In an enlightening interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Saba Shariff, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy, Product and Innovation Officer at Symcor, delved into the transformative role of COR.CONNECT in shaping the Canadian financial landscape. With a rich background in telecommunications and start-ups, Saba’s approach to innovation is deeply rooted in a customer-centric philosophy, making her an adept leader in steering Symcor’s innovative services. COR.CONNECT, born from this philosophy, is a testament to Symcor’s commitment to fostering an interoperable, compliant, and secure Open Banking environment. This suite notably simplifies data sharing and connectivity among financial institutions, positioning Symcor as a pivotal player in Canada’s financial industry. Saba’s leadership not only highlights the strategic integration of technology in finance but also underscores her dedication to mentoring the next generation of women in STEM, further amplifying her impact on the industry and beyond.
Saba Shariff oversees multiple teams responsible for designing and launching innovative products that address industry-wide challenges, along with a mandate for charting Symcor’s corporate strategy towards continued growth. Saba joined Symcor in 2002 and held progressive senior positions thereafter.
Prior to joining Symcor, Saba had preceding experience in both start-ups and telecommunications sectors. Named as one of Canada’s Top 50 Women in Fintech in Canada, Saba is a sought-after public speaker who shares insights on topics such as Open Banking, Innovation and Women in Technology in the Canadian financial industry.
Saba obtained her Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English, Rhetoric & Professional Writing from the University of Waterloo. Saba is a mentor with Women in Open Banking, an Honorary Chair of the Princess Margaret’s Weekend to Conquer Cancer event, and a Board member for Women in Communications and Technology (WCT). In her spare time, Saba enjoys travelling, trying new and interesting cuisines and avidly cheering on her favourite sports teams.
With your extensive background in telecommunications and start-ups before joining Symcor, how has this diverse experience influenced your approach to innovation and strategy in the financial technology sector?
My prior experience has been instrumental in honing my ability to be agile and adapt easily, which have been key to navigating a dynamic market landscape where innovation and disruption are the only constants.
In my role at Symcor, I have the pleasure of leading teams responsible for designing and launching innovative services that address industry-wide needs. We ensure our clients never have to go it alone in facing and addressing market challenges. A startup background helped influence a customer-centric mindset early-on, which I have built upon and nurtured throughout my career.
In this industry, which can sometimes be distracted by hype and buzz, having worked at startups, helped equip me with a lens to discern true opportunities, informed by research and insights, that can deliver genuine customer value.
Through the various experiences I have had in my career, I have always felt a strong calling to actively mentor the next generation of women in STEM. I currently serve on the Board of Women in Communications and Technology and am an active mentor in the industry with the aim of driving meaningful progress in the careers of that next group of female leaders in business and technology.
Can you describe the core mission and services of Symcor, particularly in relation to the new COR.CONNECT suite, and how it positions Symcor in the Canadian financial industry landscape?
For over 25 years, Symcor has been a technology provider of payment, security and data services. Constantly innovating and supported by the utmost security, Symcor’s suite of services support a client’s complete business life cycle. Our commitment to making tomorrow’s challenges today’s business has been instrumental in shaping our COR.CONNECT Open Banking solutions.
Built with privacy-by-design as a principle, Symcor’s COR.CONNECT Hub offers data providers an interoperable, compliant and secure Open Banking platform to safely share authorized data via APIs. COR.CONNECT Link enables data recipients to power innovative use cases through streamlined access to our data network.
COR.CONNECT enables participants to avoid the time, effort and expense of developing their own Open Banking platform and meet evolving and complex regulatory requirements. This allows our clients to focus on core functions and provide innovative solutions for their customers.
COR.CONNECT enables clients’ readiness for Open Banking and helps unlock their business objectives.
Open Banking is a significant shift in how financial data is managed and utilized. Could you explain how Symcor’s initiatives in Open Banking are set to transform the services for small and medium-sized enterprises in Canada?
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the Canadian economy, constituting over 98 per cent of all businesses in the country and as such, it’s critical for SMEs to have access to innovative services so they can provide better services to their customers. Further, SMEs employ almost 90% of the private workforce. Empowering organizations that employ the vast majority of Canadians will contribute to our overall economic growth as a country.
Open Banking provides a unique opportunity to foster greater competition among solution providers, resulting in more innovative products and services that can serve the needs of SMEs.
SMEs will have easier access to a wider range of financial products and services, from tailored lending options to deeper insights into their cash flow, helping them optimize their working capital to avoid shortfalls and fuel business growth.
We are very excited about the potential of Open Banking as it fosters a culture of collaboration and innovation within the financial industry, encouraging the development of solutions specifically designed to meet the unique challenges faced by SMEs. It is a game-changer and will empower SMEs to thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape.
What are some of the most promising opportunities you foresee in Open Banking for enhancing consumer-driven banking solutions?
Currently, an estimated nine million Canadians commonly share their financial data by providing their online banking credentials to third-party apps. This practice, known as credential sharing or screen scraping, carries inherent risks, including the exposure of sensitive banking information to external parties.
Financial service providers will be able to leverage Open Banking to gain a comprehensive understanding of customer risk and obtain a 360-degree view of their clients. This enables them to offer services that might otherwise be out of reach for consumers and businesses. For instance, if you are new to Canada and lack an extensive credit history, certain lenders could utilize your banking information to assess risks and underwrite lending products.
Open Banking can empower SMEs with better financial management tools and enhanced access to services. For example, businesses could share their account history with external lenders or brokers, facilitating faster loan decisions and decreasing the reliance on paperwork. Open Banking will also support greater financial inclusion for Canada’s diverse and underserved entrepreneur class in areas like increased access to loans. Real-life transaction data can supplement credit checks, adding rigour and enabling more equitable decisions.
Reflecting on your recent engagements, such as the keynote at The Payments Canada Summit and Open Banking Expo, what are your views on driving innovation through collaboration and competition in Open Banking?
While at first glance it may seem that competition and collaboration are two ends of a spectrum, the reality is, they are two sides of the same coin. Open Banking isn’t just about sharing data; it’s about building a collaborative ecosystem where the burden of foundational capabilities shouldn’t fall on every participant. By focusing on key processes together, businesses can devote more energy to innovation. Through interoperability and through collaboration, we can ensure seamless and secure data exchange among entities.
Moreover, Open Banking overcomes the pitfalls of outdated data-sharing methods like screen-scraping, promising greater privacy control and empowerment for individuals over their data. It’s not just about revolutionizing finance; it’s about reshaping how Canadians interact with our data and the services that shape our lives. And for SMEs, Open Banking will enable them to make more informed decisions, enhance their competitiveness, and foster growth in an increasingly interconnected digital economy.
