May 6, 2021 in Member Spotlights by DIACC

Spotlight on BlueShore Financial

  1. What is the mission and vision of BlueShore Financial?

BlueShore Financial’s mission: “Passionately improving our clients’ financial well-being in an interconnected, digital world.”

2. Why is trustworthy digital identity critical for existing and emerging markets?

Trustworthy digital identity is critical to enable the continued development of a robust digital economy in Canada, and the potential direct and indirect benefits that come with it for all Canadians. Furthermore, lack of  a common trusted digital identity approach could result in a patchwork of various digital ID schemes, which would not only cause confusion for Canadians (and thus much slower adoption), but also create easy targets for cyber criminals.

From a financial industry perspective, a trustworthy digital ID is a critical component to successfully implement Open Banking, one of the globally accepted key trends in banking.

3. How will digital identity transform the Canadian and global economy? How does your organization address challenges associated with this transformation?

Two of the most populous countries in the world have established digital IDs: India with its government issued Unique ID (UID) number—or Aadhaar—identity program, and China with its digital identify provided by Ant Financial. These two countries are most populous with emerging economies. To remain a global player, Canada has to be able to compete with the likes of India and China when it comes to technology-savviness

Several other countries now have national digital identify programs and while these programs may not be perfect, they are evolving – Canada needs to do the same. Canada needs to start with a digital identity program, and then use an agile and iterative approach to evolve and keep up with new technologies as well as consumer needs and demands. Since Canada is somewhat late to the game, Canada can learn from the experience of other countries in both technology implementations and consumer rollout, which I know DIACC and its members from across the spectrum of government, finance, healthcare, telco, retail, auditors, etc., are discussing and working through DIACC Pan-Canadian Trusted Framework approach.

BlueShore addresses the challenges in two ways:

I. Internally we see digital identity as a core component of our digital transformation journey.

II. Broadly, digital identity is part of our conversations from Open Banking, to Payments Modernization to Data Privacy. We also work closely and in a “spirit of partnership” with our core technology partners.

4. What role does Canada have to play as a leader in this space?

Canada has a role to play as a G7 member to show digital leadership with respect to developing and launching a national digital identity program. Not only would this provide opportunities for Canadian businesses, but it would also demonstrate a model of how government and industries are able to work together to provide a key digital tool for Canadian consumers.

5. Why did your organization join the DIACC?

BlueShore saw the work DIACC and its members were doing defining, creating and building a national digital identity framework. It was this framework approach that attracted our attention to bolster our digital transformation work.

6. What else should we know about your organization?

BlueShore Financial is a boutique financial institution providing a full range of personal and business banking, wealth management, insurance and commercial lending solutions. With a branch network located across the Vancouver Lower Mainland and Sea-to-Sky Corridor, BlueShore Financial helps clients achieve financial wellness® through personalized solutions and expert advice, delivered in a unique Financial Spa® branch environment. BlueShore Financial manages over $6.5 billion in Assets Under Administration and is consistently ranked among the top 20 financial planning firms in Metro Vancouver.

BlueShore Financial is an Imagine Canada Caring Company, contributing at least 1% of pre-tax profits annually to charities and not-for-profit organizations within the communities it serves. BlueShore Financial is the operating name of BlueShore Financial Credit Union.