Mr. Open Banking

Recorded live at the inaugural edition of Fintech Nerdcon in Miami, Florida, Eyal is joined by Alex Johnson, the Founder of Fintech Takes, one of the most widely-read publications in the fintech industry. The United States' first real attempt at regulating open banking, known as Section 1033, has been anything but smooth; challenged on day one, declared unlawful, and stuck in court-ordered limbo. At the center of that chaos sits a deeper fight over who controls personal financial data and who gets to profit from it. Eyal and Alex dig into what this turbulence reveals, not just about America's uniquely chaotic path to open banking, but about the questions every market must eventually face around standards, cost recovery and trust, questions which only grow more urgent as agentic AI enters the picture. Ultimately, this leads to the biggest question of all, one that reaches far beyond open banking: How do we create a world where we have the right to control our own data?

Specifically they discuss:

Regulatory chaos in the U.S.
Charging fees for data access
The role of shared standards
Agentic AI and open banking
The future of data rights

Recorded live at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Eyal is joined by Jess Turner, EVP and Global Head of Open Finance & Developer Experience at Mastercard. Credit cards, and the networks that power them, have been a central part of the global financial system for over 70 years, providing far more than just payments. As money becomes more and more digital, the role these networks play as data brokers and data custodians, is evolving in lockstep, fueled even further by the rise of open banking. Far from being viewed as a threat, card providers have been rapidly evolving to embrace the new opportunities presented by open banking, open finance and open data. Eyal and Jess discuss how the card industry is being impacted by this shift, and how Mastercard is working to firmly position itself as one of the leading trailblazers.

Specifically they discuss:

How card networks unlock data
The importance of open standards
Region-specific considerations
Trust, consent and control
The legacy of Mastercard

Recorded live at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas, Eyal is joined by two guests at the center of the great debate surrounding open banking in the United States: John Court, EVP & General Counsel at the Banking Policy Institute (BPI) and Penny Lee, President & CEO at the Financial Technology Association (FTA). In late 2024, after many years of deliberation, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released the final version of their Personal Financial Data Rights rule, also known as Section 1033. On the day of its release, the rule was immediately challenged in court, marking the beginning of a drama unlike any other in the open banking space. John and Penny represent the two major players on either side of the court case itself, making them uniquely qualified to discuss where American open banking is headed.

Specifically they discuss:

How Section 1033 came to be
What happened the day of its release
Major issues in the great debate
The validity of charging for data access
Where 1033 currently stands

Recorded live at Open Banking Expo Canada in Toronto, Eyal is joined by Saba Shariff, Chief Strategy, Product & Innovation Officer at Symcor, a leading infrastructure provider to the largest Canadian banks. The road to open banking in Canada has been long and difficult. After many years of deliberation and delay, they finally passed their first open banking regulation in 2024, known as the Consumer-Driven Banking Act. Since then, progress has been stalled by political turmoil. However, with a new prime minister now in place and a renewed focus on nation building, Canada’s 2025 budget announcement aims to take their open banking efforts to the next level. Eyal and Saba discuss the journey of open banking in Canada so far, the approach taken in the Consumer-Driven banking regulation, and what the new budget announcement portends for the near future.

Specifically they discuss:

A history of open banking in Canada
The Consumer-Driven Banking Act
What makes Canada’s approach unique
The advantages of being late
Big updates from the 2025 budget

Recorded live at Fintech Americas in Miami, Florida, Eyal is joined by author and advisor Chris Colbert, former Managing Director at the Harvard Innovation Lab and Partner at Digital Fuel Capital. Technological innovation is often a double-edged sword; despite our best intentions, the progress we make often comes with unintended consequences. As open banking and other technological initiatives change the nature of money itself, we must be thoughtful and intentional about the direction of that change, with a particular focus on human values. This episode looks at open banking and technology in general through a philosophical lens, asking how our innovations can help bring us closer to each other and closer to understanding ourselves. Eyal and Chris discuss the negative impact of technology, the role of humanism in designing better systems, and how open banking has a part to play.

Specifically they discuss:

The three technological pillars of society
Modern negative consequences
How humanism leads to better systems
Measures for a successful society
Keeping the human at the center