Mastercard report looks at how open people are to sharing their financial details with tech firms
Canadian consumers are keen to use technology for their money management according to a new report.
Despite concerns that Canada may be lagging peers in the move to Open Banking from a framework point of view, consumers are already advanced in their usage with 95% of Canadians using online and mobile financial applications to manage money, mostly paying bills and banking.
The Mastercard research found that almost one third of survey respondents secured or refinanced a loan in the last year using a digital method and a similar share used tech for checking or improving their credit score.
Digital platforms were also used by the more than half of respondents who have bought or sold cryptocurrencies or used crowdfunding in the last year.
"With the emergence of open banking, the way we as consumers and businesses can connect with and control our data – for everything from borrowing, investing, and budgeting – is being redefined," said Craig Reiff, Vice President, Core Products and Open Banking at Mastercard in Canada.
Sharing data
One of the key components of wealth technology, especially Open Banking, is the sharing of financial accounts across providers.
Almost two thirds of Canadians appear willing to connect their bank accounts to financial apps to automate tasks, and 7 in 10 would do so to easily send money to someone.
Trust in fintech is vital to widespread adoption and the report reveals that 55% of consumers in Canada feel very confident using technology to manage their money; 62% say fintech helps them save time and is less work.
Copyright Bloomberg News
