It was an exciting day for Bay of Quinte MP Ryan Williams Wednesday as his Private Members Bill calling for more competition in the banking sector passed second reading in the House of Commons.
Bill 365, the consumer-led banking act passed 172-150 with the Conservatives, NDP and Bloc voting in favour of and the Liberals voting against.
Williams says Canada’s half-dozen banks have an oligopoly and this bill would give Canadians the freedom of choice to decide who gets their banking business and information.
“This bill forces legislation which makes the banks have to share your financial data on your consent. Meaning that if you want to go to another bank or another financial institution or you know, something that’s been around for a while like Intuit or QuickBooks and all other things that are just really great for Canadians. This makes life easier but more important, it saves Canadians money.”
The bill now goes to the Standing Committee on Finance.
“We’ll bring our experts in to talk about the merits. A lot of these great experts and companies want to make this a reality and hopefully see this legislation up very shortly for a vote and, hopefully, then we have this implemented as soon as possible, by hopefully 2025.”
Williams is the shadow critic for Competition and Pan-Canadian Trade.
He says Canada is full of monopolies and oligopolies when it comes to cell phones, internet, groceries, airlines and banking, with Canadians paying some of the highest fees in the world.
Australia and the U.K. already have an open banking system.
Williams says, “In the U.K., with consumer-led banking implemented, with only 14% market share, consumers pay zero dollars for monthly transactional fees or for overdraft fees. Consumers in the U.K. pay zero dollars to their bank in general. The savings per year for the people in the U.K. is 12 billion pounds.”
