Canada’s retail payments landscape is approaching a shift that could move faster than many expect.
Open banking has been discussed for years, but implementation is now moving closer. Once in place, consumers will be able to share financial data securely with third parties, including retailers and fintech providers. That change may sound incremental, but experience in other markets suggests otherwise. When similar frameworks were introduced in countries such as Brazil and India, new payment methods gained traction quickly, and consumer behaviour changed in a short period of time.
For retailers, the takeaway is simple. The way customers expect to pay is about to expand, and that shift could happen quickly once the infrastructure is in place.
Convenience Is No Longer a Differentiator
For years, the focus in e-commerce has been on removing friction. Faster checkout flows, fewer steps, and smoother payment experiences have all been positioned as competitive advantages. Today, those features are widely available across most platforms.
Kris Zanuldin, Head of Konek at Interac Corp., says that dynamic is already changing.
“When open banking comes, you get hyper-competition and fast, frictionless experiences become table stakes,” he says. “When everyone is convenient, convenience is no longer enough.”
That changes how customers evaluate payment options. Speed still matters, but it is no longer the deciding factor. Customers begin to look more closely at who they are dealing with, especially when financial data is involved.
Trust Starts to Influence the Transaction
A bank account holds a detailed record of how someone lives and spends. As open banking allows that information to move more freely, customers are likely to be more selective about where they allow access.
Zanuldin says that question becomes central at checkout.
“When customers are given more options, they’re not just asking what’s easiest anymore. They’re asking who they trust enough to allow access to their financial information,” he explains.
For retailers, that shows up in a very practical way. The decision to complete a transaction is no longer just about convenience. It depends on whether the customer feels comfortable moving forward.
Persistent Friction Still Affects Conversion
Even before open banking takes hold, many retailers continue to deal with payment-related challenges.
Cart abandonment remains a consistent issue across e-commerce. At the same time, false declines, where legitimate transactions are rejected due to fraud checks, can quietly reduce conversion rates and damage customer confidence.
“False declines are one of the silent killers in e-commerce,” says Zanuldin. “When a legitimate customer is denied, it creates a poor experience and can impact whether they return.”
These issues do not always show up clearly in reporting, but they affect revenue. Customers who encounter friction or feel uncertain during checkout may simply choose not to complete the purchase.
Building on Existing Trust
In Canada, one approach is to build on the trust consumers already have in their financial institutions.
Powered by Interac Corp. and backed by Canada’s leading financial institutions, Konek allows customers to pay by bank through their chequing or savings accounts, while also supporting debit and credit options within a single experience.
The idea is not to introduce something unfamiliar. Instead, it connects the checkout process to banking systems that customers already use.
“We’re not trying to create new trust,” Zanuldin says. “We’re leveraging the trust Canadians already have in their banks and extending that into the checkout experience.”
For retailers, that can mean giving customers more ways to pay without adding friction or uncertainty.
What Implementation Looks Like
Retailers will also look closely at how difficult a new payment option is to implement.
Konek is designed as a single integration that works across platforms and operating systems. Merchants do not need to rebuild their checkout or commit to a specific technology stack.
As Canada’s payments infrastructure continues to evolve, systems like this are expected to adapt alongside it.
A Shift That May Arrive Quickly
Open banking is expected to introduce more choice into the payments landscape, but it also raises the bar for retailers.
Speed and convenience are no longer enough on their own. Customers already expect those as a baseline. The next question is whether they feel comfortable completing the transaction.
Retailers will need to think about how their checkout experience supports that confidence, and how it holds up as new payment options enter the market.
Looking Ahead
While open banking will reshape payments in the near term, other changes are already beginning to influence how transactions happen.
New technologies are starting to play a role in how purchasing decisions are made, including the possibility of more automated or assisted transactions. As that develops, questions around trust, control and responsibility become more complex.
Zanuldin points to consumer behaviour as an early signal.
“When customers don’t feel confident in the system, their behaviour changes,” he says. “They may set lower spending limits or hesitate to complete transactions, even if the outcome is something they want.”
For retailers, that reaction matters. If customers hesitate, spending can be affected, even when the product itself is not the issue.
Retailers interested in learning more about Konek can visit konek.ca or connect with Interac Corp. for additional information.
