Mastercard, Block back group to lobby for Canada finance reforms
BNN Bloomberg
Payment firms including Mastercard Inc. and Block Inc. are banding together with fintech companies to press Canada to move faster on rules that may boost competition in financial services.
More than 40 companies have joined forces to launch Fintechs Canada, a lobby group that will push for so-called open-banking rules and other regulations they say would enable more innovation in a financial sector that’s dominated by a handful of domestic banks.
Open banking is a regulatory system that makes it easier for consumers to share their financial data with third parties -- reducing barriers to switching from one financial provider to another. Many countries, including Australia and the U.K., offer some form of it. In the U.S., the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is trying to move ahead with long-awaited measures in that direction.
Canada has been slowly moving ahead with consultations on an open-banking framework. Data protection and consumer privacy are key issues. In March, the federal government named lawyer and consultant Abraham Tachjian as its czar on the topic. But the process is moving too slowly for some firms.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying Iran should close the Strait of Hormuz and keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors as leverage. Khamenei also called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran will keep attacking its Gulf Arab neighbors. Khamenei also called on Gulf countries to “shut down” U.S. bases, saying promised U.S. protection is “nothing more than a lie.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used and that Iran’s attacks on Gulf Arab neighbours will continue. His first statement since his appointment was read on state television Thursday by a news anchor.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is again heading overseas, this time to Norway to observe NATO Cold Response exercises as Canada deepens ties with Nordic countries.
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service says the threat level in Canada from Iran or its proxies has not changed since the war in Iran began nearly two weeks ago, while adding that threat-related activities are “likely to continue.”
Ottawa is letting an unnamed automaker import a higher quota of U.S.-made vehicles without tariffs because the company is selling and making more cars in Canada than first expected.
World shares tumbled on Monday, with Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunging more than 5%, after oil prices spiked at nearly $120 a barrel, casting a shadow over economies heavily dependent on imports of oil and gas from the Middle East.
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Sunday the date for three upcoming byelections.
The price of oil surged higher and showed no signs of halting its rapid climb a week after the U.S. and Israel launched major attacks on Iran that escalated into a war in the Middle East.
Scott Moe says Canada needs to separate its trade talks from its national security concerns when dealing with certain countries if it is serious about diversifying trading partners beyond the United States.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Japan on the final stop of a 10-day trip that also included Australia and India.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has landed in Japan on the final stop of a 10-day trip that also included Australia and India.