Global fintech and funding innovation ecosystem

Fintech Policy And Regulatory Advocacy In Canada

The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners, and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada.  Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain and cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors.

The NCFA Canada works to reach this destination by:

  • Researching, consulting, partnering and advocating for sensible solutions to key issues that impact industry
  • Educating businesses, entrepreneurs, investors, the public, media and regulatory bodies regarding trends, initiatives, regulations, and emerging best practices
  • Developing strategic program initiatives that impact members and their daily interactions with industry
  • Provide market and venture development services and networking opportunities to contributing members
  • Establishing a relevant and strong membership network that contributes to NCFA Canada policy and provides networking opportunities with professionals in the industry
  • Assisting members and the public in identifying and reporting fraud
  • Advocate the growth of a collaborative and dynamic alternative finance and venture funding ecosystem

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Open letter to the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister responsible for Statistics Canada (Mar 5, 2026)

NCFA Ways you can support Ukraine (Mar 2, 2022)

NCFA OpEd: Canada's Open Banking: Let's Get It Done! (Dec 3, 2020)

NCFA Response to Ontario's Capital Markets Modernization Taskforce Consultation (Sep 7, 2020)

NCFA Response to CSA on NI 45-110 Harmonized Securities Crowdfunding Rules  (May 27, 2020)

NCFA Open Letter: Government should collaborate with Fintechs during the COVID-19 pandemic to give Startups and SMEs a Fighting Chance on April 15, 2020

NCFA Response to ASC Consultation Paper 11-701: Energizing Alberta’s Capital Market on Sep 22, 2019

NCFA Comments: CSA/IIROC Joint Consultation Paper 21-402: Proposed Framework for Crypto-Asset Trading Platforms on May 2019

March 1, 2019: NCFA Submission to the Ontario Securities Commission on Regulatory Burden on Mar 1, 2019

NCFA Letter to Ontario Economic Development on Burden on Jan 31, 2019

Re: OSC Notice 11-780 Statement of Priorities – Request for Comment Regarding Statement of Priorities (the “SofP”) for Financial Year to End March 31, 2019 on May 28, 2018

NCFA Canada’s response to BCSC Notice 2018/1 ‘Consulting on the Securities Law Framework for Fintech Regulation’ on Apr 3, 2018

NCFA Canada’s submission to Finance Canada (March 2018): Urgent Need for Regulatory Change and Government Support on Mar 15, 2018

NCFA submission to Ontario Minister of Finance: Urgent Need for Regulatory Change (report | summary) on Oct 18 2017

NCFA Submission to Ontario Ministry of Finance: Urgent Need for Regulatory Change on Nov 4, 2017

NCFA meeting with OSC - briefing notes on Aug 24, 2017

NCFA meeting with BCSC - briefing notes on Aug 15, 2017

NCFA Response to ASC Request for comments 45-108 on Sep 9, 2018

OPEN LETTER: Lifting the Veil on Peer-to-Peer Lending in Canada on March 30, 2016

NCFA Canada Response to Russell’s Call to Dispense with Equity Crowdfunding on Jan 15, 2016

NCFA Canada Response to the Proposed Multilateral Instrument 45-108 Crowdfunding on June 18, 2014

NCFA Canada Response to the Proposed Multilateral Instrument 45-108 Crowdfunding and Start-Up Prospectus Exemption on June 18, 2014

NCFA Canada Response to British Columbia Notice 2014/03 – Proposed Start-Up Crowdfunding Exemption on June 18, 2014

Canada’s National Crowdfunding Association Applauds Regulators for Setting the Stage for Crowdfunding Success on March 24, 2014

Let’s protect investors from risky startups: NCFA Canada response on December 11, 2013

NCFA Canada Response to FCAA (Nov 6, 2013): Consultation on General Order 45-925 on November 6, 2013

Dispelling Myths #5 and #6: “Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowdfunding” by NCFA Canada on August 18, 2013

Dispelling Myths #3 and #4: “Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowdfunding” by NCFA Canada on August 8, 2013

Dispelling Myths #1 and #2: “Extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowdfunding” by NCFA Canada on August 3, 2013

NCFA Canada: Equity Crowdfunding Principles & Response to OSC Staff Consultation Paper 45-710 on March 9, 2013

 


The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with fintech, alternative finance, blockchain, cryptocurrency, crowdfunding and online investing stakeholders globally. NCFA Canada provides education, research, industry stewardship, services, and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding and fintech industry. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: ncfacanada.org

NCFA Financial Innovation MapNCFA Innovation Opportunity BriefsNCFA Fintech Insights

August 19, 2026 | NCFA Resource | Cybersecurity And Fraud, Risk Compliance And Regtech, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure 12 Controls For Cyber Risk, Vendors, Access And Recovery In August 2026, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published Cybersecurity Effective Practices, a 12-part framework for FINRA member firms reviewing cybersecurity programs, controls and operating procedures. A firm can use the resource as a structured checklist for who owns cybersecurity, which systems and vendors create risk, who can access sensitive data, how threats are detected, and whether the business can recover when systems fail. FINRA designed the practices to scale with firm size, business model, technology complexity and risk profile. What It Does In Practice FINRA organizes the resource around 12 areas: governance risk management third party risk management asset management access control and identity management data protection security awareness and training vulnerability and patch management security monitoring threat intelligence and information sharing incident response and reporting resilience and recovery The framework starts with accountability and risk ownership. FINRA recommends a designated cybersecurity lead, regular reporting to senior decision makers, documented policies and periodic reviews, while also making cyber risk part of decisions about new technology, systems and operating changes. From there, ...
NCFA Resource – FINRA Cybersecurity Practices For Member Firms
August 19, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing Can Canada Turn Access Into Productive Participation? Capital, Payments, Data And Retail Markets Are Converging Into A 2030 Growth Test On March 9, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission held its 45th Annual Small Business Forum. The agenda moved from early-stage entrepreneurs to growth companies and smaller public companies. Market participants could propose recommendations and vote on which should be prioritized for the SEC and Congress. The U.S. has not solved small-business capital formation. That is partly why the process is useful. Questions around finders, investor eligibility, offering rules, fund structures, secondary liquidity and smaller public-company economics keep returning as markets change. Canada is now opening several parts of its financial economy at the same time. Capital programs, SME financing, payments access, consumer-driven banking and retail private-market initiatives are moving from policy design toward operating tests. The question is no longer whether access exists on paper. It is whether more businesses, investors and challengers can use it economically. The U.S. Keeps Reopening The Participation Question The Forum looks across the financing lifecycle The SEC brings ...
NCFA Story – Can Canada Turn Access Into Productive Participation
Aug 19, 2026 Canada enters the second half of 2026 with two pieces of payment infrastructure arriving at once. The Real-Time Rail is scheduled to go live in the fourth quarter, and the regulations underpinning consumer-driven banking were published in the Canada Gazette in June. Both have been discussed for the better part of a decade. Neither has yet changed how a Canadian consumer actually pays for something online. That gap between framework and behaviour matters more than either announcement. The most recent full picture of Canadian payment behaviour comes from Payments Canada's Canadian Payment Methods and Trends report, published in October 2025 and covering 2024, which counted 22.5 billion retail payment transactions worth $12.2 trillion. The market grew three per cent in both volume and value year over year. Over five years, volume rose nine per cent and value 22 per cent. Some of the sharpest movement in that behaviour is happening in sectors where account-to-account transfer is already the preferred rail, regulated online gambling among them. Swiper online casino Canada, a casino and sportsbook brand launched into the Canadian market in 2025 and available across the country outside Ontario, is a useful illustration: it runs thousands of casino, ...
AI Image – Canadian online payments with digital wallet and open banking technology
```html August 18, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, Digital Assets Wallet Delegation, Spending Limits And Machine Payments On August 18, 2026, Amazon Web Services made AgentCore Payments generally available, taking the capability from its May preview into production. AI agents can now encounter paid APIs, services accessed through Model Context Protocol (MCP), or other digital resources during a workflow and initiate payment through infrastructure that connects spending controls with external wallets. AWS can enforce how much an agent is allowed to spend and for how long, manage access to wallet providers and coordinate the payment from inside the same infrastructure used to run the agent. Coinbase or Stripe's Privy provides the wallet, while external providers and blockchain networks handle signing, verification and settlement. AWS isn't taking custody of customer money. It is taking a position earlier in the transaction, where software determines whether it has permission to buy something and which payment connection to use. That puts payment authority closer to the AI execution layer. GA Adds More Ways For Agents To Pay During A Task AgentCore Payments already supported Coinbase and Privy wallets, spending controls and x402 payments during preview ...
AI Image – AI agent payments with delegated wallet spending controls and secure machine transactions
August 18, 2026 | NCFA Feature | Regulation And Policy, Digital Assets, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure New Offering Rules, Crypto Resales And Investment Contract Exit On August 18, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed Regulation Crypto Assets (download 402 page PDF Proposed Regulation Crypto Assets document), a tailored securities framework for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. The 402-page proposal would create a startup exemption of up to US$5 million over four years, a larger fundraising exemption with US$20 million and US$75 million tiers, crypto-specific disclosures, new SEC forms, secondary-market provisions, state-law preemption and a process for determining when an investment contract has ended. The scope is narrower than the name might suggest. Regulation Crypto Assets would apply to what the SEC calls a covered investment contract. A crypto asset must be subject to the investment contract, the crypto asset itself must not be a security and no other asset can be subject to that contract. That builds on the SEC's March 2026 crypto interpretation. The March action addressed when transactions involving a non-security crypto asset can create an investment contract and when that relationship can end. Regulation Crypto Assets would add an operating framework around that ...
AI Image – SEC Regulation Crypto Assets crypto fundraising and compliance framework
August 18, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, SME Finance And Business Banking, Competition And Market Structure Canadian Capital Embraces Private Credit Abroad While Domestic Business Lending Remains Bank Led On August 2026, the Bank of Canada mapped Canada's private credit market and exposed an unusual divide. Private credit remains a relatively small source of financing for Canadian businesses, yet Canadian pension funds, insurers, investment funds and banks have built approximately C$500 billion of exposure to the asset class, much of it outside Canada. Non-bank loans have accounted for about 15% of external funding for Canadian non-financial businesses for roughly a decade. Banks and public debt markets still provide about three-quarters of external business financing. By contrast, private credit has become a much larger alternative to traditional lending in parts of the United States. The interesting question for Canada isn't whether private credit exists. It clearly does. It is why Canadian institutional capital has embraced the asset class globally while Canadian businesses continue to use it relatively little at home. Canadian Capital Is Already Deep Into Private Credit The C$500 billion estimate shows that Canadian exposure to private credit is already material even though the domestic ...
Canada vs U.S. private credit exposure infographic showing C$500B Canadian institutional exposure and 15% share of Canadian business external funding
Aug 18, 2026 One word sits at the core of all online casino marketing strategies: ‘engagement’. Casinos continually seek ways to keep customers playing their games for extended periods. They also want players to enjoy the experience enough to return repeatedly. Length of play and frequency of logins are the key metrics for measuring player engagement. It is not enough just to attract players in the first place; casino sites need to retain them if they wish to thrive. The online casino sector is incredibly competitive. This article will take a close look at some of the cutting-edge techniques that are being used to boost engagement levels. Why modern engagement techniques are important to game developers The operators of online casinos have always been aware of the need to attract and retain customers. From the start, they have used quite traditional methods such as bonus offers and loyalty schemes to achieve that goal. Those methods are still very much part of the online casino engagement armoury, but they are being supplemented by modern techniques. This is because there are so many casino sites offering bonuses and promotions – so they are no longer enough on their own. A casino site ...
Pexels – Roberto, Gaming controller
August 18, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | SME Finance And Business Banking, Banking And Credit, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure US$100M Macquarie Facility Tests Clearco’s Rebuilt Ecommerce Funding Model On August 18, 2026, Toronto-based Clearco secured a US$100 million Macquarie asset-backed facility that it expects will support approximately US$900 million in funding to ecommerce brands over the next two years. Macquarie's New York Fixed Income and Currencies team provided the financing. The facility expands Clearco's capacity to provide qualified brands with up to US$10 million and estimated terms of four to 12 months. Clearco says the funding can support inventory, marketing, major purchase orders and expansion across direct-to-consumer, wholesale, retail, marketplaces and social commerce. The US$900 million target is a scaling opportunity now, meaning Clearco has to convert institutional funding capacity into sustained customer financing while controlling credit performance and capital costs. US$100M Facility Sets A US$900M Funding Test The two headline numbers measure different things. The US$100 million is the size of the Macquarie asset-backed facility. The US$900 million is Clearco's expected customer funding over two years. That expected funding volume is nine times the facility's headline size. The announcement doesn't disclose the borrowing base, advance rate, asset ...
AI Image – Clearco Macquarie ecommerce funding facility
Aug 18, 2026 Markets have a few gauges that traders keep open even when they are not planning to trade them. The Nasdaq 100 is one of those gauges. It tends to get attention before the US session, during earnings weeks, and on days when rates or technology shares move hard. Part of that comes from the companies inside the index. The Nasdaq 100 includes many of the names people already know from software, chips, cloud services, online retail, and consumer devices. When traders change their view on those companies, the index often shows it quickly. That is why the index can be useful even for people who are not trading it that day. Why Traders Watch the Nasdaq 100 The Nasdaq 100 tracks 100 large non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange. Because the index leans toward technology and other growth businesses, it can move differently from broader benchmarks that include more banks, utilities, and industrial stocks. A broad index may look calm while the Nasdaq 100 is already showing stress in growth shares. That mix gives the index a sharper edge. It may rally when traders feel more confident about growth and future earnings. It may also sell ...
AI Image – Trader monitoring Nasdaq 100 market moves on multiple screens in a modern office
August 17, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Banking And Credit, Artificial Intelligence And Data Construction Lending Workflow Modernization In Canada On August 17, 2026, Montréal-based Brdg confirmed a C$850,000 pre-seed round to expand its construction finance platform. One week earlier, Toronto-based Mortgage Automator launched Construction Draw Management, bringing construction budgets, draw schedules and approvals into the active loan file. Brdg organizes project information across developers, cost consultants and lenders. Mortgage Automator brings draw control into the lender's loan system. Brdg Structures The Information Lenders Need Brdg isn't a lender. Its software organizes the documents, budgets and project information used to prepare and review construction financing. The platform accepts documents through email or upload, classifies them and organizes them into a project record. It tracks budgets, project progress and funding information, checks draw readiness across legal, contract, construction and financial categories, and produces lender-ready reports. Brdg provides separate workflows for developers, lenders and cost consultants. Its construction finance platform also shows document ingestion, project dashboards, cash-flow tracking and draw-disbursement readiness. Brdg reports 30,000+ construction-related documents processed, more than C$300 million in development and active construction, and an average 5.5-day reduction in draw cycle time. The document volume and reported time ...
Construction lending software and draw management workflow

 

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