Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Research
US consumers agree trust in protecting assets is essential before they’ll share their bank credentials
eMarketer | Matthew Gaughan | Nov 4, 2021
A June 2021 survey from Klarna and Nepa found that 52% of US adults trusted banks, while just 17% trusted neobanks. The fragmentation of open banking in the US has led to slow adoption of the technology by consumers—55% of US adults have never even heard of the service.
See: Paying for coffee with crypto? Get ready, the future of payments is already here
According to a PYMNTS.com survey conducted in collaboration with MX, more than a quarter of US consumers surveyed said trust in their financial institution to protect their financial assets is the most important factor in sharing bank credentials with third parties.
- 16.0% said that trust in the third party they were connecting to was the most important.
- 14.4% picked the belief that the connections are secure as their top choice.
- 11.6% noted that transactions becoming much easier because the accounts are connected as their top factor.
Having said this, among survey respondents that connected third-party apps to their bank accounts, 29.9% were very or extremely interested, and 25.7% were somewhat interested in using an open-banking portal offered by their personal bank. The level of interest grew within certain groups—particularly younger generations or those already comfortable with sharing credentials.
See: Should the age of Nubank’s customer base worry incumbents?
- 47.1% and 37.2% of Millennials and Gen Z, respectively, were very or extremely interested.
- 59.8% of consumers that were very or extremely comfortable sharing credentials showed the same high level of interest for open banking as younger generations.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, 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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Should the age of Nubank’s customer base worry incumbents?
eMarketer | Tom Auchterlonie | Nov 3, 2021
The news:
Nubank revealed that its customers skew younger than those at established banks, per findings included in its newly disclosed US initial public offering (IPO) filing.
The Brazilian neobank attributed its data to a mix of its own research and assistance from Oliver Wyman. The findings, dated September 30, 2021, show:
- 59% of Nubank’s customers were under 35 years old, versus just 30% for incumbents.
- The gap is also stark when measuring people under 45, with the demographic comprising 81% of Nubank’s customers versus 52% for incumbents.
- Nubank also predicts that a subset of its young customers—those ages 20 to 24—will experience a real-income boost of about 70% over the coming decade.
Note: The neobank disclosed its most detailed customer and performance statistics to date in anticipation of going public.
See:
Brazilian neobank Nubank Raises $400M Series G at $25B Valuation
Nubank Investment Underscores Tencent’s Quick Investing Pace
Banks Are Offering Five-Figure Raises and Time Off To Make Young Bankers Happier
Latest from BIS and a group of 7 central banks including Canada on retail CBDCs
Strong customer stats:
- Nubank’s overall user base reached 48.1 million as of September 30, 2021, up 62% year over year (YoY), when it was 29.7 million.
- Monthly active customers, defined as those who generated revenue within a 30-day window, stood at 35.3 million as of the same date, an 89% YoY increase from 18.6 million.
- Deposits rose by 98% YoY, for the period, going from $4.1 billion to $8.1 billion. The percentage growth has been decelerating over time while the dollar amount has increased further.
- Growth in small and medium-sized business (SMBs) users was up 189% YoY for the same period, surging from about 370,000 to nearly 1.1 million.
- More than half of Nubank’s active customers that have been with it for over a year are considered to have a primary banking relationship, which the company defines as when an active customer has at least 50% of their monthly post-tax income flowing in or out of their accounts.
- A track record of low customer-acquisition cost (CAC), with an average around 80% to 90% per year due to word of mouth or direct unpaid referrals. Nubank posted a $5.0 per customer CAC for the first nine months of 2021—and it believes, based on its research, that it has one of the world’s lowest CACs among consumer fintech companies.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, 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 to grow young fintech talent
University of Waterloo | Tammy Kim | Nov 1, 2021
As the spotlight grows on Canada, one of the world’s most cashless economies, tech talent in the financial industry is in demand.
Home to some of the world’s most promising fintech companies, Toronto is the second-largest financial hub in North America. From retail banking to cybersecurity and cryptocurrency, Ontario companies are booming. With this comes competition for recruiting and retaining top fintech talent.
In a remote world, Canadian fintech talent is enticed to cross borders for competitive pay, cool perks and unlimited vacation days. How can these fintech companies continue to compete?
The next generation of talent
Companies need to engage Millennials and Generation Z tech talent. One way to do that is to hire co-op students. By 2028, Millennials and Gen Z will make up more than half (58 per cent) of the workforce. Born between 1981 – 1996, Millennials are emerging leaders. Gen Z, those born between 1996-2014, are entering the workforce.
Here are ways you can attract and support them:
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Showcase your values
Values matter to Gen Z in the workplace. The University of Waterloo’s Work-Learn Institute (WxL) research shows that understanding those values might be most important to effectively recruit, motivate and retain young employees. According to WxL’s research almost half of Gen Z students are unlikely to accept a full-time job if it matches their skills but not their values.
Learn more by clicking on the image below:
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Highlight diversity, equity and inclusion
The Canadian workforce will be 33 per cent international by 2036. This global and diverse workforce presents new opportunities. To adapt, organizations must establish a more diverse, inclusive and equitable talent pipeline. Diversity strategies will focus on blind recruitment, unconscious bias training and looking beyond Canadian experience requirements for credentials. Companies must commit to diversity targets.
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Focus on your job descriptions
Job descriptions that highlight how candidates can learn, make an impact and link their academics to their work, can enhance job attractiveness for Gen Z talent. By adding these, candidates can reframe how they see themselves in the role – without requiring organizations to change their own values or offerings.
Want to increase your number of applications? Check below to learn more and download a job description sample:
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Strengthen your remote recruitment strategies
During the pandemic, organizations shifted their operations to work remotely. This challenged the way we do business as well as recruitment and onboarding strategies. A recent survey found that 73 per cent of workers hope remote work will continue past the pandemic.
See: Bracing For Change In The Era Of The Augmented Workforce
While Gen Z agree with this, our research shows they feel stressed and struggle more than their peers. This research found three core themes as priorities for young talent:
- Socialization:help them to understand workplace culture and build professional networks.
- Productivity: give them flexibility and independence to manage their work.
- Meaningful work: provide them with challenging work that aligns with their values.
Provide the right environment and young fintech talent can blossom to fill your talent pipeline. Don’t hesitate - get them through your doors early as the competition booms.
About the Author:
Tammy Kim-Newman
is a business developer and tech talent specialist at the University of Waterloo, Canada’s #1 university for Computer Science, Mathematics and Engineering (Maclean’s 2021 University Rankings). She has 10+ years supporting industry partners with their early talent strategies and is an advocate for work-integrated learning. If you have questions about early tech talent recruitment strategies, please reach out to Tammy Kim-Newman (tammy.kim-newman@uwaterloo.ca) or 289-231-3752.
This article is featured in NCFA's digital magazine, Fintech Confidential (Issue 4 Oct 2021). Click to read the latest thought leadership, insights and trends about Fintech in Canada:
Checkout NCFA's digital magazine, Fintech Confidential (Issue 4) --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, 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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CB Insights State of Fintech: Q3 2021 Report
CB Insights | Oct 26, 2021
Fintech sees another strong quarter, with record deal and funding activity across the globe in 2021 YTD.
Following a record-breaking Q2, global fintech private market deal activity remained elevated in Q3’21.
See:
Bank of America says CBDCs could ‘Replace cash completely in the (distant) future’ in Research Note
65% of Global banking executives see branch-based models dead in 5 years
In our State of Fintech Q3’21 Report, we dive into global investment trends to spotlight takeaways including:
- The second-highest quarter on record for fintech financing, up 147% YoY
- Top equity deals of the quarter, including 3 of the top 5 raised outside the US
- The new fintech unicorns of Q3’21 — including an $18B addition
- Which sector, from payments to digital lending to capital markets tech, saw a blockbuster $2B quarter
- The investor making the most fintech deals, and other top-ranked firms
- Another strong quarter for M&As, and the 13 billion-dollar exits (including IPOs & SPACs) driving totals
- The deal stages experiencing the most dramatic YoY valuation expansion
See: Are you a Pig, Gazelle or Bear? Beyond Unicorns, Zoology of startups
Download the 236 page PDF report from CB Insights website --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, 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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5 Ways Businesses Can Gain More Profit
Guest Post | Nov 1, 2021
Businesses exist, at least in part, to turn a profit. The pursuit of doing that more effectively has occupied the free market since its inception. But in today’s fast-paced and saturated world, it’s difficult to know where to turn for realistic ideas to increase your business’s revenue. Here are a few top strategies you can employ to propel your business’s bottom line.
Use Business Analytics to Drive Revenue
The amount of data available to businesses today far outweighs what has been available in any other period of history. The trick is channeling data, and its application, in effective ways to drive business growth. Businesses that apply data analytics to their processes can experience revenue gains in a number of ways. Applying descriptive analytics can help a business gain deeper insights into trends, patterns, and spending tendencies within their market. Collecting data on patrons or participants can inform tailored marketing campaigns and decrease spend per recruit or conversion. Studying external market trends can help businesses identify market gaps and predict new opportunities.
Analytics can be thought of in four distinct categories:
- Diagnostic
- Descriptive
- Prescriptive
- Predictive
Whether you are looking to incorporate analytics for the first time or to diversify and increase the way your business employs analytics, there are ways to find ample ideas in each of those categories for getting more out of data analytics practice within your business.
Analyze Current Business Practices to Mitigate Costs
One particular method of applying analytics to business practice is by using “diagnostic” analytics to better understand current business practice and identify areas where costs can be minimized through improving processes.
See: Accelerate—it’s time for insurers to move swiftly and decisively
Applying diagnostic analytics to your business doesn’t require expensive software packages to employ. Unlike other forms of analytics, this particular strategy can be implemented in simple, low-tech ways. Performing diagnostic analytics can be as straightforward as organizing a roundtable meeting with your floor managers; taking a day away from your desk to learn from your manufacturing staff; or taking notes for a week on a particular aspect of normal processes to see what you can glean by way of inefficiencies and ways to mitigate or remove them.
Supply Chain Pandemic Shortages & Management for Business Growth
The strength and health of a business’s supply chain is often overlooked, but has significant implications for a business’s profit and growth capabilities. Defined as “the network and relationships required to make and deliver goods and services,” your business’s supply chain (and its quality or lack thereof) can impact customer service, operations, costs and cash flow, and more. Some best-practice techniques to improve your supply chain’s strength include the following:
- Train all your personnel on supply chain understanding and management. Even though many of your departments or employees won’t deal with your supply chain directly, it’s important that each person in your organization understands how the supply chain affects their work.
- Incorporate “Total Cost of Ownership” into your analysis. Until recently, most supply chains considered only the cost of product acquisition and didn’t factor in costs relating to storage, security, transportation, and more. Calculate your figures accurately by counting ALL costs.
- Emphasize strong contract management for your supply chain team. Negotiating strong contracts with suppliers and other external entities in your supply chain can yield significant savings over time and lessen potential risks.
Of particular relevance in today’s post-pandemic economy is being aware of your supply chain’s strengths and weaknesses, and having strategies in place to combat unforeseen changes that could jeopardize any of its elements. Now more than ever, compromises to your business’s supply chain are possible that could cause significant loss in revenue. Take a hard look at the weak links in your supply chain and be proactive about developing strategies to minimize loss if anything goes wrong.
Create More Responsive Relationships with Consumers to Drive Retention
Marketing personalization and responsive customer relationship management are quickly becoming essential in many of today’s saturated markets. Developing strategies for connecting with your customers on a more personalized level can increase retention and boost lifetime customer value. Taking a more individual approach to marketing and customer engagement processes also allows your business to remain more in touch with their needs and preferences, get better feedback, and develop a stronger customer profile to inform your decision-making.
Nonfungible Tokens (NFTs): A New Tactic for Innovative Businesses & Nostalgia Prints
Nonfungible Tokens (NFTs) - the term sounds like something out of a space-age movie. However, NFTs represent an exploding craze that many envision may become a future normalcy across substantial realms of business and transaction. NFTs are “digital tokens — a unit of value built on top of an existing blockchain network.” Blockchain refers to a specific type of technology that acts as a “digital ledger of transactions.” Blockchain is also the technological foundation for cryptocurrency.
See: Ways NFTs Can Reinvent Your Small Business
NFTs are specific, unreplicatable digital assets. Just like pieces of art, they are verified and unique and can accrue value over time. Certain industries, like e-gaming and collectibles, are already embracing NFTs as an alternative to currency. Well-known celebrities and companies like Atari are beginning to release NFTs for sale or auction. While NFTs are in their beginning stages of adoption and development, companies interested in diversifying or attracting tech-savvy early adopters are already incorporating the creation, trading, and promotion of NFTs into their marketing and product strategies.
Ready to start increasing your business’s profit? There’s no magic formula. All you need to do is pick a strategy and test it out. Some may work better than others - that’s part of the process. Don’t worry too much about picking right the first time. Any of these strategies can affect your bottom line, and if one you try doesn’t make a meaningful difference, it will reveal ways to move forward and provide you with new insight.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, 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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Canadian Club Toronto interviews David Dodge: The Canadian Economy – What Should Be Next?
The Canadian Club Toronto | Nov 1, 2021
Video recording available on-demand
Join Canadian Club Toronto to hear from David Dodge on Oct 27 (webinar) one of Canada’s most revered economic sages and former Governor of the Bank of Canada in conversation with Kim Parlee, Vice President, TD Wealth to discuss debt ratios, economic policy, what should be next on Canada’s economic agenda and more.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, 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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Kraken Crypto report and On-Chain Analysis: SHOKTOBER
Kraken Blog | Oct 28, 2021
After a predictably underwhelming September in the crypto markets, history was made in October as BTC hit new all-time highs.
As foreshadowed in last month’s Crypto On-Chain Digest, End of Summer Sale, data indicates that a supply shock (driven by long-term holders) contributed to BTC’s rise to record levels.
In Kraken Intelligence’s latest Crypto On-Chain Digest, S H O C K T O B E R, the team further analyzes the impact of BTC’s supply shock, how whales and long-term holders are leading the charge and why on-chain metrics suggest that the bull run still has significant upside.
October 2021 Takeaways
- As foreshadowed in our September On-Chain Digest: End of Summer Sale, data suggests a supply shock appears to have contributed to BTC gaining more than +50% month-to-date. Despite the latest rally, our findings indicate there has been little profit-taking from long-term holders.
- 1-year revived supply, which reflects long-term holder activity, supports the observation that holders are contributing to BTC’s supply shock; on October 18th, BTC’s 1-year revived supply fell to ₿2,293.5, the lowest level since August when BTC was trading at about $48,000.
- BTC’s HODL Waves shows that the number of coins that haven’t moved in the past 6 months (young coins) recently hit a 3-year low of 25.49%, which suggests that long-term holders held through September softness and October ’s strength.
See: Wealthsimple adds crypto portfolios to group-retirement plans
- Miner supply points to further holding amongst mining pools, while individual miners realized a relatively modest amount of profit.
- Validating the uptrend and highlighting strong demand for BTC, the excitement in the market is evident across several metrics and indicators. Renewed demand for BTC is increasingly clear when looking at active addresses, new addresses, transaction count, velocity, and other metrics; since September, active addresses, new addresses, transaction count, and 1-year active supply velocity have risen +10.3%, +4.7%, +10.5%, and +4.9%, respectively. Data indicates that much of this jump in network activity is attributable to BTC “whales.”
- BTC’s Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR), MVRV Z-Score, and exchange net position suggest that the bull market cycle may have further room to run despite BTC reaching new all-time highs.
Continue to the full article --> here
Download the full 24 page PDF report --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, 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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