Open banking and regulation: Please advise the government

Open Banking allows consumers to take advantage of data-driven financial services by sharing data held at one organization with another organization, typically between financial institutions and trusted third parties. Open Banking is consumer controlled, secure, and protects privacy. These new services represent an innovative and growing market. Clear and fair rules, industry coordination, and technical standards are needed to avoid fragmentation and to build a robust market that serves all consumers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). International developments in jurisdictions such as the UK and Australia have demonstrated the expected benefits that Open Banking can deliver to consumers. The challenge to governments in North America is to adopt a consistent framework that provides the security and protections consumers need while at the same time providing flexibility for innovation and streamlining of banking services using the Open Banking model. A key question for implementation of Open Banking will be the balance of activity and involvement between government and the private sector. An unbalanced Open Banking model will likely fail; a balanced Open Banking model can bring tremendous value to society. This teaching case asks students to first understand the benefits and challenges of Open Banking for many stakeholders, and then to recommend on how to proceed (or not) with implementation. The case is written from a North American perspective, that is, the USA and Canada.