Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: FinTech and Alternative Finance
Wealthsimple Wins Direct Swift Access For Global Wires
Mar 3, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments And Market Infrastructure
First Canadian Fintech On Core Traditional Global Payment Rails
On March 3 2026, Hanna Zaidi, VP Payments Strategy and COO of Wealthsimple announced on LinkedIn that Wealthsimple just became the first Canadian fintech to earn direct access to Swift, and the second non-bank fintech globally to gain direct access. The Globe and Mail reported that Wealthsimple will be offering cheaper international money transfers than larger Canadian competitors and a spring launch for the new service.
From reviewing WS's website, Wealthsimple wire fees lists CA$15 for outgoing CAD wires (US$15 for outgoing USD wires), while inbound wires will have no fee on Wealthsimple’s side. There's also a per transfer limit of up to CA$1,500,000 or US$1,500,000.
Swift membership rules explain why direct access is hard to secure. Applicants must qualify under Swift’s user categories and Swift's onboarding requires mandatory security controls and a security attestation before a new member can go live. Meaning WS earned a direct network membership milestone, not a reseller arrangement.
Swift's network scale connects 11,500+ institutions across 220+ countries and territories, handles 53 million+ FIN messages each day on average, and routes 75% of payments to destination banks within 10 minutes.
The table below highlights the price gap Wealthsimple is attacking, compared with TD fees and RBC fees for incoming/outgoing wire transfers which are more expensive. Wealthsimple enters the wire market below the published outgoing wire fees at both banks and below the published incoming wire fees in both schedules.
| Comparison | Wealthsimple | TD | RBC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outgoing international wire | CA$15 CAD wire / US$15 USD wire | $50 | Starting at $45 |
| Incoming wire | $0 (WS's side) | $15 | Starting at $17 over $50 |
| Published transfer limit | Up to CA$1.5M / US$1.5M | Not stated in cited fee schedule | Not stated in cited fee page |
| SWIFT Access | Direct member access as a fintech | Direct bank member access | Direct bank member access |
The strategic value goes beyond a wire product though. In addition to direct Swift access, Wealthsimple has also earned direct participation in Payments Canada, Interac, and the Bank of Canada’s coming real time rail. That gives one non-bank platform direct reach across more of the domestic and global payment stack that sets pricing, speed, and settlement.
See: Stablecoin Data Shows Payments Reality Gap
For Canada, from a competitive perspective, when a fintech now has direct entry into the same global messaging network used for bank wires and is attaching a lower listed fee to that access, consumers benefit. That puts direct pressure on wire pricing and strengthens Wealthsimple’s position in cross-border money movement services.
Talking Point
When a non-bank fintech gets direct Swift access and lists lower wire fees than major banks, does the competitive edge move to firms that control the rail instead of firms that only package the service?
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, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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FrontFundr And Swoop Join Forces to Expand Startup Funding
Mar 2, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Funding Access And Market Structure
Connecting Funding Paths for Canadian Founders
On March 2 2026, FrontFundr and Swoop launched a funding partnership that brings equity, debt, and specialized financing into one coordinated path for Canadian startups.
FrontFundr enters the partnership with more than 69,000 investors, more than $336 million in processed investments, more than 35,000 transactions, and more than 285 successful raises.
Peter-Paul Van Hoeken, Founder & CEO of FrontFundr:
“Raising capital is rarely straightforward, and founders shouldn’t have to navigate fragmented options alone. By partnering with Swoop, we’re giving startups a single, coordinated path to financing, so they can focus on building their business instead of managing complexity.”
See: 10 Innovative Product-Led Growth Strategies
Swoop Finance, launched in the UK in 2018, adds a broader financing reach with more than $2.5 billion in completed funding for more than 282,000 global customers. Together, that combines community based equity access with a wider range of debt and structured funding options.
Daire Burke, Head of Swoop North America
“Canadian startups need access to both capital and guidance to grow efficiently. Working together with FrontFundr allows us to combine our expertise in loans, grants, and financing solutions with FrontFundr’s equity crowdfunding platform, creating a seamless funding experience for founders.”
Why This Deal Counts
Founders rarely use one funding tool from start to scale. Equity can fund product development and early traction. Loans, lines of credit, grants, asset-backed financing, acquisition finance, and other structured products can support working capital, expansion, and specific transactions. A combined and simplified path can reduce friction at a time when founders still lose time moving between separate funding providers.
See: The Real Story of Access to Capital
For Canada, this points to a more connected funding stack at a time when Canadian venture funding pressure continues to make capital access one of the hardest constraints on startup growth. The stronger platforms offer more than one product, and help founders match the right capital to the right stage with less delay and less administrative drag.
For founders and investors, access to capital is becoming a workflow issue as much as a supply issue. Platforms that combine investor reach, financing options, and execution support can become more valuable than standalone marketplaces.
Talking Point
As startup funding gets harder to piece together, does long term value move to platforms that control more of the capital journey, not just one part of it?
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, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Financial Literacy Advocates Call for Stronger Safeguards as Online Gambling Participation Grows
March 2, 2026
Image: Unsplash/CardMapr.nl
Ontario’s regulated online gambling market is now measured in tens of billions of dollars. That scale has caught the attention of financial literacy advocates who see wagering not as entertainment alone, but as a financial behaviour. The question is simple: are the safeguards keeping pace with participation?
Online gambling in Canada is no longer a fringe activity. It sits inside the broader digital finance system you work in every day. Card networks process the payments and fintech firms build the rails while regulators try to get ahead of the game. Ontario offers the clearest picture: the province launched its regulated iGaming market in April 2022. Two years later, the numbers show just how quickly participation has grown.
Market Growth Outpaces Financial Safeguard Awareness
In its 2023–2024 fiscal year, Ontario’s regulated online gambling market recorded $63 billion in total wagers and $2,4 billion in gaming revenue.
The first year of regulation, from April 2022 to March 2023, saw $35,5 billion in wagers. The jump from $35.5 billion to $63 billion in one year represents millions of card transactions moving through Canada’s payment infrastructure.
When activity reaches that scale, it becomes part of the larger financial system conversation. Consumer advocates are no longer talking only about odds and advertising. They are asking whether financial guardrails are designed for a market processing tens of billions in digital transactions.
Payments Infrastructure Is Evolving Faster Than Policy
The payments side of this discussion rarely makes headlines, but it is central. Visa and other networks sit behind a large share of online gambling deposits. Operating within global compliance frameworks, they classify transactions and manage settlements.
Visa’s recent expansion of stablecoin settlement across Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa shows how fast payment rails are modernising. The initiative allows settlement in USDC and operates outside traditional banking hours. That is infrastructure innovation at scale, and a good argument can be made that this is the future of money, the future of finance. Regardless of ones feelings about crypto, one cannot ignore the fact that it is now something people are starting to use in every day transactions, and not just on-chain speculation.
This signals something as simple as it is interesting: the rails are getting faster and settlement options are widening. When payment systems modernise at that pace, consumer safeguards cannot rely on static policy language written for a different era of finance. Policy needs to catch up, and fast. Policy hardly ever moves at the pace of innovation, and maybe its time that changes.
Canada’s National Financial Literacy Strategy 2021–2026 focuses on building financial resilience and improving how people navigate digital financial services. The strategy calls for clearer information, stronger consumer protection and behavioural design that supports better decisions.
Online gambling now sits inside that digital ecosystem. It involves credit products, payment authorisations and real-time account transfers. When $63 billion in wagers flow through regulated platforms in a single province, it becomes part of everyday financial behaviour.
Advocates argue that safeguards should mirror the scale of activity. Deposit limits, clearer transaction labelling and easier access to account history are not abstract features. They are tools that support informed use of financial products.
Visa Usage and Consumer Friction in Online Gambling
Most Canadian players fund accounts with familiar tools. Visa remains one of the most recognised options. Behind the scenes, gambling transactions are commonly coded under Merchant Category Code 7995. Some issuers apply additional scrutiny or decline those payments based on internal risk rules.
That friction pushes players to look for clarity. Many compare online casinos that accept Visa in Canada to understand where card deposits are supported and under what conditions. The comparison is less about brand loyalty and more about payment certainty.
From a financial literacy perspective, this is where awareness becomes practical. A cardholder may not know how transaction coding affects approval rates and they may not understand how chargebacks are treated in gambling contexts. As wagering volumes rise into the tens of billions, even small gaps in understanding can scale quickly.
Open Banking and Transaction Transparency
Canada’s open banking infrastructure continues to advance even before final policy implementation. The push is toward greater data portability and clearer consumer visibility over transactions.
Greater transparency has direct relevance here. When consumers can see where funds move and how categories are assigned, financial decision-making improves. In a market measured in billions of dollars, visibility is not cosmetic. It supports accountability across payment networks and platforms alike.
Safeguards as Infrastructure, Not Afterthought
Ontario’s $63 billion wagering figure is not a social commentary. It is a financial data point. That scale places online gambling squarely inside Canada’s digital finance system.
See: Fintech Ads At Super Bowl LX Reveal Trust Playbook
The takeaway here is straightforward. Growth in participation requires growth in clarity. Safeguards need to be built into the rails, not layered on after problems appear. The Fintech world is technology driven, and competition in the field sets the pace. Can regulation keep up?
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, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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India’s AI Declaration Pulls In BRICS And Western Powers
Mar 2, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | AI And Market Structure
Over 90+ Countries Back AI Declaration Across Rival Power Blocs
On February 21 2026, India’s AI declaration (from it's AI Impact Summit 2026 held in New Delhi from Feb 18-19, 2026) got 91 countries and international organizations behind a voluntary and non-binding framework on AI access, trusted systems, workforce development, scientific use, energy efficiency, and economic growth. Canada is on the list. So are the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, China, Russia, Japan, and India.
That kind of participation is a strong policy marker that still makes it relevant for fintech because the document goes straight at the building blocks that determine who can deploy AI at scale and who gets left behind. Affordable compute, trusted tools, resilient infrastructure, workforce skills, and broader access to AI resources all sit closer to the practical operating requirements for financial institutions and fintechs than generic summit language usually does.
One of the interesting facts about the declarative coalition itself is ten of the 11 BRICS members also appear on the declaration list. That means roughly 90.9% of the Brics bloc also signed onto the same AI framework. On a second axis, six of the 10 named Board of Peace funding contributors also appear on the declaration list. That overlap does not make the declaration binding, but it does show India assembled broader support than a narrow Western technology coalition.
See: Canada And India Open A New Finance And Payments Dialogue
AI infrastructure is becoming a competitive input, not just a policy topic. The countries that line up early around access, trusted systems, and workforce capacity can make it easier for domestic firms to adopt AI tools across lending, compliance, onboarding, fraud controls, customer support, and internal operations. The countries that lag on compute access, skills, or deployment frameworks risk a wider productivity gap.
Canada signed onto a wide multilateral AI framework that includes both major Western economies and most of BRICS. That doesn't create immediate legal obligations. It does, however, strengthen the case for domestic follow through on AI infrastructure, talent, and trusted deployment if Canada wants its fintech and financial services firms to stay competitive as AI moves deeper into core operations.
Talking Point
If nearly the full BRICS bloc and much of the Western alliance can align on a voluntary AI framework, does the next real competitive divide come down to execution rather than diplomacy?
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, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Coincheck Completes 3iQ Deal In Canada Crypto Expansion
Mar 2, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Digital Assets And Market Structure
Cross Border Digital Asset Consolidation
On February 28 2026, Coincheck completed its 3iQ acquisition, taking about 99.8% beneficial ownership of the Ontario based digital asset manager and turning an announced January 3iQ agreement into a finished cross-border ownership change with direct Canadian relevance.
Coincheck Group is the holding company of Coincheck, one of Japan’s largest crypto asset exchanges. Monex Group remains the controlling shareholder of Coincheck Group and was also the seller in the 3iQ transaction. That fact makes this deal more than just a portfolio add, and moves a Canadian digital asset manager into a larger international platform that already spans exchange access, brokerage, staking, and institutional client distribution.
Why This Deal Counts
3iQ brings a regulated product track record that already has market credibility in Canada. 3iQ product history includes becoming Canada’s first regulated digital asset investment fund manager in 2017, launching one of the first diversified crypto funds in 2018, and bringing major exchange listed Bitcoin and Ether funds to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2020. More recent expansion added managed accounts, Ethereum staking products, a Solana staking ETF, and a spot based XRP ETF. That mix gives Coincheck immediate reach into regulated investment wrappers that already matter to institutional allocators.
Coincheck’s institutional buildout now includes 3iQ in Canada, Aplo in France (Oct 2025), and Next Finance in staking infrastructure (Apr 2025). Digital asset firms are consolidating beyond single product competition and toward control of a wider institutional stack. Distribution, regulated wrappers, staking capability, and client relationships carry more strategic value when the market shifts from retail access to institutional scale.
See: Terraform Lawsuit Puts Jane Street In Crypto Spotlight
For Canada, this is a reminder that proven digital asset platforms continue to attract global buyers. Leading digital assets companies may be the groups that control more of the full client path, from exchange access and staking to regulated investment products and institutional distribution.
Talking Point
As crypto firms consolidate across exchanges, staking, brokerage, and regulated funds, does long term value move to the groups that control more of the institutional stack?
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, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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AI Ethics, State Power, And The Fight Over RedLines
March 2 2026 | Feature | AI Governance And Public Safety
AI Image: Conceptual illustration of AI ethics, defense contracts, and public accountability
Anthropic’s Limits And OpenAI’s Defense Bet
On February 26 2026, Anthropic said it wouldn't allow two Pentagon use cases in its contracts: mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons. Two days later, OpenAI said it reached a Pentagon deal for classified AI deployments and argued its safeguards could still hold inside the agreement. The split exposes the real issue now facing AI vendors, governments, and regulated buyers. That is should ethics limits block deals or be enforced from inside it?
Anthropic's Ethical Redlines
Anthropic wasn't on the outside looking in. It said Claude was extensively deployed across the Department of War and other national security agencies and that the company had already put models into classified U.S. government networks. Anthropic also said two use cases, mass surveillance (including of the public), and fully autonomous weapons, we're never included in its contracts. Those cases are the fault lines in the dispute with Trump's Pentagon and US government.
Anthropic framed the issue as a narrow refusal, not a broad rejection of national security work. Dario Amodei said Anthropic supported “98% or 99%” of Pentagon use cases, but the company would not give up the remaining two limits. In its own words, Anthropic said, “we cannot in good conscience accede to their request.” Reuters reported that stance put a defense contract worth up to $200 million at risk.
What Washington Did Next
The dispute escalated when President Trump directed the government to stop work with Anthropic and ordered a six month phase out of Anthropic technology across government. The Pentagon also moved to treat Anthropic as a supply chain risk. That raised the cost of holding hard limits when the customer is the government.
What OpenAI Signed
OpenAI took a different approach. In its own statement titled, 'Our agreement with the department of war', the company said its agreement had “more guardrails than any previous agreement for classified AI deployments, including Anthropic’s.” OpenAI also said, “We were—and remain—unwilling to remove key technical safeguards.” That is the core tension in this story.
Anthropic refused the terms it saw as too open. OpenAI signed and argued that stronger controls inside the agreement could still hold the line.
The details matter. OpenAI said the Department of War may use its system for all lawful purposes, but the same published terms say the system cannot independently direct autonomous weapons where law or policy requires human control, cannot make high stakes automated decisions that require human approval, and cannot be used for unconstrained monitoring of U.S. persons’ private information. OpenAI also said it keeps its safety stack in place, limits deployment to cloud infrastructure, keeps cleared personnel in the loop, and could terminate the contract if the government violates the terms.
See: Balancing AI Automation and Ethics in Fintech
The two companies are close on headline principles but not identical in practice. Anthropic draws two hard exclusions and refuses to move them. OpenAI accepts a broader legal framework, then relies on contract language, technical controls, and operational oversight to make similar limits enforceable inside the deal. That is a narrower and more conditional ethics model than refusing the agreement outright.
North of the border, the same trust question is already under pressure. After the Tumbler Ridge school shooting, Ottawa’s focus was whether AI evidence and escalation controls hold when governments ask for proof that safeguards, response rules, and accountability processes actually work under pressure. That's different than the Pentagon story that's testing how AI companies react and accept to full on defense contracts.
What This Means For Fintechs
For fintechs, banks, and infrastructure providers, the lesson is practical. Buyers in regulated markets now ask more than whether a model performs well. They ask who can audit it, who can override it, what records exist, how long they are kept, and whether a vendor can prove that a stated limit still holds when a regulator, a court, or a government agency pushes hard.
Read: From Guardrails to Judgment in Claude’s 2026 Constitution
On one hand, Anthropic's founders' moral compass highlights one method by maintaining hard limits even at the risk of losing a major federal contract. On the other hand, OpenAI's deal with the department of war is betting that contract terms, technical safeguards, and human oversight can preserve similar limits inside the agreement. Washington shows how quickly the state can force the issue. Ottawa shows what happens when public safety puts the same claims under direct scrutiny. In the next phase of AI adoption, trust rests less on capability claims and more on what a company can prove when the pressure rises.
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, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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NCFA Weekly Fintech Intelligence Feb 21-27, 2026
February 27, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer Weekly Intelligence | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Regulation And Policy, Payments And Market Infrastructure, Risk Compliance And Regtech
Image: Freepik
This live weekly NCFA intelligence page tracks financial technology developments that significantly affect how fintechs build, sell, raise capital, and operate under scrutiny. Coverage prioritizes Canada and includes global events that directly influence competitive conditions, market access, and execution realities across fintech sectors. This page will be updated throughout the week with market movers in a live format and then each week we'll close the prior week's contents in prep for the upcoming week, and continue on a rolling basis. (Missed prior week's Fintech Whisperer? (December 6-12, 2025, December 13-19, 2025, January 1-9, 2026, January 10-16, 2026, January 17-23, 2026, January 24-30, 2026, January 31-February 6, 2026, February 7-13, 2026, February 14-20, 2026).
Weekly Fintech Market Intelligence Feb 21-27, 2026
Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization
NatGold Draws More Than US$469M In Pre-Market Token Demand
Feb 26, 2026, United States
- The pre-market token reservation program closes with 17,466 individuals across 162 countries reserving 133,518 tokens.
- Gross demand exceeds US$469M based on the company’s stated baseline intrinsic value.
- The company says it is entering the execution phase and plans to announce the tokenization event and trading portal later.
This is early proof that capital is willing to line up behind an asset backed token model before issuance begins. It matters for tokenization platforms, digital asset builders, and market operators because demand at this level raises the stakes on what comes next, especially issuance design, trading access, settlement flow, and how real world asset tokenization earns trust beyond crypto native buyers.
FCA Selects 4 Firms To Test Stablecoin Issuance In Sandbox
Feb 25, 2026, United Kingdom
- The FCA selects Monee Financial Technologies, ReStabilise, Revolut, and VVTX from 20 applications for its stablecoins cohort.
- Testing begins in Q1 2026 and focuses primarily on stablecoin issuance, with selected use cases spanning payments, wholesale settlement, and crypto trading.
- The FCA says findings will inform final UK stablecoin rules later in 2026 and states firms will need authorisation under the new regime when it goes live in October 2027, with an application gateway opening in September 2026.
This affects stablecoin issuers, wallet and exchange operators, payment firms that want stablecoin rails, and banks that can custody reserves or provide settlement accounts. The sandbox work turns authorisation readiness into near term execution, because counterparties will start asking who controls mint and burn, how reserves get safeguarded, how redemptions clear under stress, and what evidence you can produce before the September 2026 application gateway opens.
Crypto.com Secures Conditional OCC Approval For A National Trust Bank
Feb 23, 2026, United States
- Crypto.com receives conditional OCC approval to charter Foris Dax National Trust Bank, doing business as Crypto.com National Trust Bank.
- The company filed the application in October 2025 for the National Trust Bank to deliver custody, staking, and trade settlement as a federally regulated institution once fully approved.
- The company says the conditional approval does not change operations at Crypto.com Custody Trust Company, its New Hampshire regulated non-depository trust company.
Institutional buyers tend to route flow to whoever can prove segregation, controls, and settlement certainty under supervision, and this move aims straight at that bar.
Payments And Money Movement
UK Payments Authorities Publish A Forward Plan Across Retail, Wholesale, And Digital Assets
Feb 26, 2026, United Kingdom
- The Payments Forward Plan was Published by The Payments Vision Delivery Committee on February 26, 2026.
- The committee brings together HM Treasury, the Bank of England, the FCA, and the Payment Systems Regulator, and the plan covers upcoming initiatives across retail and wholesale payments, including elements of digital assets.
- The committee says it will add an enhanced focus on payments to the Regulatory Initiatives Grid in its first 2027 publication, giving firms a clearer view of what is coming and when.
This is important for payment firms, open banking providers, digital asset infrastructure teams, and banks building new rails in the UK. A single forward plan from all four authorities makes timing harder to ignore, because product roadmaps, compliance sequencing, and partner conversations now sit against a more visible policy calendar.
Peoples Group Teams With Fiserv To Build A Next Generation Payments Platform
Feb 25, 2026, Canada
- Peoples Group and Fiserv say the platform will be built to deliver instant payments, always on infrastructure, and ISO 20022 data through direct connections to Canada’s payment systems.
- The release ties the build to Payments Canada’s Real Time Rail deployment and says Peoples will use Fiserv technology to modernize its payments stack for clients and partners.
- Peoples Group calls the move one of the most substantial technology investments in its history and says the platform is designed to support financial institutions and fintechs across Canada.
This is a real infrastructure and distribution move in Canadian payments. It affects fintechs that bank through Peoples, embedded finance and sponsor bank partners, and any firm building around faster payments rails, because a stronger bank plus processor stack can tighten expectations on integration, uptime, message quality, and partner readiness well before RTR becomes fully operational.
Artificial Intelligence And Data
Block Rebuilds Around AI While Gross Profit And Guidance Rise
Feb 26, 2026, United States
- The workforce moves from over 10,000 to just under 6,000 (4,000 job cuts see NCFA write-up).
- 2025 Q4 gross profit reaches $2.87B, up 24%.
- 2026 gross profit guidance increases to $12.20B, up 18%.
- “The core thesis is simple. Intelligence tools have changed what it means to build and run a company.”
- The company frames itself as becoming a smaller, faster, intelligence native company.
Is this a key domino in AI finance? This is what AI looks like when it evolves from product feature to company structure. Large fintechs, payments platforms, and their investors now have a clear example of stronger results arriving alongside much smaller teams, placing more weight on execution quality, operating discipline, and how management builds from here.
Financial Inclusion And Access
NextFin Asia Launches A Dedicated Fund For Catapult Inclusion SE Asia
Feb 23, 2026, Luxembourg and Singapore
- NextFin Asia launches as a dedicated fund that adds direct investment to the Catapult Inclusion SE Asia 3.0 program, shifting it from acceleration only to acceleration plus funding.
- The launch runs as a partnership between the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and ADB Ventures at the Asian Development Bank.
- The release set two 2026 milestones, with a June 2026 phase in Luxembourg and a November 2026 presence at the Singapore FinTech Festival.
This is one of the cleaner bridges between public capital, development finance, and founder scale. If you build inclusion fintech in ASEAN, expect the bar to move toward impact proof and deployment readiness, because capital now sits inside the same program that opens doors.
Regulation And Policy
OSFI Opens A Targeted Fast Track Approvals Framework For New Entrants
Feb 26, 2026, Canada
- OSFI says the targeted fast track approvals framework will launch in June 2026 for eligible new entrants.
- The initial scope covers provincial credit unions seeking continuance as federal credit unions and applicants with technologically innovative or emerging banking models seeking to incorporate as a bank or as a federally regulated trust and loan company.
- The framework is intended to make the approvals path quicker, clearer, and more predictable through service standards, a risk based review approach, and a dashboard that tracks application progress.
- There are no changes to application fees and that the framework is meant to create efficiencies without shifting effort away from other applicants.
This is a significant turn of events for credit unions, fintechs, and crypto custody models that want a federal charter in Canada. A clearer approvals path can change when firms choose to enter the federal perimeter and how seriously investors and partners treat that option.
OCC Opens GENIUS Act Stablecoin Rulemaking For Payment Issuers
Feb 25, 2026, United States
- The OCC issues a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the GENIUS Act for issuance of payment stablecoins and related activities under OCC jurisdiction.
- The proposed rule applies to national banks and federal savings associations and their subsidiaries, federal branches and their subsidiaries, foreign payment stablecoin issuers, nonbank entities approved as federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers, and state qualified payment stablecoin issuers where the OCC has regulatory or enforcement authority.
- It outlines standards and requirements in a new 12 CFR 15 covering activities, reserve assets, redemption, risk management, audits, reports, supervision, custody, applications and registrations, examination of foreign issuers, and a capital and operational backstop.
- It also revises capital, prompt corrective action, fees, and rules of practice and procedure as part of the proposed framework.
It affects stablecoin issuers, banks, custodians, exchanges, and fintechs that plan to distribute payment stablecoins, because reserve design, redemption handling, audits, supervision, and custody expectations start to look like core product requirements, not optional features.
FCA Proposes Mandatory Credit Reporting And CRA Designation
Feb 25, 2026, United Kingdom
- The FCA consults on CP26/7, implementing remedies from its credit information market study and sets a consultation deadline of 1 May 2026.
- Proposes mandatory reporting for firms in the credit and mortgage markets and a framework for how credit information gets shared and used, including Designated Consumer Credit Reference Agencies.
- Sets out intended scope that includes consumer credit and mortgage firms, credit reference agencies and credit information service providers, firms that share data with CRAs, and Gibraltar based consumer credit and mortgage lenders.
This affects lenders, CRAs, and fintechs that rely on bureau data for onboarding and underwriting. Teams should expect more pressure on data completeness, dispute handling, governance, and audit evidence because mandatory sharing can reset what a clean credit file must look like.
SEC Small Business Committee Reopens Finder Rules And Private Secondary Liquidity
Feb 24, 2026, United States
- The SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee meets virtually Feb 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET and continues a deep dive on “finders,” including potential regulatory improvements that could permit certain finders to engage in additional capital raising activity.
- The committee agenda also moves into private secondary markets, including continuation funds, special purpose vehicles, and private tender offers, with speakers from PitchBook, Evercore, and Cooley.
- In prepared remarks, Chairman Paul S. Atkins links the secondary market discussion to liquidity pressure as more firms stay private and calls out the friction created by resale restrictions, issuer transfer restrictions, and state blue sky laws.
This meeting keeps the door open to a simpler capital raising layer below broker dealer economics. Platforms, issuers, and service providers that touch private raises and secondary liquidity should watch for recommendations that tighten who can get paid, how referrals get documented, and what disclosure standard can unlock broader resale paths.
SEC Extends Wells Response Window And Adds Meeting Right
Feb 24, 2026, United States
- SEC updates its enforcement manual and sets a four week baseline for Wells notice responses, up from the commonly used two week window.
- The update adds a right to a meeting with SEC officials within four weeks after a Wells response is submitted.
- The update also lays out a process for considering operational waivers while a firm negotiates a settlement.
This raises the value of process maturity. If your fintech faces enforcement exposure, the timeline gives more room to assemble evidence, but it also rewards teams that keep clean records and can explain decisions fast when scrutiny hits.
Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure
Bloomberg And Kaiko Bring Licensed Market Data On-Chain For Tokenized Treasuries
Feb 26, 2026, United States and France
- The initiative is designed to support access to Bloomberg Data License offerings on-chain through Kaiko’s infrastructure.
- The initial focus is tokenized U.S. Treasuries and repo workflows on the Canton Network.
- The companies position the build as a way to give counterparties a single, verifiable data source, reduce ambiguity, and lower reconciliation costs in tokenized workflows.
Important for tokenized markets because clean settlement depends on clean reference data. Teams building custody, collateral, repo, and tokenized securities infrastructure must soon meet a higher standard on pricing integrity, entitlement controls, and auditability as institutional workflows move on-chain.
OSFI Cuts Capital Charges For Domestic Infrastructure Debt
Feb 24, 2026, Canada
- OSFI lowers capital requirements for domestic infrastructure debt for federally regulated property and casualty insurers, effective immediately and “until further notice.”
- For unrated long term infrastructure debt, credit risk factors drop from 6% to 3% for terms of 1 year or less, from 8% to 4% for more than 1 year up to 5 years, and from 10% to 5% for more than 5 years.
- For unrated short term infrastructure debt, the factor drops from 6% to 3% for terms of 1 year or less, and OSFI directs how insurers reflect the treatment in quarterly PC4 returns.
This is an immediate capital incentive change. If you sell insurer investment, treasury, or regulatory reporting tooling, expect more pressure to classify eligible exposure fast and produce clean evidence for PC4 filings while the treatment stays live.
CIRO Tightens Guidance On Self Trading Risk And Market On Close Controls
Feb 23, 2026, Canada
- The guidance impacts CIRO regulated investment dealers and their Access Persons that enter orders on Canadian marketplaces under UMIR, including cases where orders could trade against each other for the benefit of the same person.
- CIRO treats this pattern as potentially manipulative and deceptive under UMIR 2.2, subject to limited exceptions and Market Surveillance involvement.
- CIRO also updates how dealers should use Market on Close facilities and states that an offsetting limit MOC order used to neutralize a market MOC order for the same person is a prohibited wash trade, while directing firms to contact Market Surveillance when an erroneous MOC order cannot be cancelled in its Market on Close guidance.
This raises the cost of weak pre-trade controls. Teams selling OMS, EMS, surveillance, or post trade tooling into dealers should expect more demand for guardrails that prevent self matching and catch close related mistakes early, plus audit ready evidence when exceptions still occur.
Conclusion
The market continues to tighten where new rails are forming, and where management teams are being forced to adapt faster. Stay nimble and ahead of the curve. Be cautious about waiting for late stage confirmations. NCFA offers various curated resources to help founders and investors stay current on developments that impact fintech markets, subscribe to NCFA weekly newsletter updates, view a rundown of current fintech news and insights, or dive into the latest fintech industry research.
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, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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