Canada to Create Financial Crimes Agency and Banking Consent Rules

The federal government announced Monday a package of measures intended to curb a surge in online scams and financial fraud, including amendments to banking law, a voluntary code to address economic abuse, and creation of a dedicated Financial Crimes Agency expected to be in place by spring 2026. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne unveiled the measures as part of the fall budget planning and said they respond to a sharp increase in reported losses and increasingly sophisticated fraud tactics.

Ottawa will propose changes to the Bank Act that would require banks to obtain the express consent of account holders before enabling certain transfer and payment functions commonly exploited by fraudsters. Customers would also be able to disable features they do not want and set or adjust transaction limits on their own, government officials said. The Department of Finance said the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada would oversee compliance for institutions that sign on to a new voluntary Code of Conduct for the Prevention of Economic Abuse, which is being developed with banks and advocacy groups.

Central to the announcement is a new Financial Crimes Agency that the government...