
Allon Advocacy In the News

March 29, 2023
Betakit Story: With No Open Banking Update in Budget 2023, Fintech Executives are Increasingly Jaded About Timeline for Delivery
Steve Boms is quoted in this Betakit piece expressing disappointment at the lack of progress in Budget 2023 toward the implementation of Canada’s open banking regime,

August 2, 2022
This Bloomberg article on a petition from various US banking trade associations urging the CFPB to supervise both data aggregators and recipients features a statement from Steve Boms on behalf of FDATA NA.

November 25, 2021
As CIOSC Preps Consumer Framework, Canadian Fintech Startups Fear Another Open Banking Boondoggle
The CIOSC will release a draft of its minimum viable framework for consumer-directed finance around the end of 2021. But some involved in the process say it has become yet another venue for the ongoing power struggle between banks and fintechs over the future of open banking.

August 17, 2021
Will CFPB Take Cues from Canada in Writing Data-Sharing Rules?
The [US] CFPB plans to have a data-sharing rule in place by April 2022. But Canadian report observers have shed much more on what an open banking regime would look like than the Bureau's request for comment issued last fall, and could influence rulemaking in both countries.

April 19, 2021
Budget Should Prioritize Open Banking in Canada
"If there is no movement this year in Canada on a regulatory framework, and no further commitments in the budget, large financial institutions will keep controlling the banking system, and opportunities will be lost," said FDATA North America's Steve Boms.

February 27, 2020
'Screen scraping is not evil': Bankers, fintechs, aggregators face off
The CFPB held a gathering this week of bankers, fintechs, consumer groups and others to tackle a key data-sharing issue facing the bureau, and the event provided an opportunity to have it out over a bone of contention.

March 20, 2019
FDATA Sets Out Canadian Open Banking Benefits
In advance of a Canada Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce hearing on March 21, the Financial Data and Technology Association today released a new paper, "Opportunities in Open Banking," that outlines the benefits of open banking for Canadian consumers, businesses, financial institutions and the economy.

January 4, 2019
Open Banking: The Bipartisan Issue of 2019
While the U.S. government hobbles from one crisis to the next - the partial shutdown is just the latest example - policymakers in several other countries are staking out long-term polsitions that embrace financial technology innovation for the benefit of their citizens.

August 17, 2018
How Banks are Making it Easier to Use Fintech Apps
It's about as nerdy as it gets in fintech and digital banking. But the way you share your bank information with popular fintech apps is evolving - and it marks one of the most significant changes in how you manage your money digitally.

May 21, 2018
What is Open Banking?
The term "open banking" might conjure up an image of a bank branch decorated like a hip loft where the teller isn't behind bulletproof glass. There's also a good chance that "open banking" means nothing to you. However, it's something you should probably get to know because it could change the landscape of the financial services industry.

January 12, 2018
2018: The Bonus Year
Welcome to the bonus year. Independent annuity agents and the marketing organizations that serve them were against the proverbial wall, blindfolded and enjoying a last vape when the Department of Labor's (DOL) new secretary, Alexander Acosta, issued a fiduciary rule reprieve until mid-2019. Now, instead of exiting from the annuity market en masse, dazed agents and IMOs find themselves with a new lease on life.

May 26, 2017
What's #FinTech Talking
Host Brian Wesolowski sits down with Natasha and Vijay from our Privacy and Data team to shine a spotlight on the myriad ways states are taking privacy regulations into their own hands, after several moves in the opposite direction from Congress. Then Brian brings in Steve Boms, Vice President of Government Affairs at Envestnet | Yodlee, to discuss what's happening at the crossroads of finance and technology.

January 21, 2017
Innovation Will Help Americans Improve Their Financial Health
In addition to a multitude of innovations, the Industrial Revolution was significantly impacted by the railroad. The Iron Horse allowed goods to travel in days across the American continent that would previously have required months, fueling the factories and workers in American cities that turned this nation into an economic powerhouse.

June 9, 2023
Hill Times Op-Ed: Canada is ready for open finance and it’s time the government deliver
Steve Boms argues that if the Canadian government is serious about supporting consumers’ financial wellbeing and encouraging competition, it must prioritize the open finance file to give all Canadians the modern financial system they deserve.
September 6, 2022
Open Banking Working Group Failing To Address Critical Governance, Standards Issues
Steve Boms is quoted in this Betakit piece expressing concerns that Canada's Open Banking working groups aren't sufficiently addressing issues around dispute resolution and how the system will be governed.

November 10, 2021
Industry Groups Representing Banks, Fintechs Press Freeland for Clarity on Open Banking Commitments
"We have come together united in support of the full implementation of phase one and two recommendations of the advisory committee on open banking and to respectfully request your public support for the same," the groups state.

August 6, 2021
Open Banking, the 'Life Blood' of Fintech and New Bank Services, Is Set to Arrive in Canada by 2023
The [Advisory Committee report] recommendations land at a time when other countries have already blazed ahead, and Canadian fintechs say they are losing opportunities to innovate in the financial industry

July 12, 2021
What Biden's Data Portability Push Means for Banks
The [Executive] order urges the CFPB to commence a rulemaking under section 1033 to facilitate the portability of consumer financial transaction data so consumers can more easily switch financial institutions and use new, innovative financial products.

June 9, 2021
FDATA's Steve Boms Discusses Open Banking in the US and What Is Next
"Without open banking, consumers have no choice. They are entirely beholden to the financial institutions who control their data. In an open banking environment, consumers and small businesses have the right to use the service providers they choose."

January 12, 2021
A CFPB Rule-Making Worth Keeping
The Biden administration can ensure the success of economic equality and financial inclusion by completing an initiative under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: enacting regulations to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

June 29, 2020
What Happens if Mastercard and Visa Gobble Up All the Data Aggregators?
If [Mastercard and Visa's] deals are approved by regulators, the largest card networks will own two of the largest US data aggregators, which are companies that collect and feed bank customer data into fintech apps.

June 28, 2019
Open Banking and the Wealth Gap
President Donald Trump just traveled to London to talk trade, but it is Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY) who has imported Britain's best idea. Meeks, who heads the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, is expected to introduce legislation before the July 4 recess to study how Open Banking can be brought to the U.S.

November 21, 2018
The Consumer Case for Open Banking
Collectively, the members of the Financial Data and Technology Association of North America provide approximately 3.5 million Canadians with access to new, technology-powered financial tools that help them manage their finances. Despite an ambiguous regulatory environment, these consumers and small businesses have voted in favor of financial technology.

September 21, 2018
U.S. Way Behind the Curve on Open Banking
Across North America, policymakers, fintech companies, and financial services firms are finally beginning an earnest dialogue about open banking. The Senate Banking Committee recently touched on the issue at a Sept. 18 hearing - one of the first official discussions in the halls of Congress.

August 3, 2018
U.S. Regulators Falling Behind in Supporting Fintech Regulation
Regulators in the US are struggling to keep up with the rate of technology innovation sweeping financial services. Between technology startups and traditional firms looking to use blockchain and nontraditional companies entering finance, regulators around the world are reassessing existing frameworks.

July 30, 2018
The SEC's Proposal Likely Doesn't Signal the End of Washington's Fiduciary Drama
It's been a long and winding road - politically- since the Obama-era Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its fiduciary rule in June 2016. Full of soap opera-esque twists and turns, many believe the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision to kill the DOL rule means the end could be in sight.

May 11, 2018
The One Area Where Banks and Fintechs Want More Regulation
Banks, fintech firms and data aggregators are asking regulators to provide more clarity on how to handle consumer data and who is responsible for leaks when it is shared between firms - a request that's seemingly a reversal from the deregulatory approach the industry often takes.

February 20, 2018
Speaker Interview: Steve Boms
Open banking, powered through Open APIs, puts the consumer, at the center of the financial services ecosystem. In this new, innovation-driven environment, those market players that provide solutions to consumers where they most demand them will flourish, whether they are traditional banks or fintech firms.

June 9, 2017
DOL Fiduciary Rule Takes Effect
The Department of Labor's Fiduciary Rule on retirement advice is taking effect today. After much delay and uncertainty, particularly in the last six months under the new administration, retirement advisors now must put investor interests first when choosing products and determining fees for their services.

June 6, 2023
American Banker Op-Ed: Regulators can relax. Open banking rules won't increase liquidity risk
Steve Boms pushes back against the idea that open banking in any way contributed to the liquidity crises recently faced by several US banks, and stressed that completion of the Section 1033 rule should not be impacted by these developments.

June 20, 2022
American Banker Op-Ed: Delaying CFPB’s data sharing rule will only create more problems down the road
In this Op-Ed, Steve Boms urged the CFPB to finish a long-overdue rule to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which would empower Americans to share their financial data with the 3rd-party providers of their choice.

December 7, 2021
Podcast: Open Banking with Steve Boms
In an episode of the Fintech Impact podcast, host Jason Pereira speaks with FDATA North America's Steve Boms about the fintech landscape in Canada and the United States and the importance of open banking for financial competition, technological innovation, consumer protection and data security, and payments modernization.

October 21, 2021
The Search is On for Canada's Open Banking Czar
The job is still vacant six months after a federal advisory committee first recommended creating the position - a delay that has raised questions about the Liberal government's ability to meet the committee's recommendation to implement open banking by January 2023.

August 28, 2020
How CFPB Should Support Consumer Data Rights
The financial technology and data aggregation communities have long advocated for the CFPB to issue a rule under Section 1033, asserting this is the key first step toward an open finance framework under which a consumer or small business is in full control of their financial data.

June 23, 2020
Mastercard Acquires Finicity, an Open Banking and Data Fintech
Mastercard announced on Tuesday it has entered into an agreement to acquire Finicity, a real-time financial data and insights access provider providing open banking tools - an area of growing importance for financial services firms

April 16, 2019
Yes, Canada, Open Banking is Working in Britain
Canada is considering a move toward open banking, a formalized system in which consumers are empowered to share their bank-held data with third-party providers (TRPs) to encourage competition and innovation. If the experience in Britain is a guide, this advance will transporm the country's economy and imp

December 2, 2018
Help NJ Families Tackle Household Debt
According to data compiled by Experian, New Jersey consumers have, on average, more credit cards in their pockets than the residents of any other state. Even more telling, the average New Jersey household has more than $7,150 in credit card debt, the fourth-highest rate in America.

October 9, 2018
For Canadian Consumers and Small Businesses, Open Banking is the Way Forward
The national budget passed by Parliament requires the Department of Finance to offer findings and recommendations for a move toward open banking. Lawmakers didn't set a deadline, but Finance Canada is already engaging with industry stakeholders to solicit input.

September 21, 2018
Fintech Lobby Group Opens North American Division
The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA), which played a pivotal role over the last five years in crafting the design and implementation of open banking standards in the United Kingdom and in Europe, announced today the launch of a North American arm, FDATA North America.

July 17, 2018
In Data Dispute with Capital One, Plaid Stands Alone
Plaid Technologies' public effort to blame Capital One after a security upgrade blocked the data aggregator from accessing customer data appears to have backfired. Other data aggregators have distanced themselves from the protest, nothing they have been unaffected and even speaking out in defense of the bank.

January 29, 2018
Banks, Businesses Aren't Ready for GDPR - But Consumers Are
While PSD2 was the subject of extensive focus for European banks, businesses, tech firms, and fintechs, these institutions may not be ready for another data initiative, the General Data Protection Regulation, set to come into effect this May. In fact, studies show that less than half of businesses in the U.K are even aware of GDPR, much less ready to comply.

November 29, 2017
Bottom Line
Yodlee, a financial data aggregator and technology company, hired Allon Advocacy to work on issues relating to consumer financial data, credit reporting, cybersecurity and government rules about fiduciary standards. The company is one of Allon Advocacy's first lobbying clients. The firm has also signed Freedom Financial Network, which offers loans and mortgages, in addition to debt settlement services.

June 9, 2017
The DOL's Fiduciary Rule is Here...But For How Long?
The June 9 initial applicability date of the DOL fiduciary rule is here, and advisors tell FA-IQ they're largely ready to comply with the requirements of acting in the best interest of their clients. But a law firm notes that many advisors have been asking exactly how to comply with the Impartial ICS, which are in place until the rule's full implementation on January 1, 2018.

March 27, 2017
Consumers Will Suffer Without Access to Their Data
The ability of Americans to see their total financial picture across multiple financial institutions and quickly access technology-based tools to analyze their financial data is no longer theoretical. The fintech industry provides this capability to millions of consumers.