Data Portability Investment Promise

CSA Report Shows Data Portability Holds Promise for Canadian Investment Markets

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have published a report on the potential benefits and challenges of data portability in the Canadian investment market. The report was produced by the CSA's Collaboratory, which is exploring the implications of new technologies and business models with interested stakeholders. The project involved a year and a half of research and stakeholder engagement, exploring how investors’ personal and financial data could be securely transferred between market participants, including investment firms and financial technology (fintech) firms, at the investor’s request. This could reduce friction and improve investor choice by facilitating the ability to switch financial providers or to open accounts at multiple firms. While there was no consensus on what model might work best, market participants agreed that increased data portable could be incentivized through legislation, regulation or guidance. The CSA decided not to pursue a live data portabil test as most commenters want to see details of the federal government’�s consumer-driven banking framework.