FDATA submits consultation response on Canada’s proposed National Anti-Fraud Strategy

Source: FDATA

The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA), a trade association representing more than 30 financial technology companies and consumer-permissioned data access platforms, has submitted its response to the Government of Canada’s consultation on a proposed National Anti-Fraud Strategy, emphasizing the need for a coordinated, technology-forward approach that distinguishes fraud from legitimate, consumer-permissioned financial activity.

In its submission to the Department of Finance, FDATA underscored that effective fraud prevention must be rooted in regulatory alignment and built atop Canada’s existing financial sector infrastructure, including its emerging consumer-driven banking regime.

“Combatting fraud requires precision,” said Steve Boms, executive director of FDATA.

“Policies must target bad actors without undermining innovation and the secure, consent-based financial services that millions of Canadians rely on every day.”

FDATA’s response outlined three core principles critical to the success of a national strategy:

• Regulatory harmony: Ensuring new anti-fraud measures align with existing oversight frameworks across agencies including the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.
• Coordinated oversight: Defining a clear, complementary role for the proposed Financial Crimes Agency to avoid duplication and regulatory fragmentation.
• Integration with Open Finance: Leveraging the security, identity verification, and API-based infrastructure being developed under the Consumer-Driven Banking Act and overseen by the Bank of Canada.

FDATA emphasized that consumer-permissioned data access – where individuals explicitly authorize how their financial data is used – is fundamentally different from fraud and must be protected in any policy framework.

FDATA also called for:

• Risk-based identity verification and modern authentication methods
• Targeted, real-time fraud warnings instead of static alerts
• Secure, API-driven information sharing across sectors
• A liability framework that assigns responsibility to the party responsible for a security failure

FDATA looks forward to continued engagement with the Department of Finance as the Strategy evolves.

Further reading: Rights, access and control in Canada’s Consumer-Driven Banking era