Open Banking: New Developments from the 2024 Fall Economic Statement
Largely overshadowed by all the excitement that was tied up with the government’s 2024 Fall Economic Statement released on December 16, 2024 were new details about the government’s plans for open banking in Canada
As we’d previously written about (see here and here), in April 2024 the federal government released its initial framework for open banking (aka consumer-driven banking) in Canada alongside the 2024 federal budget. Shortly after that, part 1 of the Consumer Driven Banking Act was enacted as part of the Budget Act, 2024.
The 2024 Fall Economic Statement was accompanied an updated framework for consumer-driven banking which contained new details about the government’s plan for open banking. This December 2024 framework is largely a copy of the prior April 2024 framework, with a handful of updates.
The most notable new developments are:
- Planned early-2026 Launch: The government is aiming to launch the consumer-driven banking framework in early 2026.
- Timing TBD for Consumer-Driven Banking Act (Part 2) and Regulations: The framework states that the government intends to introduce part 2 of the Consumer Driven Banking Act, and to engage in public consultations once draft regulations have been prepared. While no timing was provided for either of these pieces, both would need to proceed very quickly in order to hit the planned early-2026 launch.
- Screen Scraping Prohibition: A prohibition on screen scraping is intended to come into force after the framework is “fully operational”, though no details are given on when this would be.
- Third Party Service Providers: The December 2024 framework adds a new section that contemplates the performance by accredited-third party service providers of certain tasks that are outsourced to them by participating entities (e.g. consent management, authentication management and the movement of data). The participating entities will continue to be liable for their responsibilities. The accreditation of third party service providers was not contemplated in the April 2024 framework, and is an additional element that will need to be covered by the forthcoming part 2 of the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and associated regulations.
- Provincial Regulator Coordination: The Minister of Finance will have the authority to designate provincial regulators to oversee certain provisions of the act for entities within their jurisdiction (e.g. provincial credit unions). In these instances, some parts of the act would be supervised by the FCAC and other parts would be supervised by the applicable provincial regulator.
While this additional information helps to fill in some of the gaps, much will still need to be filled in for the open banking regime to go-live. Further, the possibility of an early federal election adds to the level of uncertainty.
Stay tuned to TechLex for updates on open banking as they unfold.