Open finance, open data, open identity. The idea that consumers should be able to access, manage and trace their personal information without delay, is gaining traction.
At Future Identity North America, we were joined by a panel of experts actively working to standardise and advance open banking across the region. If implemented effectively open banking and open finance have the potential to unlock a wealth of benefits for consumers.
Michelle Beyo, Board Member at the not-for-profit Open Banking Initiative Canada explains, “I truly think open finance is unlocking the opportunity for the consumer to be in control and have access to services that are competitive and customised for their needs, to ensure they are able to save and have vision into what their whole financial picture looks like.”
However, Michelle highlights that there are still some areas where progress needs to be made if open banking is to meet its full potential in Canada. “From a regulatory perspective we don’t have any regulatory guidelines just yet, which makes it very difficult for everyone to move at the same pace. I think we have to have a clear defined roadmap, with clear defined actions.”
Don Cardinal, Managing Director of the Financial Data Exchange, notes this is a challenge faced in the United States as well. “We need some regulatory certainty,” Don says, “Financial services is heavily regulated and if you’re not sure what your regulator is going to do you’re hesitant to commit capital towards a particular outcome or technology until you know your regulator is going to be happy with it.”
Don and Michelle were also joined by Linda Jeng, a Financial Technology Scholar at Georgetown University researching into the development of standards and APIs for open banking, and Tim Bouma, Director of Verification Assessments at CIO Strategy Council where he is developing a conformity assessment program for identity and open banking.
The discussion highlighted the significant potential of open finance for citizens, and how central banks, banks, fintechs and regulators can join the discussion and collaborate to drive progress. Watch the full panel discussion here.
The conversation continues at Future Identity Festival, co-located with FID Fraud & FinCrime, the FTT Fintech Festival, FTT AI Transformation, and FTT Mutuals on the 10th – 11th November 2025 at The Brewery, London.
