Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Digital, NEO, Open Banking, Open Finance
What Role Will Interac Play in Open Banking in Canada?
Aug 27, 2025
Image: Freepik AI
Canada is preparing for the launch of “Consumer-Driven Banking” in early 2026. This promises to be a system that will give people more control over how their financial data is shared. The main goal is to replace current risky practices, including screen scraping, with safe, consent-based data exchange. The government has made it its aim to focus on trust, clearer guidelines and regulations, to provide a system where security comes first, while still encouraging innovative services.
Interac’s Established Presence and Everyday Uses
For more than 30 years, Interac has been the foundation of Canada’s payment system. The payment gateway is well-known for debit payments, ABMs, and the popular e-Transfer service. In 2024, Canadians sent more than one billion e-Transfers, transferring more than $132 billion.
The reach of Interac extends further than banks and credit unions. Its services are also used in online services. For instance, with online casino platforms, players rely on the same fast and trusted payments they use with their bank. The payment option allows players to access the same bonuses, gaming library, and promotions whether they use an e-wallet, cryptocurrencies, or traditional banking methods. With Interac e-transfer casinos, players can expect a fast, convenient, and highly secure way to fund their accounts with strong protections against fraud and theft.
Additionally, Interac is widely accepted for online purchases in Canada because it supports secure direct payments through Interac Online or Interac e-Transfer, which many online merchants and platforms integrate. This widespread trust and familiarity with Interac in everyday payments reflects the confidence Canadians place in its security and convenience. This acceptance and reputation for safe transactions make Interac an ideal foundation for supporting the secure, consent-based data sharing envisioned by Canada’s open banking framework
Why Interac Is Well-Suited for Open Banking
Interac already connects banks, credit unions, payment processors, and more than 1.4 million point-of-sale terminals across the country. It also has significant experience with APIs, tokenization, and authentication, which are exactly the kinds of tools that open banking requires.
Equally important is Interac’s reputation for security. With three decades of experience, Interac has well-established governance frameworks, security protocols, and operational standards. These can easily be adapted and extended to open banking APIs to accelerate compliance and risk management processes.
Interac as the Backbone for APIs
Standardized APIs are central to consumer-driven banking. Interac has already been running pilot projects with dozens of third-party providers that want to connect directly to financial data. The network includes shared services that are vital for open banking, such as identity verification, consent management, and secure data transfer.
It makes sense to use infrastructure that already exists. This could speed things up considerably. Instead of starting from scratch, Canada can build on a network that already processes millions of transactions every day. Interac’s reliability, low downtime, and widespread acceptance mean both banks and fintechs are more likely to support a model that is proven and trusted.
Speeding up the Rollout Through Scale and Readiness
Interac’s experience helps reduce the time needed for open banking to become a reality. With ready-made standards and existing relationships across the financial sector, deployment can move faster than in countries that had to build new systems entirely. This is significant, given that the federal government has set early 2026 as the target date.
Interac also works closely with regulators. It advises on governance, security, and consumer protection, and it has teamed up with fintech incubators to test new applications in controlled environments. The focus has been on creating clear, transparent consent processes for consumers, ensuring people understand and control how their data is used.
Recent Developments and Collaboration in 2025
In 2025, important steps were taken to prepare for rollout. Despite mixed reactions and backlash, Parliament passed legislation requiring accredited entities to use secure APIs, annual consent renewal for data sharing, and oversight by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Major banks, including RBC and TD, continued expanding their API systems and entered new partnerships with fintechs to test services ahead of the launch.
See: Canada’s Open Banking Journey: Interview with Francois Lasne, advisory board member of The Berlin Group
Interac, for its part, strengthened its focus on fraud prevention. The appointment of David Bruyea as Group Head of Financial Crimes signalled an investment in protecting the system at a time when trust will be vital. With consumers still learning what consumer-driven banking means for them, Interac is positioning itself as the trusted partner that can balance innovation with security. Its long-standing role in Canadian finance, paired with ongoing developments in 2025, places it at the centre of the country’s move toward open banking in 2026.
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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H1 2025 Global Fintech Funding Slows, Some Sectors Firing
Global Fintech Report | Aug 22, 2025
Image: Pulse of Fintech H1 2025, KPMG
Fintech Investment Hits Five Year Low, but Digital Assets, AI, and Regtech Gaining
According to the KPMG Pulse of Fintech H1 2025 report (67 page PDF) published in August 2025, global fintech investment in the first half of 2025 fell to $44.7 billion across 2,216 deals, recording the lowest H1 total since early 2020. Investors remain cautious about elevated risks around higher interest rates, capital costs, and geopolitical uncertainty. Q2 2025 was particularly weak, with $18.7 billion across 972 deals.
Regional Divergence
- Americas attracted $26.7 billion, accounting for more than half of global fintech investment
- EMEA $13.7 billion, driven by large buyouts and consolidation activity
- ASPAC lagged with $4.3 billion, showing the most pronounced slowdown
Top Global Fintech Trends in H1 2025
1. Digital Assets Rebound Strongly
Investment in digital assets totalled $8.4 billion across 586 deals in H1 2025. Stablecoins attracted attention for payments and remittances in emerging markets, while tokenization platforms and infrastructure also captured capital. Circle's IPO anchored the sector’s strength, raising $1.1 billion with shares jumping 168% on day one.
2. AI Is Transforming Fintech Models
AI continues to boost fintech investment. Capital flowed into both AI native startups and to incumbents embedding AI in credit scoring, fraud detection, and customer engagement. Investors prioritized business models that combined growth with efficiency and risk control. See NCFAs coverage of AI Fintechs attracting a 242% valuation premium
3. Regtech Gains Momentum
Regtech attracted $2.1 billion across 190 deals in H1 2025. Adoption of automated KYC, AML, and reporting tools continues to grow as financial institutions look for cost savings and regulatory agility. GenAI in risk and compliance
4. Wealthtech and Insurtech Consolidation
Insurtech raised $4.8 billion across 141 deals in H1 2025, which is already greater than all of 2024. Wealthtech funding reached $0.9 billion across 14 deals, with AI enabled platforms a recurring theme. Both sectors experienced consolidation as incumbents prefer acquisitions over building new capabilities.
5. Payments Infrastructure Still the Backbone
Payments investment slowed to $4.6 billion across 242 deals in H1 2025, as investors grew more selective. But the sector is still foundational with capital being allocated to embedded finance, cross border platforms, and transaction monitoring. For Canada’s policy context see open banking delays and competitiveness and banks exiting merchant acquiring businesses like Moneris.
6. Cybersecurity Funding Is Soft
Cybersecurity specific fintech investment was just $0.1 billion across 26 deals in H1 2025. Despite heightened threat levels, most activity was concentrated at seed and early stages, reflecting investor caution toward scaling security focused fintechs.
7. IPOs and Exit Activity Pick Up
Exit momentum is returning. Circle’s successful IPO may open the door for additional digital asset platforms to list in H2 2025, boosting the case for fintech exit activity after years of lack lustre listings.
Top 10 Global Fintech Deals in H1 2025
- Preqin, $3.2B, London, UK, Information, Buyout
- Next Insurance, $2.6B, Palo Alto, US, Insurtech, M&A
- Binance, $2B, George Town, Cayman Islands, Digital assets, Late stage VC
- Esker, $1.7B, Villeurbanne, France, B2B and back office, Take private
- NinjaTrader, $1.5B, Chicago, US, Investment management, M&A
- Enfusion, $1.5B, Chicago, US, Wealthtech, M&A
- Hidden Road, $1.25B, New York, US, Digital assets, M&A
- Converge Technology Solutions, $916.5M, Toronto, Canada, Fintech services, Take private
- SafeSend, $600M, Ann Arbor, US, B2B and back office, M&A
- Plaid, $575M, San Francisco, US, B2B and back office, Late stage VC
See: U.S. ACCESS Act Advances to Ease Crowdfunding Rules
Outlook for Canada
For Canada, the data shows the window of opportunity for digital assets, AI, and regtech could attract investment with clear policy and infrastructure. The muted state of payments and open banking highlight gaps Canada must address to remain competitive. Clear rules, targeted support, and investment in digital infrastructure are critical to positioning Canadian fintech for growth in the second half of 2025 and beyond. See the crisis Canada and fintech cannot afford to waste
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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FCA Outlines Governance for Open Banking Standards Body
Open Banking | Aug 13, 2025
Image: Freepik
FCA Releases Governance Plan for UK’s new Industry-led Open Banking Standards Body
On August 8, 2025, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its FS25/4 feedback statement outlining the governance framework for a new Future Entity to oversee the open banking standards in the UK. The plan details how the Future Entity will be funded, governed, and held accountable. It will be industry led and operated, not a government agency, but will function under the FCA’s oversight. For Canada, the model demonstrates how industry expertise can be combined with regulatory accountability to support innovation and trust.
From Temporary Oversight to a Permanent Industry Framework
Since 2017, open banking in the UK has been run by Open Banking Limited, a government run entity created by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to deliver its order requiring the nine largest banks to create interoperable APIs. Known earlier as the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), it was a time limited role to boost competition in banking, and not designed to be a permanent governance model.
See: Open Banking Delayed But Back in the Legislative Radar
The FCA’s plan replaces OBIE with the Future Entity, which will have a long term, industry wide mandate. This change moves open banking oversight from a CMA specific enforcement body to an independent standards setter governed under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. This legal framework means the Future Entity can later expand into open finance and other areas of data portability.
Industry led with Regulator Oversight
The Future Entity will be a not for profit company limited by guarantee, funded by contributions from its users and beneficiaries including banks, fintechs, and other participants. Its board will be appointed by an independent appointments committee, not directly by the government or the FCA. The FCA will regulate it as an interface body under the Data (Use and Access) Act, but will not manage its day to day operations. This allows industry to lead on technical standards while the FCA can intervene if those standards do not protect consumers or the market.
The governance approach is similar to a self regulatory organisation (SRO). It is run by industry, sets technical and operational API standards, and monitors compliance. Like an SRO, it will send reports to the regulator. The key difference is that the Future Entity will not have enforcement powers. All formal enforcement remains with the FCA. This keeps legal authority with the regulator while allowing the industry to deliver the technical work.
Read: Global Open Finance Lessons for Canada’s Rulebook
Commercial operators will use the Future Entity’s standards to create products and services to meet interoperability while leaving space for competition and innovation. The Future Entity itself will only operate directly if there is no commercial incentive or there is a proven market failure.
Industry participants are already working on variable recurring payments for uses such as bill payments, which is planned for 2025. The FCA will hold workshops this summer and fall 2025 to finalize operational details, with a full plan expected by the end of the year.
Why This Matters for Open Banking in Canada
Canada currently has no permanent open banking standards body. The UK approach shows how Canada could move a temporary regulatory order to a more permanent industry led framework without losing accountability or slowing progress.
An industry led and funded non-profit organization, supported by contributions from all users and beneficiaries, can create shared responsibility and boost financial sustainability. With an SRO style approach, industry leads on technical delivery while the regulator retains enforcement powers, can speed innovation while protecting consumers and market stability.
See: DPI Digital Finance Works. Why Is Canada Still Waiting?
Important to keep the standards setting body separate from commercial operators to streamline interoperability and ensure a level playing field (reducing risk of favouritism towards certain providers). Applying these principles from the start could help Canada avoid disruptive governance changes later and build a system that supports both innovation and public trust. Learn more about Canada's open banking journey.
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 Fintech is Shaping the Future of Canadian Gaming
August 5, 2025
Image: Unsplash/itsmpl
Much is said about the cultural shift surrounding iGaming and sports betting in Canada. The more important story, however, is economic. Provincial regulation is the driving force behind Canada’s gaming success, but without financial technology, it wouldn't go this far. Fintech, in its many forms, is quietly changing the rules of engagement for players, operators, and regulators alike. The stakes are high. In 2024, Ontario’s iGaming market alone brought in over $4.19 billion in revenue. Alberta is preparing to follow. Furthermore, with open banking reforms finally on the table, fintech has the opportunity to institutionalize itself as the core infrastructure of the gaming economy.
Canada’s Open Banking Shift
It’s not the flashiest headline in gaming, but make no mistake: open banking is about to be the MVP in Canada’s digital economy. After years of talk, 2024 finally saw legislation begin rolling out, giving Canadians control over their financial data. Think bank account access through secure APIs, no more screen scraping or workarounds.
For gamers, it means faster onboarding. Just connect and verify, and you’re good to go. Deposits, withdrawals, and even budgeting tools are built right into your platform of choice.
It’s a system built for people who want to bet, play uninterrupted, and move on.
For years, Canada has lagged in open banking. That changed in late 2024 when the federal government outlined a framework to give consumers more control over their financial data. In practical terms, the open banking system allows verified third parties such as fintech companies to access banking information with user consent. This opens the door to real-time KYC (know your customer) checks, faster onboarding, and in-platform account linking without tedious form-filling or manual uploads.
In a gaming context, this cuts user friction and platform costs. Deposits and withdrawals can be executed securely and instantly, making regulatory audits less painful.
There is also a secondary benefit: players can better track their spending. It’s early, but this is one of the more promising angles for enforcing responsible gaming through structural incentives rather than pop-ups.
Fast Payments
Canada’s Real-Time Rail (RTR) payment infrastructure is due for rollout in 2026. This is a case of better late than never. Its appeal is obvious. The infrastructure allows round-the-clock bank transfers and immediate settlement and offers the kind of reliability that’s been sorely lacking in batch-based systems.
The advantages are clear for online casino Ontario platforms and the upcoming regulated markets. Player deposits and withdrawals become instant, reducing the burden that customer service agents bear. In theory, this means fewer chargebacks, account freezes, and customer service escalations, all of which cost operators dearly.
It also levels the playing field. Smaller operators won’t need expensive integrations with legacy payment processors to compete. Fintech can plug them in directly to the national infrastructure.
Image: Unsplash/Luke Jones
AI Stops the Cheats
Everyone talks about AI bluffing its way through poker tournaments. However, the most valuable use of artificial intelligence in Canada’s gaming ecosystem is quietly running in the background, scrutinising transaction patterns and flagging anomalies at a speed no human compliance officer could hope to match.
AI’s growing role in fraud detection is becoming essential. With billions flowing through digital platforms, and more Canadians participating in regulated online betting, the threat is no longer theoretical. Identity theft, money laundering, and payment fraud are risks that fintechs can’t afford to ignore.
The more serious players in Canada’s fintech sector are training machine learning models to spot irregularities based on metadata, behavioural trends, and open banking feeds. The goal is early detection before issues become public, or worse, regulatory.
Meet the Canadian Fintech Heroes Powering It All
Let’s give some credit where it’s due. Homegrown fintechs like Nuvei are building world-class tools. The Montreal-based firm was named Payment Provider of the Year in 2024, thanks to its open-banking-powered instant transfers.
They’re not alone. Toronto-based Koho is creating wallet infrastructure that could soon let players reload balances at Canada Post counters. Wealthsimple and Neo Financial are pushing boundaries on digital ID and account linking.
These startups are building the rails that gaming and everything else will run on for the next decade.
How Fintech Helps Gamers
Much of fintech’s value to Canadian gaming platforms lies in what it quietly removes: friction, delay, and uncertainty. Players may never know what systems sit between their bank account and bet, but they feel the difference when everything works.
| Feature | What It Means In-Game |
| Open Banking | Connect your account instantly |
| Real-Time Rail | Withdraw and deposit anytime |
| Embedded Finance | Top-up without ever leaving your game window |
| Smart Risk & AI Tools | Safer play, better limits, fraud kept in the shadows |
| Local Fintech Integration | Better UX built specifically for Canadian players |
This isn’t tech for tech’s sake. It’s about giving players more time to enjoy the game, rather than dealing with unwelcome interruptions.
Image: Unsplash/Designtoasty
Why Fintech Is Gaming’s Silent MVP
Canada’s gaming market is a heavily regulated, highly competitive industry where trust, speed, and data governance are the new table stakes. Fintech is now writing the script, enabling everything from smoother gameplay to provincial oversight. While few players will ever see the real-time rails or know what open banking means, their experience and the industry’s sustainability will depend on it. For all the talk of games, the real game is financial infrastructure, and fintech, quietly and methodically, is winning.
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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Global Rules Now Count Intangibles. So Can Canada
Global Standards | Aug 4, 2025
Image: Freepik
SNA 2025 Adds AI, Crypto, and Data to Global Accounting Rules
Canada chooses how it measures its economy but if it wants to be part of the global system, it needs to follow the updated rules. The System of National Accounts (SNA) is a global reporting framework developed and published jointly by the UN, IMF, OECD, World Bank, and European Commission to measure and compare economies across borders, including GDP, investment, and national wealth. Canada has followed it for decades, along with almost every other economy in the world, so we can expect change is coming.
See: How to Build Canada’s Competitiveness Amidst the Rise of an Intangibles Economy and Greater Geopolitical Complexity
Now, for the first time since 2008, the SNA has been updated. It gives countries the option to include intangible assets like AI systems, datasets, software, cloud infrastructure, and crypto in their official economic reporting. SNA 2025 is the new data reporting standard.
The Rules Now Include Intangibles
Statistics Canada currently uses SNA 2008 to compile GDP, capital formation, trade, and household income. Finance Canada and the Bank of Canada rely on that data to make major policy decisions. Because Canada aligns with the international system, it will be expected to transition to SNA 2025, and include a new measured view including intangibles, which NCFA has reported and advocated for the inclusion of intangibles for years. See this great report dating back 6 years ago now in 2019 called, " A New North Star: Canadian Competitiveness in an Intangibles Economy".
The new SNA 2025 includes formal categories for AI tools, machine learning models, digital platforms, tokenized assets, and data used in production. These can now be classified as fixed capital and included in investment statistics.
The framework also includes crypto assets such as Bitcoin in national wealth reporting. While countries are not required to adopt every element immediately, SNA 2025 sets the boundaries for what is allowed. If Canada continues using the SNA—and it will—these options are now on the table.
SNA 2025 Is About Visibility, Not Trends
SNA 2025 does not show that digital or intangible assets are driving growth nor does not include statistics. What it does is give countries the structure to count what was previously invisible. Until now, if a Canadian fintech trained a large AI model, built infrastructure for a payments network, or developed a data engine for fraud detection, none of that was guaranteed to show up in national accounts. It was often treated as a cost, not an investment.
See: Canada’s Productivity Depends on Intangible Tech Adoption
That matters because what gets counted drives policy.
When Statistics Canada does not report digital capital formation, Finance Canada cannot target it. When platform services are excluded from output figures, regulators and funders underestimate their value.
Canada Needs a Real Picture of Its Economy
SNA 2025 also introduces new tools to reflect sustainability. It promotes the use of Net Domestic Product (NDP), which subtracts both depreciation and natural resource depletion from GDP. This is critical for a country like Canada, where growth often comes from extractive sectors. Using NDP can help the government better understand how much of that growth is truly lasting.
The new framework also supports clearer tracking of ESG finance, public sector innovation, and economic activity by multinationals that operate across borders. It aligns with global changes in how governments view risk, resilience, and value creation.
Outlook
This is a global accounting and reporting change with deep consequences. SNA 2025, the updated global standard now recognizes intangibles, and so will the data that influences budgets, tax design, economic forecasts, and investment strategy. Canada is already committed to using the SNA, so the only question is how fully and how quickly we adopt the 2025 version.
See: Reversing Canada’s Digital Economy Productivity Decline
NCFA urges Statistics Canada and federal decision makers to prioritize early implementation of the most relevant components of SNA 2025. These include digital capital assets, crypto asset recognition, and intangible production by fintech and AI firms.
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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Fintech 2025 Growth Insights For Winners And Disruptors
Fintech Report | July 30, 2025
Image: BCG QED Report Scaled Winners, Emerging Disruptors (Cover)
Global Fintech is Entering a New Chapter
The latest analysis from BCG and QED Partners in a report titled, "Fintech's Next Chapter: Scaled Winners and Emerging Disruptors" (38 page PDF), shows that fintech companies currently capture just 3% of global banking and insurance revenues, leaving substantial room to grow.
The study frames this stage around two groups. The scaled winners are fewer than 100 companies generating more than $500 million in annual revenue. They account for most of the sector’s revenues and are now focused on profitability, compliance and expansion into adjacent services.
See: What the 2025 Throne Speech Means for Fintech and Growth
The emerging disruptors are thousands of smaller companies between $50 to $500 million in revenue. They are fast moving, often AI native, and are working in underserved markets and niches. Some of these emerging disruptors are well on their way to becoming the next generation of scaled winners.
Key Trends and Data-Driven Insights
1. Funding Stabilizes While Revenues Accelerate
In 2024, global fintech revenues increased 21% compared with 13% the previous year. Segments such as deposits grew 23%, trading and investment 21% and insurance 40%. This growth is happening while valuations and funding have recovered. In the first quarter of 2025, equity funding was 34% higher than a year earlier and valuations improved by 10%.
2. Profitability Takes Center Stage
Earnings margins improved by 4% points to reach 16% in 2024. 69% of public fintechs are profitable, up from less than half the year before, and 35% now meet the rule of 40. Valuations are being driven by these fundamentals. Forward revenue growth and profitability explain half of the variation in valuations. Size and research and development spending explain another 39%.
See: Retail Banking Platforms and VC Trends 2025
3. Market Penetration Remains Shallow (read: Opportunity)
Fintechs generate 3% of banking and insurance revenues. Penetration is as high as 14% in payments but under 1% in insurance, leaving a large gap for future growth. Payments still make up 55% of scaled fintech revenues (see image below), followed by challenger banks at 15%, crypto trading at 7% and buy now pay later at 4%.
Image: Distribution of Scaling fintechs 2024 BCG report 'Scaled Winners, Emerging Disruptors'
4. AI Becomes An Active Participant
New AI models can act as autonomous agents that execute payments, preapprove loans, rebalance portfolios and anticipate risk exposures. Fintechs that are AI native receive 49% of all equity funding even though their seed rounds are smaller. Over the past three years, $32 billion has gone to B2B fintechs and $30 billion to financial infrastructure providers, with most of this capital flowing to AI powered models.
5. On-chain Finance Begins to Scale
Large institutions are piloting tokenized bonds and funds. Tokenizing assets can remove up to $20 billion in intermediary costs every year, shorten settlement times and broaden access. Progress depends on clear regulatory frameworks and infrastructure ready for institutional standards.
6. Challenger Banks Deepen Instead of Expand
After years of rapid expansion, challenger banks are focusing on core markets. 92 of them are now profitable and 24 generate more than $500 million in revenue. Geographic distribution of scaled fintech revenue remains uneven with 52% from the United States, 10% each from Asia Pacific excluding China and from Latin America, and 1% from the Middle East and Africa.
See: Larry Fink’s 2025 Fintech Vision for Capital Markets
7. Private Credit Creates Room in Lending
Fintech originated loans total $500 billion while private credit funds manage $1.7 trillion. There is a $280 billion gap in capital deployment, and partnerships between private credit funds and fintech lenders are set to grow quickly. Strong funding conditions in early 2025 support this trend.
8. B2B and Infrastructure Are the New Engines
B2B payments, treasury and workflow automation are still underdeveloped. Deposit related revenues grew 23% in 2024, ahead of the 21% industry growth rate. Insurtech fintechs grew by 40% over the same period, driven by distribution and brokerage models. These segments are becoming the growth engines for disruptors.
There are still 150 private fintechs founded before 2016 that have each raised more than $500 million and have not yet gone public, showing that investors are still ready to back scale-up stories.
Implications for NCFA Members
The report highlights fintechs need to choose whether they are on a path to becoming a scaled winner or emerging disruptor. Canadian fintechs and NCFA members should prioritize sustainable growth in home markets before pursuing global expansion.
See: AI Concierge Tech and the Future of Finance
AI native products will be the key differentiator. Companies that engage early with regulators on AI and digital asset rules will be better positioned as these markets evolve. Partnerships with private credit funds can provide growth in lending. B2B automation and modernization of financial infrastructure are major opportunities.
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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JPMorgan’s Data Fee Sparks Open Banking Backlash
Open Banking | July 15, 2025
Image: Freepik
JPMorgan’s New Data Access Fees Spurs Calls for Stronger Open Banking Rules in North America
On July 11, 2025, Reuters reported that JPMorgan Chase is planning to charge fintechs for access to customer data (subscription required) through its APIs, starting in September. The aggressive announcement by by a major U.S. bank to charge and control data access generated immediate pushback from fintech platforms and open banking advocates, as highlighted on Payments Drive.
Steve Boms, executive director of the Financial Data and Technology Association North America:
“It’s hard to look at this decision by Chase as anything other than a cynical attempt to take advantage of regulatory uncertainty and an about-face by the CFPB. I think they’re banking on the court throwing the rule out.”
See: Canada’s Open Banking Journey: Interview with Steve Boms, Executive Director Financial Data and Technology Association – North America “FDATA”
Penny Lee, Chief Executive of the Financial Technology Association:
Americans deserve the “freedom” to control their financial data. Charging for financial data access undermines that freedom and threatens to jeopardize millions of Americans’ access to the financial services of their choice. This action is designed to crush competition, hold back American innovation, and lock consumers into bank-only products.”
Policy Tensions at the Core of Open Banking
Open banking is designed to put consumers in control of their own financial data. But JPMorgan has another idea; charging fintechs to access customer data when open banking rules are not not clearly regulated, and in doing so, incumbent banks can continue to control terms that limit competition.
See: Open Banking Delayed in Canada But Back in the Legislative Radar
In Canada, this issue is highly relevant for it's proposed Consumer-Directed Finance or open banking framework to be implemented and overseen by the Financial Consumer Affairs Authority (FCAC) in 2026. While Canada’s upcoming framework mandates data sharing and prohibits fees for baseline access by accredited firms, it has not yet been implemented in law. Until then, banks could continue using private agreements that include fees or restrictive terms.
Without legislation or regulatory direction, banks are free to protect their dominant positions by pricing out smaller fintechs or forcing bilateral contracts.
This strengthens the importance of Canada finalizing its open banking rules with clear and enforceable standards that prevent data paywalls.
Fintech competitiveness and market access are at risk. If fees for data access take hold more broadly, it could shift the balance of fintech innovation away from consumer-focused tools towards banking ecosystems, which would limit diversity and competition.
Global Comparisons
In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority mandates that large banks provide access to current account data at no cost through standardized APIs, under the Open Banking Implementation Entity. This has led to a dynamic fintech ecosystem where consumers can safely and easily share data across apps and services.
In Australia, the Consumer Data Right (CDR) goes even further than just banking to include energy and telecommunications. Under CDR rules, banks must provide access to customer data free of charge, with fees allowed only for optional or value-added services.
See: DPI Digital Finance Works. Why Is Canada Still Waiting?
In contrast, both the U.S. and Canada have not yet fully implemented open banking frameworks. In the U.S., the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed Section 1033 to support consumer data rights, but no binding national law exists. And to make matters worse, under the Trump-appointed CFPB, they effectively killed off the open banking rule as proposed, adopting the banks’ legal argument that the rule was beyond its authority and should be invalidated by the court. So without any protective data sharing framework, banks in the U.S. can act unilaterally in their favour..
Why It Matters for Canada’s Fintech Future
If large incumbent banks like JPMorgan are allowed to set fees or gatekeep data access, consumer choice suffers and fintech innovation slows. As NCFA has advocated for years, Canadian regulators and policymakers must move urgently to finalize a national open banking framework that guarantees:
- Free, baseline access to consumer-permissioned data
- Interoperable API standards
- Robust privacy and security requirements
- Clear accreditation for third party providers
See: Should Fintechs Design for People or AI Agents?
If we don't act now, the same risks and fragmentation now emerging in U.S. markets will further stifle productivity, innovation, and competition in Canada.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, 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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