Canada's government is pushing ahead with a second phase of its open banking review, focusing on security issues surrounding the sharing of financial data with third parties.

The Department of Finance Canada set up an Advisory Committee on Open Banking in 2018 to investigate whether the country should follow the UK in making it easier for people to let third party financial services providers access their banking data.

A year ago a consultation paper was published and individuals and organisations were invited to offer their opinions on whether open banking would provide meaningful benefits, how risks related to consumer protection, privacy and security should be managed, and what role government should play in any implementation.

Now, the first phase of the review has been completed, concluding that data-driven services can help people budget, access more affordable financial services and become better equipped to manage their money.

With many Canadians already sharing their data with third parties, the government wants to focus on security. From the spring, stakeholders will be brought in to offer advice on standards to enhance data protection, examining issues such as governance, consumer control of personal data, privacy, and security.