In today’s evolving financial landscape, Canada faces a critical inflection point. Shifting global alliances, heightened competition, and rising consumer expectations are reshaping how financial services operate. At the same time, inefficiencies in Canada’s payment systems and siloed innovation risk slowing progress at a moment when speed, trust, and security are paramount.

There is, however, a powerful opportunity: collaboration.

As Canada moves toward open banking and payments modernization, the financial ecosystem has a unique chance to strengthen itself through shared innovation. By pooling resources, expertise, and infrastructure, financial players can:

• Accelerate financial innovation in Canada

• Reduce costs and duplication

• Build resilience against fraud and cyber threats

• Deliver better outcomes for Canadians

Collaboration across the financial sector isn’t just about addressing today’s challenges —it’s about laying the groundwork for long-term growth, competitiveness, and prosperity. When industry leaders unite around a shared vision, they help ensure Canada’s economy remains strong, inclusive, and ready for the future.

This was the central theme of Symcor President and CEO Holger Kormann’s keynote at the 2025 Payments Canada SUMMIT, where he delivered his address, “From Silos to Scale: The Case for Collaboration in Canada’s Financial Future.”

Collaboration: A Competitive Advantage

Holger highlighted the tangible value at stake:

     “With the banking and financial sector being one of the largest GDP contributors in Canada, McKinsey estimates that a total value of $720 billion can be created by building true economies of scale, collaboration, and leapfrogging digital capabilities.”

Holger called on Canadian financial players to strengthen the economy through solutions “made in Canada, by Canadians”— warning that without collaboration, the country risks falling behind global peers in open banking and collaboration

Three Ways Collaboration Drives Impact in Financial Services

1. Efficiency

Shared infrastructure and aligned processes reduce duplication and streamline operations.

Holger reflected on Symcor’s own history: in 1996, three of Canada’s largest banks collaborated on cheque processing. This reduced operational costs, increased processing speed, and consolidated 21 sites into seven while moving to a single technology platform.

He also pointed to Switzerland’s b.Link initiative, which created a shared API framework enabling secure, real-time data exchange across the financial ecosystem. In Canada today, organizations like Interac and Payments Canada are working with financial institutions to build similar shared digital infrastructure.

     “Collaboration drives efficiency, and efficiency creates space for innovation.”

2. Innovation

Partnerships accelerate the development of new technologies and services.

Holger drew a parallel with the automotive industry: despite competing fiercely, BMW, GM, Toyota, and Mercedes co-developed a shared EV charging venture in North America, creating common infrastructure, technology, and a coordinated payments experience.

      “The best ideas don’t grow in isolation — they thrive in shared environments.”

Collaboration allows Canadian financial institutions to de-risk innovation, accelerate modernization, and unlock collective benefits that no single player could achieve alone.

3. Security

A unified approach enhances safety and resilience. Holger asked the audience to consider: “What’s easier — protecting 10 frameworks, or one?”

Shared platforms, he noted, are more efficient, cheaper to secure, and stronger against cyberattacks.

     “Criminals have no issues collaborating to commit fraud – so we should have no issues working together to fight fraud.”

Australia’s ScamSafe Accord, launched in 2023, united banks, telecoms, and regulators — reducing combined scam losses by 26% within a year. It’s a powerful example of how collaboration in fraud prevention can create measurable impact.

Closing Canada’s Trust Gap

Despite Canada’s world-class financial institutions, many processes remain manual and inefficient. Mortgage applications still require paper statements and PDFs, slowing approvals for days or weeks. Applying for a credit card at a bank where you’re not already a customer is similarly cumbersome. At the root of these challenges is a lack of trust in data sharing.

     “We don’t share data easily. Processes are still very manual. Authentication still takes time.”

Holger stressed that without addressing this trust gap, Canada risks stalling progress on open banking, fraud prevention, and payments modernization.

Symcor’s Role in Enabling a Connected Financial Future

For over 25 years, Symcor has been a trusted infrastructure partner powering collaboration behind the scenes — enabling secure data exchange, fraud detection, workflow optimization, and payments modernization at national scale.

Its collaborative model is proven through multiple industry-wide initiatives:

• Ensuring Payments Resilience:

When a major payments outage disrupted the retail batch ecosystem, Symcor’s coordinated response through COR.PAY maintained stability and trust across the industry.

• Combating Fraud with Shared Intelligence:

Through COR.IQ, Symcor powers Canada’s leading multi-bank fraud consortium, helping institutions detect fraud with collective intelligence.

• Transforming Client Communications:

With COR.CCX, financial institutions streamline critical customer communications through a single secure platform — improving compliance, speed, and experience.

• Accelerating Change Through Expertise:

COR.PRO enables seamless transformation across IT and operations — helping organizations modernize confidently and efficiently.

Together, these solutions demonstrate how collaboration fuels modernization, making data sharing easier, fraud detection faster, and decision-making smarter across Canada’s financial ecosystem.

In his concluding words, Holger issued both a challenge and a rallying call: If we want a financial future that serves all Canadians — then it starts here. Right now.

     “Collaboration isn’t just a concept. It’s leverage. It’s scale. It’s speed. It’s the only way forward. The world isn’t waiting. Canada shouldn’t either. We have the talent. We have the tech. We have the trust. Now all we need — is the will. Let’s join forces and build that future together.”

Take the Next Step

Explore how Symcor’s solutions power collaborative ecosystems across Canada’s financial landscape — enabling Open Banking, Fraud Prevention, Business Transformation, Payments Processing, and Customer Communications Management.

Explore Our Solutions
Contact Us