Credit union FirstOntario readies for Canada’s open banking push with Flinks and Everlink
Canadian credit union FirstOntario has tapped API developer Flinks and paytech Everlink to power its open banking services ahead of the planned rollout of the country’s open banking framework in 2025.
FirstOntario partners Everlink and Flinks
The partnership is expected to afford the credit union’s members greater control over their financial data, which FirstOntario will be able to leverage to offer a more personalised array of financial services.
Lloyd Smith, CEO of FirstOntario, describes this ability as “a key strategic priority” for the credit union, and given that open banking is “a much anticipated opportunity” for the marketplace, explains that “it’s important that we are ready to offer this emerging service as soon as it’s legislatively enabled”.
Montreal-based Flinks, majority-owned by the National Bank of Canada, and Markham-based Everlink first came together in March 2023 to pioneer the adoption of consumer-driven banking in Canada by combining Flinks’ open banking infrastructure product, Outbound, with Everlink’s digital solutions.
The partnership between the two solution providers is central to the federal government of Canada’s initiative, first unveiled last November, to deliver an open banking framework in its budget this year. The framework is expected to go live nationwide in 2025, with financial institutions like FirstOntario looking to instigate partnerships with suitable providers in preparation.
“There is momentum building for a consumer-driven financial industry, and it brings an opportunity for credit unions to gain a competitive edge,” comments Yves-Gabriel Leboeuf, CEO of Flinks, who adds that the incorporation of open banking functionality within FirstOntario will “elevate the banking experience” for its members.
According to the federal Department of Finance, 9 million Canadians are currently using screen-scraping to share confidential banking credentials with service providers, a process that raises privacy, liability and security risks. The country is now looking to replace this process with open banking, following in the footsteps of Australia, the European Union, the UK, Japan and Singapore, among others.
