Part 1 was about the architecture. Deals, distribution, loyalty rails, the way the market is quietly re-routing itself toward ecosystems.
Part 2 is about something less visible, and honestly more important.
Do Canadians actually want to live in these ecosystems? Because an ecosystem can be brilliantly designed and still fail for one simple reason: it doesn’t feel like it belongs to the customer. It feels like it belongs to the institution. So I want to start where people start. With mindset.
EQ Bank users vs. PC Financial users vs. PC Optimum members: a Social Values snapshot
Each year, Environics Research’s Fintech Study surveys 2,000 Canadians nationwide, giving us a reliable read on how different mindsets are adopting and reacting to the fintech and ecosystem shift.
I like pulling social values into this story because they add texture to something the deal headline can’t show. Yes, EQ Bank + PC Financial is a smart ecosystem bridge. But bridges work best when you understand the shores you’re connecting. These mindsets overlap, but they don’t collapse into one.
EQ Bank users lean into “tech-forward self-direction.”
They over-index on a cluster that feels modern, energetic, and deliberately value-seeking:
Put together, this group feels pragmatic and forward-leaning. They want money to be smart, fast, and useful. They’re comfortable with digital systems making their lives simpler, and they’ll trade a bit of data for clear, personal advantage. Convenience feels like progress to them.
PC Financial users lean into “trust, meaning, and boundaries.”
Their over-indexes come from a different emotional centre:
This group is more values-expressive and boundary-aware. They’re not simply chasing speed or price. They’re looking for alignment and trust. They can handle complexity, but they want to understand what they’re opting into, and they care about the intent behind it.
PC Optimum members lean into “values-based everyday living.”
This is the wider ecosystem EQ Bank is stepping into, and the social values pattern here is telling:
PC Optimum, in other words, isn’t just a discount engine. It’s a membership base that blends practical value with identity value. They want everyday rewards, but they also want to feel good about where the value comes from.
The bridge insight is simple:
- EQ Bank users are pulled by innovation and self-directed value.
- PC Financial users are pulled by authenticity, ethics, and felt control.
- PC Optimum members add a wider “values-plus-everyday-value” lens that makes trust and corporate intent part of the ecosystem equation.
That’s why this acquisition is strategically powerful, and why it comes with a real responsibility. EQ Bank is gaining reach through a universal loyalty ecosystem, but it’s also entering a values world where genuineness, ethical intent, and control over data aren’t optional extras. They’re part of the price of admission.
In an open-banking future, that difference won’t fade. It will get louder.
1) Who owns my data is the first friction points
Ecosystems run on data, but we can’t assume Canadians see that data as something they own.
Our 2025 Fintech study reveals a deep disconnect in how Canadians understand data ownership:
People believe they own their personal identifiable information. But when it comes to their financial data (e.g. account details, transactions, and historical records), most (59%) believe the bank owns it, not them. This creates a foundational tension. Ecosystems rely on the idea of “your data, your choice.” But many Canadians are still living in “my bank’s data, their rules.”
If you don’t believe the data is yours to begin with, portability doesn’t feel empowering. It feels uncertain, and even helpful ecosystems can start to look like lock-in if the ownership story is fuzzy.
Unless the industry answers the ownership question clearly and consistently, ecosystems risk being seen as something done to people, not for them.
2) Open banking is both the accelerant and the stress test
Open banking is often talked about like a technical upgrade. In practice, it is a behavioural shift delivered through policy. It’s the mechanism that will decide whether this new EQ Bank–PC Financial ecosystem feels empowering or intrusive.
Budget 2025 finally put a clear two-step path on the table.
- Read access comes first. Canadians will be able to securely share their banking data with accredited providers. In practical terms, that lets an ecosystem get smarter without taking control away. For EQ Bank inside the PC world, it’s a chance to prove value gently and visibly: better insights, more relevant offers, a simpler view of someone’s financial life, all while the customer still holds the steering wheel.
- Write access follows later, targeted for mid-2027. This is the real behavioural leap. It’s when people can permission an app not just to read their data, but to act on it, like initiating payments or switching accounts. In ecosystem terms, read access helps you earn trust. Write access is what turns that trust into habit.
That sequencing matters because it lines up with the values profiles we just talked about. EQ Bank users are naturally comfortable with tech-led convenience and data-for-value tradeoffs. PC Financial users, and the broader PC Optimum base, care more about genuineness, ethics, and boundaries. Read access lets EQ Bank meet those expectations first. Write access will only land if the ecosystem makes the exchange feel simple, fair, and unmistakably under the customer’s control.
So open banking won’t slow the ecosystem shift, it will filter who wins it. EQ Bank has bought the distribution and loyalty rails. The next test is whether it can earn the permission to use them.
3) The segment lens explains why ecosystems will grow unevenly
One of the most useful parts of the Environics Fintech Study is that it keeps us honest about speed. Canadians sit in four fintech segments:
This mix matters.
The most ecosystem-ready Canadians sit in the first two groups. They are disproportionately engaged in loyalty programs, comfortable with digital finance, and open to exchanging data for convenience and value.
The Adaptive Achievers stand out. Nearly two-thirds say they are willing to share information online if it leads to better, simpler financial experiences. This is the psychological permission ecosystems depend on. But the other two groups are sending a different message: “Do not assume we want to live inside your ecosystem just because you built it.”
Their reluctance comes from emotion and cognitive load—not a lack of intelligence or capability. Many feel overwhelmed by the complexity of modern finance and want someone to make things clearer, not busier. In other words, ecosystems must earn trust before they earn participation.
4) What EQ Bank + PC Financial teaches us about trust at scale
This is where the deal becomes such a useful case study.
Loyalty ecosystems are powerful because they are familiar. PC Optimum already lives inside daily habit. It is one of the most universal consumer networks in Canada. EQ Bank, by contrast, is still unevenly distributed as a brand. It plays strongest with fintech-forward Canadians and fades as you move into the cautious mainstream. So buying PC Financial is not just about acquiring a portfolio. It’s about expanding trust surface area. EQ Bank gets to re-introduce itself to Canadians through a brand and loyalty system they already know. But because PC Financial users are more values-driven and privacy-attentive, the bar for transparency rises. The ecosystem has to show its work.
The tension is worth saying out loud:
- Loyalty makes adoption easy.
- But loyalty can also look like lock-in if the value exchange is not obvious.
In an open banking world, nothing stays buried. What felt “fine” in a closed system feels different when customers know they can move data and relationships freely. Trust becomes a visible product.
5) What regulators should watch next
Regulation isn’t fighting ecosystems. It’s shaping whether ecosystems stay competitive and trusted. A few things matter in particular:
- Ecosystem lock-in through loyalty plus data. When financial value and lifestyle value fuse, switching costs can become behavioural, not just financial.
- Consent clarity that people can actually feel. Legal consent is not enough if customers don’t understand the exchange.
- Regional SME credit access as underwriting centralizes. Ecosystem platforms can raise capability, but also standardize judgement.
- Fair competition once write-access arrives. When open banking moves from read to action, the competitive stakes jump again.
Where I land on all of this
Part 1 showed the architecture forming.
Part 2 is the reminder that architecture doesn’t matter if people don’t want to live inside it.
Canada is moving from product-based banking toward ecosystem-based finance. Consolidation is the structural response. Open banking is the accelerant. Trust is the gating factor. So the question for large FS players, fintechs, regulators, and observers isn’t “who builds the biggest ecosystem?”
It’s this:
In an open-banking world, scale still matters. But trust becomes the real moat.
Enthusiasm For New Technology
Consumptivity
Vitality
Saving On Principle