A long-promised revolution in banking is headedto Canada, but you might not notice when it arrives.

Change is in the works that will give Canadian consumers and businesses significantly more control over their financial data, including who they share it with, in what91裸聊视频檚 known as open banking.

The federal government has promised framework legislation in next month91裸聊视频檚 budget to bring the system to Canada after years of kicking the possibility down the road.

Evangelists for the open banking shift underway globally praise it as a way to boost competition, dramatically shift how payments are made and overall move to a more people-oriented financial system.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 about having that fairer, more inclusive, more open society,91裸聊视频� said Helen Child, founder of Open Banking Excellence, a forum for those working in the system.

Open banking works by giving consumers the option to share their banking data with other firms. The most common use is granting access to budgeting or money management apps and companies, so that a customer can pool different bank accounts and credit cards into one place.

Other emerging uses include simpler payments, automated accounting, and business finance management.

One of the biggest areas of growth is in credit assessments. Under open banking, lenders could directly access an individual91裸聊视频檚 banking data, so they can look beyond credit scores. Consumers can also use it to build their credit scores, for example by proving reliable rent payments.

91裸聊视频淚t drives financial inclusion,91裸聊视频� said Child. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 democratizing data.91裸聊视频�

The model, which the federal government refers to as consumer-driven banking, is part of a wider shift to giving people more control over the data companies are gathering about them, said Abhishek Sinha, national banking technology leader at EY Canada.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a significant social movement and social progression, following the steps of what91裸聊视频檚 happening in the rest of the developed world and even a lot of developing countries.91裸聊视频�

But while there91裸聊视频檚 potential to shake up the current system, some are skeptical as to how much, and how quickly any change might happen.

Even with safeguards in place to make it secure, it will likely take a lot of work to convince Canadians to trust the system 91裸聊视频� and new competitors, said Sinha.

91裸聊视频淚 think gaining trust in Canada is going to be extremely hard for the fintech community; that is their Everest to climb.91裸聊视频�

The system also had fairly low pickup when it launched in Europe in 2019, said Aris Bogdaneris, Scotiabank91裸聊视频檚 head of Canadian banking, at an investor day.

91裸聊视频淲e prepared for it, and we tried to make sure we were ready and resilient,91裸聊视频� said Bogdaneris, who worked at ING in the Netherlands before switching to Scotiabank last year.

91裸聊视频淚t didn91裸聊视频檛 really materialize at all. It was like Y2K.91裸聊视频�

Even in the U.K. where it was pioneered in 2018, only about 11 per cent of British consumers were using open banking as of last June, according toOpen Banking Ltd., tasked with implementing the system in the country.

In Canada, with more bank concentration and a conservative banking culture, adoption will likely be slower, said Marc-Andr茅 Pigeon, assistant professor at the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

91裸聊视频淭he banks just have so much influence that it will be hard for others to get in there.91裸聊视频�

The government seems to be most of all pushing the security benefits of the shift, said Pigeon.

Competition seems to be a lower priority, he said, with a cautious approach that will see startups in the space needing accreditation.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檇 say the design, the way we conceptualize the design, is a go-slow approach.91裸聊视频�

There is also the question of how much consumers bother to comparison shop, or to look into alternatives without something going wrong with their existing providers, Pigeon noted.

91裸聊视频淲e have to get a step back from the rhetoric and remind ourselves that hey, we91裸聊视频檙e dealing with people, and we all have our weaknesses and strengths, but we often don91裸聊视频檛 have time to do these things, right?91裸聊视频�

Osler financial services lawyer Elizabeth Sale said she wasn91裸聊视频檛 sure how much it would change things once in place, beyond for those people already using these systems through less secure means.

91裸聊视频淭ypically, when I see consumers and people talking about it, it91裸聊视频檚 clear to me that it91裸聊视频檚 not well understood,91裸聊视频� said Sale.

She said terms like open banking or consumer-driven finance don91裸聊视频檛 really help with that because they don91裸聊视频檛 give any intuitive sense of what it is.

91裸聊视频淭hat needs to be overcome, people need to actually understand what it is.91裸聊视频�

Proponents say it takes time for momentum to gather and for people to understand and trust it.

91裸聊视频淲e have to be realistic when we are talking about disrupting one of the world91裸聊视频檚 oldest and most established industries,91裸聊视频� said Nicholas Schiavo, director of federal affairs at the Council of Canadian Innovators.

There is an education component needed, but overall Canadians don91裸聊视频檛 need to understand the system itself so much as its benefits, he said.

The current lack of competition in banking means high fees, which a report out last month from North Economics estimated run upwards of $7.7 billion a year.

91裸聊视频淐anadians know very well, whether it91裸聊视频檚 with telcos or grocery stores or banks, what a monopoly looks like, and what that means for them and their wallet,91裸聊视频� said Schiavo.

He also pointed to growing momentum elsewhere, including the U.K. where payments under the system were up 88 per cent in the first half of last year from the year before, while small business use stands at about 17 per cent and growing.

As open banking spreads globally to places like Australia, India, Singapore and progress is made toward it in the U.S., there are also signs that new entrants are catching on faster.

It took about five years for the U.K. to reach five million connected accounts, something Brazil reached less than a year after launch.

The more companies that enter the space and provide more useful solutions, the more it will catch on, even if people don91裸聊视频檛 quite understand how it works, said Child.

91裸聊视频淵ou need to know it91裸聊视频檚 convenient. It makes your life simple and fast,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 what it91裸聊视频檚 about.91裸聊视频�

Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press