How can Canada’s small businesses benefit from Open Banking?
Open Banking Expo’s Ellie Duncan is joined by Mike Cascone, vice president, government experience, Americas at Xero and Eric Saumure, principal at Zenbooks ahead of their session at Open Banking Expo Canada 2025. In this episode, they discuss the specific needs of Canada’s small businesses and, in particular, the business banking challenges they face in the current environment. Mike and Eric discuss the potential for Open Banking to address SMBs’ pain points and how to encourage awareness of Open Banking’s benefits among small business owners.
Eric Saumure
Eric Saumure
Principal ZenbooksEric Saumure is a Co-founder and Principal at Zenbooks, a forward-thinking online accounting firm helping businesses streamline their finances with modern technology. With a deep passion for financial accessibility, Eric has seen firsthand how Canada’s lack of Open Banking creates unnecessary friction for businesses, accountants, and financial professionals alike.
As an early adopter of digital-first accounting solutions, Eric works closely with business owners who struggle with outdated banking processes—manual reconciliations, unreliable bank feeds, and limited data access. He’s a vocal advocate for Open Banking in Canada, pushing for real-time financial data access to empower businesses, increase competition, and modernize the financial sector.
At the Open Banking Expo, Eric invites industry leaders to challenge the status quo, highlights real-world pain points, and demands action on Open Banking. His message is clear: Canada is falling behind, and it’s time to catch up.
Mike Cascone
Mike Cascone
Vice President, Government Relations & Public Policy XeroMichael Cascone is the vice president of government experience, Americas, at Xero.
Prior to joining Xero in 2021, Michael was the founding senior director of the Scale-Up Institute Toronto at the Toronto Region Board of Trade. He led the launch of the small business accelerator and ran a number of high-impact programs focused on small business growth and digitisation. During his time leading the organisation, the Scale-Up Institute Toronto supported over 2,000 small businesses across Ontario, securing significant private and public sector investment and winning the 2020 Ontario Chamber of Commerce Chair’s Award for Innovative Programming.
Michael also has over ten years of experience in both the federal and provincial governments, focusing on innovation and scale-up policy, trade agreement negotiation, and the automotive sector. He actively participates in the small business research community, acting as an expert advisor on a number of research councils.
He is the vice chair and treasurer of the Scugog Township Economic Development Advisory Committee.
Ellie Duncan
Ellie Duncan
Head of Content Open Banking ExpoFormer Financial Times Group journalist Ellie Duncan has a decade of experience across financial services. While arguably best-known for her asset management work, she has also covered open banking, credit, private equity and entrepreneurship.
