framework?
• Who is going to decide when Canadians get access to quick and effective recourse when there’s a data breach or a monetary loss?
• Who will adjudicate disputes
• Who’s going to monitor and enforce compliance?
• What should the mandate be?

Open Banking may render existing AML / CTF and KYC compliance programs inadequate. This session will provide practical guidance on:

• Dealing with an ecosystem of third-party providers (TPPs).
• The need to evaluate programs for whether they can address the specific risks Open Banking presents.

• What kinds of legal agreements will be required between banks and fintechs?
• What protections will the parties need
• What protections do consumers require?
• Terms and conditions for API providers

Financial institutions that can harness the power of big data will be in a solid position to provide more innovative services and products to their customers. Examples include creation of new types of financial tools that weren’t previously possible like smart credit cards with built-in fingerprint scanners; mobile banking apps that can predict when a customer is likely to spend money so they can be targeted with relevant offers at the right time, or apps that can help people save money by automatically cancelling subscriptions they no longer use. Find out:

• How big data is revolutionising the way financial service providers operate
• How providers can make faster and more informed decisions about their products, services and marketing strategies by analysing large volumes of data
• Drawing from the fount of innovation

• Ontario credit unions have indicated interest in participating in the federal open banking framework
• While the parameters of the federal framework have yet to be announced, FSRA is considering the potential prudential and market conduct implications
• The presentation will focus on the risk management requirements that currently exist in Ontario’s credit union regulatory framework, how they could be applied in the context of open banking, and whether additional measures should be considered