Fintechs Canada statement on the 2023 budget
The 2023 federal budget delivered big progress in some ways, but we’re disappointed it didn’t deliver in others. Fintechs Canada looks forward to continuing to collaborate with the government to give Canadians better access to financial services that are affordable, safe, and sound.
Fintechs Canada welcomes EQ Bank as its newest member
Fintechs Canada is thrilled to announce that EQ Bank has joined the association. “EQ Bank has shown that you don’t have to be a fintech to get behind policy priorities that make Canadian consumers and businesses better off,” said Laurence Cooke, chairperson of the board of Fintechs Canada. “Canada is full of forward-thinking banks, and […]
Is the fintech policy agenda overrated or underrated? It depends on who’s asking
By Alex Vronces Overrated or underrated? It’s a question Tyler Cowen, one of my favourite public intellectuals, poses to guests on his podcast. The question turns simple conversation into meta-conversation. It moves you from discussing something to discussing the discussion of something. The question is almost magical, like a spell that makes you disappear […]
What the federal election means for the fintech agenda
By Alex Vronces In 2009, Paul Wells wrote that “Canadian politics will tend toward the least exciting possible outcome.” If change is exciting, then the lack thereof is boring. And the upshot of election 2021 is more of the same. The Liberals won a plurality of seats, meaning that the Liberals won another minority […]
OnlyFans: the intersection of power, porn, and payments
By Alex Vronces People don’t like to talk about payments legislation, but they do like to talk about power. Which is odd because payments legislation governs the movement of money, and control over the movement of money is power. Last Thursday, OnlyFans announced it would ban sexually explicit content on its website before changing […]
Reflections on Canada’s open banking report
By Alex Vronces Someone once told me — a fintech advocate — that fintech advocates are zealots. I’ve heard the word “zealot” before, but I’ve long had only a superficial understanding of its meaning. According to Richard A. Horsely, a now-retired professor of religious studies, “the Zealots have been the glorious example of Jews […]
Is Canada’s financial sector the product of “deregulatory capture”?
By Alex Vronces While the big five banks famously control less than half of the market in the United States, they famously control about 90 per cent of the market in Canada. Excessive market concentration isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t necessarily good, either. Excessive market concentration is bad when it does economic harm. […]
The open banking report and “tsar”: possible reasons for delay
By Alex Vronces We’ve been waiting for the advisory committee’s open banking report, as well as the appointment of an open banking “tsar,” for a long time. Everyone has been saying “any day now” for the past few months. While I’m eager to see the open banking report, I’m less excited to see the […]
Competition and innovation won’t support themselves
By Alex Vronces Despite the parade claiming it’s a win for competition and innovation, the Retail Payment Activities Act will only be as good for these things as its administrator, the Bank of Canada, is. Tabled as part of this government’s 2021 budget, the new legislation comes with requirements for fintechs that hold and […]
Open banking could make big banks even bigger
By Alex Vronces Two years after Apple’s app store launched in 2008, CIBC introduced the first mobile banking app in Canada. Customers of CIBC could use their iPhones to manage account balances, pay bills, and even send Interac e-Transfers. Fast forward a decade later and they could do a little more, including opening a […]