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
UK Private Markets Add Liquidity Canada Still Lags
Apr 20, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Capital Markets And Funding, Regulation And Policy
Crowdcube Expands Secondary While Canada Stays Primary
On April 15, 2026, Europe’s largest private market investment platform Crowdcube outlined a full menu of primary and secondary options. Investors can now fund companies and sell private company shares through the same platform. So the equity crowdfunding story is not only about raising capital, but also about what happens after the raise.
In the UK, a non public company can now structure a raise in three ways.
- It can run a primary round to bring in new capital.
- It can run a secondary share sale to give existing shareholders liquidity.
- It can also combine both in one transaction.
It can then choose how to execute the transaction, either through Crowdcube for retail participation, through the London Stock Exchange’s PISCES private market for institutional access, or through both at the same time.
See: How Fintechs Are Unlocking Value in Private Markets 2024
Here’s a recent example outlining how this works in practice. Crowdcube says Chip completed a £11 million transaction. That total included £8.9 million in primary capital and £2.1 million in secondary sales. In other words, the company raised new funds while giving early investors and employees a chance to sell part of their holdings.
This applies to private company shares held by retail and early investors, not publicly listed equities.
How Canada's Model Limits Liquidity
Canada isn't starting from zero. Platforms such as Hiive support pre IPO private share transactions for qualified buyers and sellers under exempt market rules. That means Canada does have private secondaries, but not a broad, regulated system for intermittent trading of private company shares.
The better comparison is Hiive versus PISCES. Canada has exempt private secondary platforms where transactions are negotiated, access is limited, and liquidity is episodic. The UK is moving toward a regulated framework where private company shares can trade through repeatable windows on approved venues, with more standardized access and price discovery.
As a result, platforms haven't developed structured secondary liquidity in the same way, and investors often wait for a later financing, an acquisition, or a public listing to exit. That delay has real effects.
When investors know they may be locked in for years, fewer participate and those who do often invest smaller amounts. That reduces momentum in early rounds.
It also limits how quickly capital can recycle into new companies, since returns stay tied up until a major exit.
See: Insights and Challenges of Raising Capital via Reg A+
For founders, it creates pressure to deliver a large liquidity event instead of offering smaller, earlier opportunities for partial exits. It also makes it harder to use equity as a tool to attract and retain talent, since employees may not see a clear path to liquidity. Over time, this slows the overall flow of capital through the ecosystem.
This can also affect upside. When early investors and employees have limited options to realize value while a company remains private, pressure builds toward a full exit. That can lead some companies to sell earlier than they otherwise might, which may limit how much value is created over the longer term.
Why The UK Model Feels Different
Meanwhile, the UK is building a different approach. In August 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority approved the London Stock Exchange to operate PISCES, a regulated venue for intermittent trading of private company shares.
Unlike a public market, PISCES uses scheduled trading windows instead of continuous listing. It is also designed to bridge private and public markets, as outlined in NCFA’s breakdown of the PISCES framework. Transactions routed through PISCES can reach institutional buyers and settle on exchange infrastructure. Stamp duty exemption also reduces costs for sellers.
Simply put, a UK private company can now raise capital, provide partial liquidity, and choose the investor mix in one coordinated process.
By contrast, a Canadian company using investment crowdfunding still focuses on raising capital first. Liquidity comes later, if it comes at all.
This Difference Matters
When investors can see a path to liquidity, they’re more willing to participate earlier. When founders can offer partial exits, they can manage employee and early-investor expectations more effectively. And when capital can recycle, the market compounds faster.
See: Equity Crowdfunding Breaks Records in Canada
Access to private markets was the first step. Liquidity is the next one. Platforms that support both can attract more liquidity and better manage how early-stage capital forms and flows.
Conclusion
UK platforms are building liquidity into private markets at the point of fundraising. Canada still focuses just on the raise. A practical next step in Canada would be to pilot regulated secondary trading windows for private shares under existing frameworks such as National Instrument 45-110. Regulators could test those windows under controlled conditions and measure how they affect liquidity without increasing unwanted risk. That would give investors a clearer path to exit, help founders manage early shareholders, and let capital recycle more efficiently across the ecosystem.
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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How Toronto’s Service Businesses Are Scaling Without Hiring: The Automation Playbook
April 20, 2026
Getting a quote for house cleaning in Toronto used to mean a phone call, a callback, and a follow-up. Sometimes two. Today, the same quote takes under 60 seconds online — and that shift is quietly changing how local service businesses compete, hire, and grow across the GTA.
This isn't a story about tech startups. It's about landscapers, cleaners, maintenance companies, and property service providers — traditional businesses that are adopting digital systems not because they want to, but because the market is forcing them to.
The Problem With How Local Services Used to Work
For decades, local service businesses operated on the same model: answer the phone, send someone out to assess, call back with a quote, hope the client didn't go with a competitor in the meantime.
The friction was enormous. For customers, it meant uncertainty and waiting. For business owners, it meant staff time spent on calls that often didn't convert, inconsistent pricing across jobs, and no way to handle volume without hiring more people.
In a market like the GTA — where over 400,000 small businesses operate in Ontario alone, according to the Business Development Bank of Canada — that friction is a competitive liability. The businesses that remove it grow. The ones that don't, struggle to scale past a handful of employees.
From Phone Quotes to Instant Pricing
The first and most impactful change has been the shift to instant online pricing.
Rather than requiring a site visit or a call, a growing number of Toronto-area service providers now allow customers to input their property details — size, type, service category— and receive a clear price within seconds. No callbacks. No estimates that change at the door.
For customers, this removes the single biggest barrier to booking: uncertainty about cost. For business owners, it eliminates the manual quoting bottleneck entirely.
One example of this approach in practice is a Toronto-based cleaning company that implemented an online pricing calculator to standardize service selection and automate quoting. Systems like this allow customers to book services without calls while enabling businesses to handle significantly higher inquiry volumes.
The operational implication is significant: a business can handle ten times the inquiry volume without adding administrative staff.
Standardizing What Used to Be Subjective
Instant pricing only works when services are properly structured. This is where many local businesses get stuck — and where the real operational work happens.
Service pricing is genuinely complex. Window cleaning depends on pane count, building height, and accessibility. Carpet and upholstery cleaning varies by material, condition, and stain type. Pressure washing depends on surface type and square footage. Each of these variables creates pricing ambiguity — which leads to inconsistency, customer disputes, and staff confusion.
Automation solves this by forcing businesses to define their service structure in measurable units:
- Window cleaning priced per pane or per floor
- Upholstery cleaning priced per item and condition level
- Pressure washing priced per surface type
- Commercial cleaning priced per square foot with frequency adjustments
The process of building an instant pricing system requires a business to answer questions it has often been avoiding: What exactly is included in a standard clean? What constitutes a deep clean versus a regular service? Where does a base price end and an add-on begin?
Answering these questions — and encoding the answers into a pricing system — produces a side benefit that goes well beyond the calculator itself: it forces operational clarity. Staff know what they're supposed to do on every job. Customers know what they're paying for. Disputes drop. Repeat bookings increase.
Why This Matters for Scaling Across the GTA
Toronto's geography creates a specific challenge for local service businesses. Covering the full GTA — from downtown Toronto to Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, Scarborough, and east to Pickering and Whitby — requires teams operating across large distances with minimal central oversight.
Without standardized processes, quality becomes inconsistent the moment a business moves beyond its founding team. The owner can't be on every job. The systems have to carry the standard instead.
This is the point where many local service businesses plateau. They grow to five or ten employees, quality starts varying, reviews become mixed, and the owner ends up spending more time managing problems than growing the business.
Automation and standardization break this ceiling. When every team follows the same checklist, uses the same pricing structure, and delivers against the same defined scope, quality becomes reproducible — not dependent on which specific team shows up.
The same principle applies well beyond cleaning. Landscaping, HVAC, plumbing, mobile services, property management — any business delivering a repeatable service at multiple locations faces the same scaling constraint, and the same solution.
The Customer Behavior Shift
There's a demand-side argument here too, and it's accelerating.
Canadian small businesses are under real pressure. According to recent data tracked by NCFA, Canadian small business revenue turned negative in Q4 2025 with a full-year average growth rate of just 1.4% against a historical baseline of 4.5%. In that environment, reducing operational friction isn't a growth strategy — it's a survival strategy. Businesses that remove barriers between a customer and a booking are better positioned to capture demand that would otherwise go to a competitor with a faster, more transparent process.
When a customer lands on a service website and can't find a price, a significant portion leaves immediately. Not because the price is too high — they don't know the price yet — but because the friction of finding out feels like more effort than trying the next result.
Transparent, instant pricing removes that friction. It also changes the type of customer a business attracts: people who have already decided they want the service and are comparing providers, rather than people still deciding whether to hire anyone at all. That shift in customer intent produces meaningfully higher close rates from online traffic.
What Entrepreneurs Should Take From This
The cleaning and property maintenance sector is not a glamorous example. But that's exactly why it's instructive.
If businesses in one of the most commoditized, price-sensitive, operationally fragmented service categories can scale through automation and standardization, the model applies everywhere.
The playbook is straightforward:
Define your service scope precisely. What's included, what's not, and what triggers a price adjustment.
Build pricing that doesn't require a human to deliver. If every quote needs a call, you've built a bottleneck, not a business.
Standardize delivery. Checklists, defined scope, measurable outcomes. Quality that travels with the system, not with specific staff.
Remove friction at every customer touchpoint. Instant quotes, online booking, clear communication. Every extra step a customer has to take is a percentage of conversions lost.
For entrepreneurs entering the local service space — or looking to scale an existing operation — this is the competitive landscape. The businesses implementing these systems are growing. The ones still operating on phone quotes and subjective pricing are losing ground, often without understanding why.
Conclusion
The shift happening across Toronto's service sector is not about replacing people with technology. The work still requires skilled, reliable teams on the ground. What automation replaces is the administrative friction that prevents good service businesses from growing beyond their founding constraints.
See: How Real-Time Parcel Visibility Technology Is Transforming E-Commerce and Cross-Border Logistics for Canadian Businesses
Instant pricing, standardized workflows, and transparent customer experiences are becoming operational baselines in competitive urban markets. For local service entrepreneurs across Canada, the question is no longer whether to build these systems — it's how quickly they can do it before their competitors do.
Author Bio:
Leronzo Cleaning Group is a Toronto-based residential and commercial cleaning company. The team focuses on operational systems, service standardization, and scalable business models in local service industries.
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 Apr 11-17, 2026
April 17, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer Weekly Intelligence | Regulation And Policy, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets 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, February 21-27, 2026, February 28-March 6, 2026, March 7-13, 2026, March 14-20, 2026, March 21-27, 2026, March 28-April 3, 2026, April 4-10, 2026).
Weekly Fintech Market Intelligence Apr 11 - 17, 2026
Regulation And Policy
OSFI Returns Non Bank Financial Institution Risk To The Foreground
Apr 14, 2026, Canada
- OSFI’s 2026–2027 Annual Risk Outlook names real estate secured lending, non bank financial institution risk, and liquidity and funding risk as its top priorities. Risks outside the traditional banking system have grown, including areas where non bank lenders and investment funds rely more heavily on borrowing.
- The outlook links that risk view to live supervisory work, including a Credit Risk Management Guideline consultation open until Jul 29, 2026 and liquidity adequacy revisions taking effect on May 1, 2026.
OSFI has returned non bank financial institution risk to the supervisory foreground. That puts more attention on leverage, liquidity, and credit formation outside the traditional banking perimeter.
Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization
France Urges More Euro Stablecoins And Tokenized Deposits
Apr 17, 2026, France
- France’s finance minister flags the gap between euro pegged and dollar pegged stablecoin volumes and calls for stronger euro denominated digital payment infrastructure.
- European banks are being pushed to develop tokenized deposits and euro stablecoins as part of that response.
- A consortium including ING, UniCredit, and BNP Paribas is preparing a euro pegged stablecoin for the second half of 2026, while dollar stablecoins continue to dominate with significantly larger circulation.
European policymakers are now linking stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and payment sovereignty. If banks move on this, product teams will need to build for liquidity, redemption certainty, and distribution at scale.
FCA Sets UK Crypto Authorisation Path And 2027 Go Live Date
Apr 15, 2026, United Kingdom
- The FCA said crypto will be regulated in the UK from Oct 2027 and that firms will be able to start applying for authorisation from Sep 2026.
- The consultation sets out guidance on which activities fall within the future regime, including issuing qualifying stablecoin, operating trading platforms, dealing and arranging deals in qualifying cryptoassets, safeguarding cryptoassets, and staking.
- The FCA said its rules for the future cryptoasset regime are largely complete, with policy statements due this summer and final perimeter guidance due in autumn.
The UK now has a clearer crypto timetable. Firms can see when the authorisation gate opens, when the regime goes live, and which business models sit inside scope. That gives exchanges, custodians, stablecoin issuers, and staking providers a more defined build and compliance window.
Pakistan Opens Banking Access For Licensed Virtual Asset Firms
Apr 15, 2026, Pakistan
- The State Bank of Pakistan said SBP regulated entities may open and maintain accounts for virtual asset service providers licensed by the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
- The circular requires banks to verify licences, apply AML/CFT controls, and maintain segregated non interest bearing local currency client accounts for customer funds.
- Regulated entities must not invest in or directly hold virtual assets on their own balance sheets.
Pakistan has opened a formal banking channel for licensed virtual asset firms while keeping balance sheet exposure and client money handling tightly controlled. That gives the market a clearer regulated path for fiat access without relaxing the banking perimeter.
HSBC Expands Tokenized Deposit Service To The United States
Apr 13, 2026, United States
- HSBC launched its Tokenized Deposit Service in the United States, extending a service already available in Hong Kong, Singapore, Luxembourg, and the UK.
- The bank says eligible corporate and institutional clients can move funds 24/7, domestically and cross border, between treasury centers and subsidiaries on-chain.
- HSBC says the service supports EUR, GBP, HKD, SGD, and USD and is built to integrate with existing treasury and payment infrastructure.
A global bank has expanded tokenized deposits into the U.S. for real treasury and liquidity use. That brings tokenized money closer to core banking and cross-border cash management, not just digital asset experimentation.
SEC Sets Broker Dealer Boundary For Certain Crypto Interfaces
Apr 13, 2026, United States
- SEC staff issued a statement describing when certain crypto asset user interfaces would not require broker dealer registration.
- The position applies to interfaces that do not solicit securities transactions, do not route orders based on transaction based compensation, and do not handle customer funds or securities.
- SEC staff said the position is temporary and will expire in five years if it is not extended, amended, or withdrawn earlier.
The SEC has drawn a clearer line around how crypto interfaces can operate without crossing into broker dealer registration. That gives wallet providers, front ends, and trading interfaces a more defined design perimeter, while keeping execution control, solicitation, and custody inside the regulated boundary.
Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing
FCA Publishes Open Finance Roadmap With 2027 Framework Target
Mar 2026, United Kingdom
- The FCA published its Open Finance roadmap (download UK Open Finance Vision PDF), setting out how data sharing will extend beyond payments into mortgages, investments, savings, and pensions.
- The roadmap prioritizes SME access to credit, faster lending decisions, and mortgage use cases as early focus areas.
- The FCA is progressing delivery through the Smart Data Accelerator and industry programs to test and scale real use cases.
- The regulator targets the end of 2027 for the regulatory framework to support the first Open Finance schemes.
Open finance now has a regulator defined build plan with a clear timeline. That gives banks and fintechs a window to develop data driven products beyond payments and reshape how credit and financial services are distributed.
Payments And Market Infrastructure
Movantis Adds Latin America Scale To Circle Payments Network
Apr 11, 2026, Latin America and Global
- Movantis joined Circle Payments Network to add stablecoin based settlement to its cross border payments infrastructure.
- The company says it processes more than $60 billion in annual volume, works with more than 70 money transfer operators, and supports more than 80,000 payout locations across 130 plus countries.
- The integration adds bidirectional payment flows and off ramp capability in more than 10 Latin American countries.
- Movantis says the setup connects stablecoin settlement to local fiat payout rails across its corridor network.
Stablecoin settlement now runs through a $60 billion cross border network. Banks and existing rails face direct competition on settlement.
Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure
Payward (Kraken) Buys Bitnomial To Secure Full CFTC Derivatives Stack
Apr 17, 2026, United States
- Payward (Kraken) agreed to acquire Bitnomial for up to $550 million in cash and stock.
- Bitnomial holds the full set of CFTC-issued licenses needed to run a U.S. crypto trading and derivatives business: exchange, clearinghouse, and brokerage.
- The platform will support regulated U.S. products including spot margin, perpetuals, and options, and will also be available to partners through Payward Services.
This gives Payward regulated U.S. clearing infrastructure that took more than a decade to build. That puts crypto-native derivatives closer to the core of U.S. market structure and gives banks, brokerages, and fintech partners a new route into regulated digital asset derivatives.
SEC Reopens Core Market Surveillance Debate Around CAT
Apr 16, 2026, United States
- The SEC issued a concept release for a comprehensive review of the Consolidated Audit Trail and other audit trails and related data sources used in U.S. securities market regulation.
- The review seeks comment on CAT funding and cost management, regulatory purpose, structure and governance, design and scope, cybersecurity, data privacy, and the balance between privacy, civil liberties, and regulatory need.
- The SEC said recent changes reduced projected annual CAT operating costs by more than $100 million and permanently eliminated reporting of personal identifiable information to the CAT.
The SEC has reopened foundational questions around the main surveillance infrastructure for U.S. equity markets. That puts market structure, compliance technology, cost allocation, and data governance back into active review.
FCA Finalizes Clearer Simpler Short Selling Rules
Apr 16, 2026, United Kingdom
- Public disclosure switches to aggregated data showing the overall size of net short positions in each company rather than identifying individual short sellers.
- Firms get more time to calculate and submit short position reports under the new timetable.
- Eligible market makers move from repeated exemption notifications to an annual confirmation.
The FCA has reduced reporting friction without removing oversight. That changes daily reporting operations for trading firms and market makers, and it forces compliance, data, and regtech teams to adjust how short position data is calculated, submitted, and published.
Wealthsimple Brings Trade Ready Cashtags To X In Canada
Apr 17, 2026, Canada and United States
- X launched Cashtags with real time market data, showing posts, price charts, and asset context directly inside the feed.
- Smart Cashtags open Wealthsimple for Canadian users and take signed in users to a security detail page ready to trade.
- Trading remains inside Wealthsimple, while X acts as the entry point from content to execution.
The trade entry point is entering the social layer. X now controls how users move from conversation to market data, while brokerages plug into that flow to capture execution.
Crowdcube Connects Primary Raises And Secondary Liquidity Through LSEG Infrastructure
Apr 14, 2026, United Kingdom and Europe
- Crowdcube can now execute primary capital raises and secondary share sales in parallel on a single platform.
- Transactions can run on its private platform or through LSEG’s PISCES regulated market, opening access to institutional investors.
- The platform supports both concentrated block sales and large-scale liquidity events involving thousands of retail shareholders.
Crowdcube is linking retail private markets with regulated public market infrastructure. That gives companies a new way to raise capital and provide liquidity without waiting for an IPO, and it opens institutional demand to retail-originated share flow.
Risk Compliance And Regtech
UAE Expands AML And Financial Crime Guidance Across Banking Stack
Apr 16, 2026, United Arab Emirates
- The Central Bank of the UAE issued an AML/CFT/CPF guidance package covering proliferation financing, trade-based money laundering, correspondent banking, and customer due diligence.
- The package includes four regulatory guidance documents and two best practice manuals aimed at strengthening institution-wide compliance systems.
- The guidance sets expectations for risk-based frameworks, continuous monitoring of emerging risks, and stronger controls across cross-border financial activity.
The update raises the compliance baseline across multiple financial crime domains at once. Banks, PSPs, and fintechs operating in or through UAE corridors will need to adjust risk models, monitoring systems, and correspondent banking controls.
Conclusion
This week tightens the real constraint on fintech execution. It is no longer access or distribution, it is whether your product can operate inside the rules of the rails it touches. Payment flows now include machine-initiated actions, reporting regimes are getting simpler but less tolerant of errors, and market infrastructure expects you to plug in cleanly from day one. If your system cannot enforce permissions at the transaction level, produce a clear audit trail, and align with regulated reporting without rework, it will slow down as the market speeds up. 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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AI In Financial Services 2026 Global Report Launch Event
April 17, 2026 | NCFA Event | Artificial Intelligence And Data
Image: April 28, 2026 - AI In Financial Services 2026 Global Report Launch Partners
AI In Financial Services 2026 Global Report Launch
NCFA joins as a survey partner for a global AI in finance report launch on April 28
The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance and Financial Innovation for Impact host the AI in Financial Services 2026 Global Report launch on April 28, a live virtual event focused on AI adoption, value creation, and oversight across financial services. NCFA supports the initiative as a survey partner, helping extend the reach of a global effort that tracks how financial institutions and fintechs are putting AI to work in real operating environments.
Event Details
Date: April 28, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM BST (9:00 AM EDT)
Format: Live virtual webinar on Zoom
Register: You can register here for the virtual event (FREE)
The session brings together senior voices from global finance, policy, and financial infrastructure to discuss what the data shows and what it means for the years ahead. For fintech founders, operators, investors, and financial institutions, this is a useful chance to hear how AI is being applied across the sector, where value is starting to show up, and how oversight is evolving as adoption deepens.
Speakers
- Drew Propson, Head of Technology and Innovation in Financial Services, World Economic Forum
- Jon Frost, Head of Innovation and the Digital Economy, Bank for International Settlements
- Harish Natarajan, Practice Manager, Financial Inclusion and Infrastructure, World Bank
- Michael Vessey, Chief Data Officer, Central Bank of the UAE
See: AI Governance Gaps Exposed By Legal Leaders
The session is moderated by Agustín Carstens, former General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements and former Governor of the Bank of Mexico.
Welcome remarks come from Bryan Zhang, Co Founder and Executive Chair, Financial Innovation for Impact, Co Founder and Executive Director, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, and Kieran Garvey, AI Lead, CCAF and Fii.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
This event offers a timely look at how AI is moving deeper into financial services and how leaders across the sector are thinking about deployment, value, and governance. As AI evolves from pilots into core systems, those questions matter more for product design, operating efficiency, customer experience, and risk management.
Secure your complimentary ticket now
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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Non Bank Access To Payment Rails Continues to Grow
Apr 17, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Insight | Payments And Market Infrastructure
New PSP Entry DoBusiness.com Confirms Expanding Rail Access
On April 16, 2026, Payments Canada admitted DoBusiness.com as a payment service provider member, the latest non-bank company to gain a path to access Canada's core payment rails, including Lynx, ACSS, and the Real Time Rail.
Direct access to payment rails reduces reliance on sponsor banks, cuts transaction costs, and gives firms more control over how and when money moves. It allows payment providers to manage liquidity, route transactions, and design products without passing every step through an intermediary.
See: Stablecoins Split Into Issuance And Service Layers
Donna Kinoshita, Chief Payments Officer at Payments Canada:
“The inclusion of specialized enterprise SaaS providers alongside our existing members is a clear sign of the evolving payment landscape. As our membership continues to diversify, so do the perspectives that inform the future of Canada’s payment infrastructure, ensuring an inclusive payment ecosystem that gives Canadians more choices
Companies that meet the requirements can apply through Payments Canada's membership process and move toward participation in core payment infrastructure.
Access Shows Up In Cost And Execution
Payments often work through a sponsor bank, then through clearing, then settlement. Each step adds fees and delays. A firm with access can remove part of that chain.
Take a simple example. A fintech that relies on a sponsor bank may pay fees on each transaction, wait for batch processing, and rely on the bank’s timing and liquidity controls. Compare and contrast that with a company with direct or near direct access who can route payments without that extra layer, manage liquidity in its own systems, and process transactions closer to real time. The difference is found in unit cost structure, settlement speed, and how products are designed. For consumers and businesses, this typically means faster processing and in some cases lower fees.
This admission follows earlier PSP intake, including five firms added at the start of 2026, and lines up with ongoing Real Time Rail testing and onboarding work. More firms are positioning to operate inside the system, not just connect to it.
Outlook
As more companies gain a path to participate in core payment systems, the range of products built on top of those rails will expand. That includes real time payments, embedded payment experiences, and services that rely on immediate settlement and better control over funds.
The result is a payment system where more providers can compete on speed, cost, and reliability. It's that competition that will drive better outcomes for end user consumers and businesses.
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 Agents Use Card Rails But Who Verifies Permission
Apr 17, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments And Money Movement, Artificial Intelligence And Data
Payments Run On Existing Rails With New Controls
On April 16, 2026, Lobster.cash announced an integration with Mastercard Agent Pay that lets AI agents complete purchases using a person’s existing Mastercard. The change is simple on the surface. An agent can now move from decision to payment. What matters is who controls that payment.
Until now, agents could recommend, compare, and even initiate checkout, but the user still handled the final step. This integration removes that break in the flow. It doesn't introduce a new wallet or payment method. It uses the card people already have, which lowers friction and keeps the transaction inside existing issuer controls.
Let's break it down. Each layer solves a different problem, and none of them work on their own.
- Mastercard handles authorization, fraud controls, and merchant acceptance
- Lobster.cash works with Crossmint to define what the agent is allowed to do
- Base Theory protects the underlying payment data so the agent never handles raw credentials
Alfonso Gómez-Jordana Mañas, Co-Founder, Crossmint:
“They can put the card they already have to work for their agent, with the security and control they expect from Mastercard.”
The key addition isn't access to payment rails but a record of permission. Transactions use Verifiable Intent, a standards-based approach co-developed by Mastercard with Google and aligned with AP2 and UCP. It creates a record of what the user approved before the payment happens. Issuers, merchants, and platforms can check that record after the fact.
This changes the question payment systems need to answer. It's no longer only whether a transaction is valid. It's whether the user actually allowed the agent to make it. It's a different problem and requires clear rules, auditability, and a way to prove that those rules were followed.
There are early signs this is moving into real systems. Mastercard completed a live agent-driven transaction with DBS and UOB in Singapore in March 2026, and said agentic AI could handle up to 20% of e-commerce tasks in 2025, while 39% of U.S. consumers have already used generative AI for online shopping and 53% plan to do so.
See: AI Payments Challenge Consent Rules And Liability
Those numbers explain why payment networks are building now. Companies are attaching agent payments to existing card infrastructure, with new layers for permission and security.
Talking Point
Agent payments are not just about enabling transactions. They are about proving that those transactions were allowed. That keeps issuers in the transaction, gives users control over how agents act, and lets developers build without replacing the payment 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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Kulipa Just Proved Stablecoin Cards Can Scale — Should Canada Be Paying Attention?
April 17, 2026
Digital payments have become part of everyday life, shaping how people send money, pay for services, and manage their spending. What once felt like an alternative is now standard across many markets. Cryptocurrencies have played a significant role in that shift, especially for international transfers. They move funds faster, reduce fees, and avoid some of the delays tied to traditional banking systems.
This trend is visible across different industries. Even on entertainment platforms in Canada, such as MyEmpire Casino, crypto transactions have found their place, offering users a quicker and more flexible way to handle deposits and withdrawals.
Besides crypto payments, stablecoins are also attracting more attention. They offer the same speed and efficiency as other digital assets, while keeping their value tied to traditional currencies.
That makes them more predictable, especially for larger or more frequent transactions. A recent example comes from Kulipa, a Paris-based company that raised 6.2 million dollars to expand its stablecoin card issuing system. Moves like this raise an important question: Is there something here that Canada could take note of?
The Growing Role of Stablecoins in Everyday Finance
Stablecoins are already moving large volumes of money every day, yet their role in everyday payments still feels limited. The issue is not demand. It comes down to how difficult it is to connect blockchain-based balances with the systems people actually use, like debit and credit cards.
Right now, many solutions feel fragmented. Users often need to move funds between platforms, hold extra balances in traditional accounts, or deal with different rules depending on where they live. This slows things down and adds unnecessary friction. As regulations become clearer, fintech companies are looking for simpler ways to bridge that gap without tying up large amounts of capital.
Kulipa is working directly in that space. Its system is built from the ground up around stablecoins, allowing companies in areas like payroll and digital banking to issue cards linked to blockchain funds. By keeping settlements on-chain where possible, it reduces the need for pre-funded accounts sitting idle in banks.
How Kulipa Built a Practical Card Issuing System
The approach is fairly straightforward. Kulipa gives partners two ways to launch. One option focuses on speed, using a pre-funded setup to get things running quickly. The other connects more deeply with digital wallets, allowing transactions to be verified and settled directly on the blockchain.
This reduces the capital required to be tied up in traditional systems. It also removes several operational hurdles. Fraud protection, for example, is handled within the platform, which takes pressure off the companies using it.
From the user’s side, the experience feels familiar. Cards can be used for everyday purchases or ATM withdrawals at locations where major networks are accepted. The difference is happening in the background, where stablecoins are being used without requiring extra steps like manual conversions or account transfers.
Strong Early Results and Key Partnerships
Since launching in early 2025, Kulipa has expanded quickly. The number of issued cards has already passed six figures, and transaction volumes have been growing steadily month by month. This kind of traction suggests that the model is solving a real problem rather than testing a niche idea.
The company has also built partnerships across different markets. Flutterwave, known for its work in African payments, is one example. Other partners, such as Ready, Solflare, and nSave, demonstrate that the system works across different use cases, from banking alternatives to crypto-native platforms.
What stands out is how these partners describe the product. The focus is on turning digital balances into usable tools for daily life without adding layers of complexity. That feedback points to practical value rather than theoretical potential.
The Team and Investors Behind the Progress
Kulipa’s leadership brings experience from both traditional finance and large tech platforms. The CEO has worked on global payment rollouts at Mastercard, while the technical side includes experience from companies like Google and WhatsApp. On the compliance front, the team has a background in both crypto platforms and established banking systems.
This mix matters. Building payment infrastructure requires both technical depth and an understanding of regulation, and Kulipa seems to be working across both areas.
Investors have also backed that direction. The recent funding round brought in support from firms focused on financial innovation and blockchain infrastructure. With over $9 million raised, the company now has room to expand its system and reach new markets.
What This Means for the Canadian Fintech Scene
Canada is moving toward clearer rules for stablecoins, though the process is still ongoing. Recent policy steps suggest a more defined framework is coming, with oversight likely to increase in the next few years. Until then, companies are operating in a space that is still developing.
See: Stablecoin Payments Have Wings – Are You Ready?
The core challenge remains the same: connecting digital assets to everyday spending in a simple, cost-effective way. This is especially relevant for businesses dealing with cross-border payments or digital wallets.
Kulipa’s model offers one possible direction. Instead of building everything internally, popular companies in Canada, such as MyEmpire Casino or Coinsquare, could consider partnerships or ready-made systems to reduce both costs and complexity. This would allow them to move faster while staying within expected regulatory boundaries.
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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