Mahi Sall, Advisor, Fintech-Bank Partnerships, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
January 25th, 2023
University of Cambridge and Ivey Business School | by Tania Ziegler and Michael King | Aug 8, 2018
The 2018 Americas survey of alternative finance conducted the University of Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance is nearing its closing stages. This global survey of crowdfunding and lending via online platforms is the benchmark for the industry, providing the most comprehensive data on this fintech activity. In Canada, Cambridge is being assisted by their research partners and the Scotiabank Digital Banking Lab at Ivey Business School. NCFA is a supportive community partner.
Leading platforms should have received an email with details on how to complete the survey from either Tania Ziegler at University of Cambridge or Professor Michael King at Ivey. It is vital that platforms participate in order to demonstrate the importance of this sector to Canadians and to policymakers at the federal and provincial levels.
King says, “As we look ahead to the completion of the Federal Financal Sector Review early in 2019, this data will be vital for promoting open banking and other initiatives that support Canada’s fintech sector. When platforms opt out, they are effectively telling policymakers that alternative finance is not important and not worthy of the government’s attention or support.”
The timing of the survey coincides with forces that are both helping and hurting alternative finance in Canada. The good news is that the Government of Ontario recently committed to fund loans for small businesses through peer-to-peer lending platforms including Lending Loop. At the Federal level, the 2018 budget included a section titled “ Fostering Innovation and Competition” that committed to review the merits of open banking, support an innovative retail payments system, and review the financial sector legislation to adapt to innovations that benefit Canadians.
The bad news, however, is that the alternative finance industry is facing headwinds as interest rates increase with household debt levels at historic highs. Platforms and other fintech start-ups continue to face uphill battle to win the support of provincial securities regulators and federal bodies, despite moves in foreign jurisdictions to support the fintech sector.
The Cambridge survey is the largest academic benchmarking study on alternative finance and the only effort to collect rigorous data from all regions of the world – the UK and Europe, Asia, North and South America, and the Caribbean. The data is self-reported by platforms with the results published in the fall and available free to the media and other audiences on the Cambridge website. It provides invaluable vetted market intelligence on the fintech industry, informing local and regional regulatory authorities and policy-makers.
Last year’s report, Hitting Stride, identified that the Canadian Alternative Finance landscape had grown significantly (by 62% against the previous year). While anecdotal evidence suggests the Canadian landscape continues to develop rapidly, the researchers need as many platform to participate as possible to ensure that our research is sufficiently representative.
While the data is collected via a secure, online website, participants can also make submissions directly to University of Cambridge using other formats if preferred. Anyone requiring assistance completing this survey or with additional questions are encouraged to contact Ziegler (t.ziegler@jbs.cam.ac.uk ) or King (mking@ivey.ca) by email.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with cryptocurrency, blockchain, crowdfunding, alternative finance, fintech, P2P, ICO, STO, 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
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