Canada Accelerates to Full Consumer-Driven Banking. A response to the 2025 Canadian Budget.

Nov 5

Canada's financial services are set for a major transformation. Budget 2025 has laid out the most concrete details yet, committing to a complete and accelerated rollout of Consumer-Driven Banking (CDB)—a term for Canada's Open Banking.

Our response
Providing context on this recent announcement, our CEO Lewis Poe shared his perspective:

“We are highly encouraged by the concrete direction set for Consumer-Driven Banking. This is more than regulatory compliance; it’s a generational opportunity to fundamentally transform the financial experiences and choices for Canadian consumers and SMBs.
Every strategic driver we see from our clients—attracting the next generation of Gen-Z members, becoming a true leader for local businesses, diversifying revenue streams, realizing operational efficiencies, and levelling the playing field for credit unions—now aligns with government policy, including the drive to implement AI for innovation in financial services. We are also ready to position Credit Unions and their SME customers and members at the very forefront of the Real Time Rails (RTR) initiative, a fantastic country enabler that will save substantial scheme fees and support the local community.
Caspian is at the forefront of the highest global security standards, ensuring we can develop digital capabilities with complete assurance. This commitment is reflected as we’ve baked Trust into the ecosystem and are live with clients today, facilitating secure and compliant data exchange. The message is clear: the time to start is now.”

At Caspian One Open Data, we are proud to be actively serving Canadian Credit Unions, enabling first movers to compete effectively while delivering superior services to consumers. Our robust open data ecosystem was designed to proactively support this critical government initiative, positioning our clients ahead of the regulatory curve and ensuring they are leaders in the new Consumer-Driven Banking ecosystem.

Caspian One Open Data recommendations
Do not view the Consumer-Driven Banking Act as a chore handed down by regulators. Look at Open Data as a new Revenue opportunity, and approach it from a commercial perspective, not purely mandated. The future of diversified financial services is being built now. As our CEO stated above, “the time to start is now.”

Your 2026 budget planning window is closing, don’t miss the chance to fund your competitive advantage now.

Here are some key highlights
The initial phase, often referred to as "read-only" data sharing, is a foundational victory for consumer security and is targeted to be fully operational in early 2026. This milestone will finally establish clarity for a secure, API-based system for customers to share financial information with approved third parties, thereby eliminating the major security risk of "screen scraping" (sharing bank login details). Building on this secure platform, the government is committed to accelerating the framework, with the critical capability of "write access"—allowing consumers to direct actions like switching accounts or making bill payments—expected to be enabled by mid-2027.

(1) Legislative foundation and new oversight
The government is moving to complete the legislative framework by introducing the final pieces of the Consumer-Driven Banking Act. This legislation is the bedrock for the entire system, allowing responsible financial innovation to finally flourish.

A new regulator
In a significant move for regulatory efficiency, the government intends to delegate oversight of the CDB Act to the Bank of Canada (BoC). This shift leverages the BoC's existing expertisefrom supervising payment service providers under the Retail Payment Activities Act.

Financial Commitment: To support this monumental implementation, the Bank of Canada will be allocated up to $19.3 million over two years.

National Security Focus: An additional $25.7 million over five years (starting in 2025-26) and $5 million ongoing is earmarked for the RCMP and CSIS to ensure robust national security safeguards for the new financial infrastructure.

The new data-mobility right
The core of data sharing will be legally enshrined by adding a data-mobility right to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This is a foundational step designed to facilitate economy-wide data sharing, not just within the banking sector.

(2) Write access & real-time-rails
The most exciting—and critical—detail is the commitment to expanding the framework to include "write access" by mid-2027.

This is the feature that transitions Consumer-Driven Banking from simply viewing data to directing actions.

What Write Access Enables: This will allow consumers and small businesses to switch accounts, initiate bill payments, and perform other actions directly from third-party applications, offering unprecedented convenience and control.

The Payments Intersection: This expansion is strategically timed to intersect with the launch of Canada's Real-Time-Rail (RTR) payment system, which is expected to be live in widespread use around the same timeframe. This synchronization is key to enabling near-instantaneous account switching and payment processing.

Empowering consumers and competition
The drive to full CDB is rooted in fostering greater competition, promoting innovation, and, most importantly, empowering consumers.

Supporting the Financially Stressed: Lower-income and financially stressed households are expected to see the most immediate benefits through access to lower-cost productsand clearer choices. New tools will emerge to better manage debt and reduce financial strain.

A Competitive Market: The framework is designed to reduce risks and promote competition in the financial services industry, ultimately benefiting all Canadians through improvements that support the growth and competitiveness of smaller financial institutions.

(3) Regulating digital currency
Beyond the CDB rollout, Budget 2025 reaffirms the government's commitment to modernizing the payment system by announcing its intention to introduce legislation to regulate the issuance of fiat-backed stablecoins in Canada.

This is a move to maintain a competitive currency and will involve related amendments to the Retail Payment Activities Act to ensure payment service providers using stablecoins are regulated.

The combination of full-featured Consumer-Driven Banking, a modern Real-Time-Rail, and a new stablecoin framework signals a period of rapid and profound change for Canada’s financial landscape. Exciting times on the horizon.

What’s your response?
The commitment in Budget 2025 has removed previous barriers and aligns with government budgets dedicated to modernizing the financial rails. This is the moment for Credit Unions to act.

As we've emphasized, this is an opportunity to generate new revenue, not merely a regulatory chore. Your 2026 budget planning window is closing, don’t miss the chance to fund your competitive advantage now.

The Caspian One platform is Open Banking ready and provides commercial value today, well ahead of full regulatory compliance. Don't wait for the mandate. Onboard and join us in this ecosystem today to secure your technology advantage.