Explore the transformation of financial data sharing with industry expert Saba Shariff as she discusses the pivotal shift towards secure and innovative open banking systems. Takeaways

• Open banking allows consumers to access their financial data securely and conveniently.

• Canada is considering a hybrid open banking system that combines market-led and regulatory approaches.

• Open banking benefits businesses by improving accounts receivable and payable activities, access to credit, and payments.

• The main challenges for open banking implementation in Canada are the lack of consumer demand and the complexity of building a global network.

• Symcor serves as an intermediary, helping banks and financial institutions make their data available securely and efficiently. Open banking should have standards for consent flow and technical standards to ensure consistency and trust.

• Accreditation and validation should be required for data recipients, with tiered levels based on privacy processes, security, and corporate structure.

• Existing financial institutions are already subject to obligations and can access data without accreditation.

• Standards should also extend to APIs to ensure consistency and security.

• Collaboration is important in open banking, as it is a greater good that benefits all consumers.

• Competition should focus on areas that are not competitive differentiators.

Symcor enables secure data exchanges and supporting business processes, to help clients succeed in an evolving digital world. Symcor helps banks and financial institutions and Fintechs be ready for open banking by providing APIs, infrastructure, consent modules, and operational support. Trusted by Canada's largest institutions for over 25 years to support their digital transformations, Symcor aligns industry participants to solve common challenges in the most effective and efficient way. For more information, visit www.symcor.ca.

Saba Shariff is a seasoned and acknowledged leader at Symcor Inc., a Canadian company that enables secure data exchanges, supporting the country’s largest organizations in the financial, insurance, government and telecommunications sectors. As Senior Vice President - Chief Strategy, Product and Innovation Officer, Saba is accountable for Symcor’s existing and emerging product lines, overseeing teams responsible for designing and launching innovative services that address industry-wide challenges. Along with a mandate for charting Symcor’s corporate strategy towards continued growth, Saba and her team are focused on ensuring long-term topline growth for Symcor as it continues to provide critical services to the broader industry.