Canada’s financial sector is on the cusp of a transformative shift. With the 2025 open banking mandate fast approaching, Canadian financial institutions face both a regulatory imperative and a generational opportunity. Open banking promises to reshape how banks interact with customers, partners, and the broader financial ecosystem—unlocking new business models, enhancing customer experiences, and driving innovation. Yet, the path to compliance and competitive advantage is complex, especially for institutions burdened by legacy core systems.
Canada’s open banking framework is designed to empower consumers with greater control over their financial data, foster competition, and spur innovation. Unlike some global markets, the Canadian approach is characterized by a strong emphasis on security, privacy, and interoperability. This means that banks must not only enable secure data sharing and seamless integration with third-party providers, but also ensure robust compliance with evolving regulatory standards.
The 2025 deadline is non-negotiable. Financial institutions must modernize their technology stacks, streamline data access, and implement secure APIs—all while maintaining operational resilience and customer trust. The stakes are high: failure to comply risks regulatory scrutiny, reputational damage, and loss of market share to more agile competitors.
While the open banking mandate is a regulatory requirement, it is also a catalyst for broader digital transformation. By embracing open banking, Canadian banks can:
Despite the promise of open banking, many Canadian institutions are held back by aging, monolithic core banking systems. These legacy platforms are costly to maintain, difficult to integrate, and ill-suited to the demands of real-time data sharing and rapid product innovation. The risk of failed modernization—whether due to technical, regulatory, or operational missteps—is significant.
Coreless banking offers a way forward. By decoupling critical banking functions from the legacy core and adopting a modular, cloud-native architecture, banks can achieve the agility, scalability, and resilience required for open banking. This approach enables institutions to:
Publicis Sapient’s proprietary AI platform, Sapient Slingshot, is purpose-built to de-risk and accelerate core modernization. Slingshot automates and streamlines the software development lifecycle—from code generation and testing to deployment and maintenance—enabling Canadian banks to:
Publicis Sapient brings deep experience in Canadian financial services, combining local regulatory insight with global best practices. Our approach is grounded in:
Modernizing the core is a complex, high-stakes endeavor. Publicis Sapient’s playbook for Canadian banks emphasizes:
By partnering with Publicis Sapient and leveraging Sapient Slingshot, Canadian financial institutions can:
The open banking mandate is more than a compliance challenge—it is a launchpad for the next era of Canadian financial services. With coreless banking, Sapient Slingshot, and Publicis Sapient’s local expertise, Canadian banks can not only meet regulatory requirements but also lead the market in customer experience, innovation, and growth.
Let’s build the future of Canadian banking—together.
Ready to start your coreless banking journey? Connect with our Canadian financial services experts today.