Fall Economic Statement Brings Greater Clarity Regarding Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking Framework
This GRI brief examines updates to Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking Framework after the federal government added several elements in its 2024 Fall Economic Statement. Key updates include added clarity regarding governance, scope, accreditation, rules and technical standards. The resultant “Complete Framework” is set to take full effect in 2026, however political uncertainty and a looming federal election could shift priorities and implementation timelines.
The framework’s key public policy objectives are:
- To achieve safe access and sharing of financial data, particularly for individuals and small businesses.
- To achieve consumer financial well-being and protection.
- To achieve economic growth and international competitiveness.
These have guided the development of six core elements:
Governance: Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) is responsible for oversight, administration and enforcement, and the Department of Finance is responsible for issuing direction to the FCAC. An FCAC Senior Deputy Commissioner for Consumer-Driven Banking will coordinate provincial and territorial agencies overseeing provincial entities, provincial credit unions and crown corporations that act as banks.
Scope: Initially banks above a specified retail volume will be mandated to participate. Other parties can choose to opt in. Initial data sharing will include chequing and savings accounts, investment products available online, and lending products. All participants will be subject to reciprocal access. Screen scraping will eventually be prohibited.
Accreditation: FCAC will oversee rigorous accreditation of all participants in the framework, including third parties. A list of all authorized framework participants will be maintained in a central registry to ensure transparency.
Common Rules: The framework will include common rules that address privacy, liability, security, national security and integrity obligations. All participants will be required to abide by these rules as a condition of obtaining access to consumer data.
National Security: The Minister of Finance will be authorized to refuse, suspend, or revoke access to the framework based on national security reasons.
Technical Standards: The framework will establish and oversee technical standards to allow the exchange of data between participants. These will align with international best practices.