Moving Canada into the Digital Age | Government of Canada Report
Following the budget yesterday and the reference to banking governance, it can be no co-incidence this report is released today. (ht finextra)
The opening remarks note:
The Task Force for the Payments System Review has found that unless Canada develops a modern digital payments system, Canadians will be unable to fully engage in the digital economy of the 21st Century‚ leading to a lower standard of living across the country and a loss in international
competitiveness.Moreover, the Task Force found that a thoroughly modernized payments system could save the Canadian economy as much as two per cent of GDP in productivity
Canada considers itself to be ahead of the curve on digital usage so it is refreshing to see this.
Twenty-seven European Union countries, the BRIC countries‚ even Peru and Romania‚ are significantly outpacing Canada’s transition to digital payments, with obvious negative implications for Canada’s global competitiveness and interoperability.
There are three recommendations.
Therefore, the Government of Canada should lead the change by undertaking the following actions:
- Implement electronic invoicing and payments (EIP) for all government suppliers and benefit recipients.
- Partner with the private sector to create a mobile ecosystem.
- Propel the build of a digital identification and authentication (DIA) regime to underpin a modernized payments system and protect Canadians’ privacy.
Here is the full report. pdf
