Interview: Open Banking With Gary Schwartz, Canadian Lenders Association

“It’s incumbent upon a country that wants to be “next-gen” in banking to allow for the fuel for this next-gen banking vehicle to be out there and accessible, and the fuel, as we know, is data.”

The Loans Canada team recently sat down with Gary Schwartz, President of the Canadian Lenders Association over Zoom to talk about open banking, the road to its institution in Canada, and how it will affect consumers, banks, and the market as a whole.

Open banking is a regulatory framework that gives consumers ownership of their banking data, allowing them to determine when and with whom they want to share it. With open banking, the consumer has the power to share their data with the financial providers of their choice, and to switch providers just as easily.

Earlier this month, the federal government released a long-awaited report outlining their recommendations for the future of open banking in Canada. It proposes an 18-month plan for moving forward with open banking, placing the first phase of operations in January 2023. 

However, Schwartz belongs to the camp that believes that this is not soon enough. “Certain banks have basically discontinued the free flow of data, so that’s a big problem for a lot of Canadians. […] We’ve definitely taken a step back,” says Schwartz of the current situation.

Watch the full interview above, or check out the snippets below to hear Schwartz speak on the importance of intelligent use of data in open banking and centering the consumer in these frameworks.

The Intelligent Use Of Financial Data

Schwartz explains that data becoming accessible is only the beginning – it also needs to be used strategically in order to be useful.

The Importance Of Centering The Consumer

Schwartz points out that things change when you place the consumer in the center of your framework.