Shannon Bellringer
If you’ve read our Open Banking in Canada article, you’ll know that Eyal Sivan, Ozone API’s GM for North America and host of Mr. Open Banking, is at the forefront of open banking in the region. It was therefore no wonder that Open Banking Expo asked him to host their main stage at the June event in Canada this year.
When we last spoke to Eyal about the open banking situation in the region, he told us that “The market is now united. Whether it’s fintech, small banks or credit unions, all of them would like to see clear open banking regulations and guidelines set out.
They’ve been putting some of the systems and APIs in place, but they’re not going to go all in until the government finally declares the rules of the road. We’re sort of in a sit and wait situation, but the good news is the market is eager to see it happen.”
But what was the common vibe amongst attendees at Open Banking Expo this year? “The feeling was that of practical optimism, with a feeling that the starting gun had been fired and that regulation was on the way. ” – Eyal
The main topic on everyone’s mind? Gaining clarity around the regulation in terms of timeline, standards and key milestones. Also at the front of people’s minds was how Canada can balance safety and soundness alongside competition and innovation, which Eyal spoke about in our recent interview:
“The Canadian banks and government were questioning why they would want to introduce risk and instability back in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Safety and soundness was what Canada was all about. In an environment where everything is a mess, open banking thrives.
So in an environment like Canada, that’s actually relatively stable, it doesn’t do so well. We don’t really have financial stability problems. We have innovation problems and competition problems.”
Open Banking Expo had another brilliant turn out, breaking the attendance record with over 600 attendees, and we’re thrilled to have been involved. Here’s Eyal chatting to Ellie Duncan from Open Banking Expo at the event:
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