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With investment dealers keen to take part in the federal government’s effort to facilitate banking sector innovation through “open banking,” the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) said that it’s working to help them get in on the action.

Citing a demand from its members, the investment industry self-regulatory organization said that it plans to consult with policymakers, industry firms and others to clarify how investment dealers can qualify to participate in the federal open banking initiative, which is expected to launch in early 2026.

Specifically, the SRO aims to clarify certain aspects of the open banking framework — which will allow bank customers to share their data with fintechs and other firms to facilitate the development of new products and services.

In a notice, the SRO said that it’s expected that the data covered by the initiative will include certain retail investment products, and while banks with significant retail activity will be required to participate in the framework, investment dealers may not be mandated to participate — yet, some firms have “expressed interest” in voluntarily participating, it said.

“Some of our members have told us that they would like to voluntarily opt into the consumer-driven banking framework. Those who do will need to meet accreditation requirements, follow security standards, and support reciprocal data sharing,” said Karen McGuinness, senior vice-president, finance, investor and member relations at CIRO, in a release.

In an effort to facilitate that voluntary participation, CIRO said that it plans to consult broadly — with government, industry groups, other regulators, fintechs and dealers — to determine how it can assist.

“These consultations will help determine CIRO’s potential role in supporting the framework and identifying opportunities to streamline processes, enhance efficiency, and foster innovation. We also aim to explore potential opportunities and challenges in expanding the existing framework to incorporate additional functionalities or data elements,” it said.

To that end, the SRO said that it plans to work with the provincial regulators that announced a project Tuesday to explore collecting know-your-client (KYC) information digitally, and improving data sharing and portability.

A federal open banking framework has been a work in progress for several years now, and it gained momentum last year, as legislation required to launch the initiative was passed, and the federal government released its final framework in the fall economic statement, which called for open banking to launch in 2026.

There is still additional legislation that must be passed and adopted before that can happen, addressing issues such as data privacy and security, liability and accreditation.

And, while Parliament is currently prorogued — stalling progress on this, and other policy initiatives — CIRO said that it is operating under the assumption that introducing open banking remains a priority for the government.

“By helping support the adoption of consumer-driven banking, CIRO seeks to drive meaningful transformation and the modernization of industry practices, and to foster greater efficiencies for the benefit of Canadian investors and the broader public,” McGuinness added. “We can build a more connected and investor-centric financial ecosystem by embracing innovation and reducing barriers.”