Bank of Canada Takes Control of Open Banking, Introducing New Regulations for Financial Data Sharing

As of June 27, 2026, the Bank of Canada took over open banking oversight from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC). This shift marks a significant change in how financial data is shared and regulated in Canada. The new framework will require any company handling Canadians' financial information to be accredited, meet baseline security standards, and use multi-factor authentication before sharing data.

Screen scraping, a method where apps collect banking credentials by accessing users' accounts directly, is currently allowed but not regulated. However, the government has announced that it will ban screen scraping after further consultation. The full implementation of open banking is expected to be phased in over the next year, with accreditation requirements and common rules on consent and security being implemented first.

The new system aims to generate $13.2 billion in benefits for Canadians and businesses over 10 years, while costing $457.7 million. Newcomers to Canada and those with limited credit history may benefit from tools that use transaction data to prove creditworthiness. Small business owners are also expected to save time on bookkeeping and admin tasks.