Representatives from across the Canadian fintech ecosystem are speaking at Open Banking Expo Canada on June 11, taking part in a range of panel sessions and presentations.
Delegates will hear from Alexander Vronces, executive director at Fintechs Canada and Carol Haverty, vice president, partnerships at Plooto on the Main Stage, in a panel session titled ‘Mobilizing the delivery of consumer-driven banking: The fintech and bank perspective’.
Alex Vronces, executive director, Fintechs Canada
“Before Open Banking entered the government’s vocabulary, fintechs were building things for Canadians to use, things that Canadians do use, even if it requires a connection to a bank account,” Vronces told Open Banking Expo, when asked how fintechs are getting ready for consumer-driven banking.
He added: “They continue to build things, but they’ve also been preparing for this future. They’ve been talking to banks and credit unions, they’ve been talking to data aggregators, they’ve been talking to standard-setting bodies, like FDX.
“What is the government going to require of them? They just need to know what that is.”
Also speaking across the three stages at the one-day Expo at the MTCC in Toronto are speakers from Neo Financial, Plaid, Wise and NorthOne.
In his presentation about partnerships, Neo Financial’s chief strategy officer James Strauss will ask delegates to consider thinking about Open Banking from a “different lens”, with banks as the recipients of data and not the source, to provide an opportunity for banks and credit unions to drive a “step-change in efficiency in balance sheet optimization”.
The Payments Stage will kick off with a panel on ‘Payments modernization: Forging ahead with Canada’s pathway’, featuring Brigit Carroll, policy lead North America at Wise.
Alongside other speakers from Payments Canada, TD Bank and EQ Bank, Carroll will discuss recent updates under the Retail Payments and Activities Act and amendments to the Canadian Payment Act, as well as the delivery of Real-Time Rail.
John Pitts, global head of policy at Plaid
Following the panel, John Pitts, Plaid’s global head of policy will take to the Payments Stage with a presentation on ‘The platform perspective to accelerate Open Banking readiness’.
The session with Pitts will give attendees an understanding of the ecosystem’s commitment to deliver a trusted network that allows data to travel successfully and securely put Canadians in charge of how they use their financial information.
The final panel debate of the Expo on the Main Stage will tackle the question ‘Does Canada need an interoperable path with the US?’, with Eytan Bensoussan, chief executive officer of NorthOne taking part, alongside speakers representing National Bank of Canada, FDX and FDATA North America.
Check out the agenda and register for your ticket here.
