Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
October 13, 2026 | Market Activity, Payments And Money Movement, Digital Banking, Consumer Credit

On September 29, 2026, Toronto fintech PaySprint Inc. announced plans to launch PYMO, its new consumer digital wallet brand, in October. The company plans to combine existing payment services with overdraft protection for eligible users, using wallet transaction history to help assess credit eligibility. In an email to NCFA, PaySprint confirmed that PYMO builds on its existing wallet services and PaySprint Flex offering.
PaySprint sees an opportunity among newcomers, freelancers, gig workers and people with irregular income. The company wants to make its wallet part of their everyday finances, with an additional credit option for eligible customers. Applications for overdraft protection haven't opened yet.
PaySprint already serves consumers and businesses through its payment infrastructure, including earlier wallet and overdraft offerings. Olusegun Shalom Adebiyi, CEO of PaySprint Inc., told NCFA that PYMO gives the consumer business a clearer identity without replacing PaySprint or changing existing customer agreements. The strategy is to increase wallet usage, strengthen customer retention and generate more revenue from existing payment relationships.
PaySprint reports more than 13,300 registered users and 2,000 merchant partners, giving PYMO an existing customer base and merchant network to build on. The company now has an opportunity to convert those relationships into more frequent transactions and greater use of its consumer services.
PaySprint plans to use wallet transaction history as part of its overdraft eligibility assessment. Canadian customers will also need a PaySprint Mastercard on file to apply. The card handles everyday spending using available funds, while overdraft protection is planned as a separate wallet feature for approved users.
The PYMO credit page outlines planned overdraft limits of up to $500 for individuals and $5,000 for businesses. PaySprint says it will provide further eligibility details, borrowing costs and repayment terms prior to applications opening. The overdraft feature would give qualifying customers another option for managing temporary cash shortages.
Wallet transaction records could give PaySprint a clearer view of income patterns and repayment capacity, particularly for customers whose earnings fluctuate. This aligns with wider developments in transaction based credit scoring. The commercial opportunity depends on converting payment activity into sound credit decisions while keeping borrowing costs and defaults under control.
PYMO builds on PaySprint's existing payments business, with planned overdraft protection adding a potential source of revenue and deeper customer engagement. The challenge is to make that credit offering commercially sustainable without compromising affordability. Can PaySprint turn regular wallet use into a profitable credit business that works for customers with irregular income?
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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October 6, 2026 | Payments And Money Movement, Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing, Fintech And Innovation, Digital Assets, SME Finance And Business Banking, Competition And Market Structure

On October 6, 2026, Payments Canada released its 2026 payment trends report, showing how Canadians are paying as the country prepares to launch the Real-Time Rail. Canadians made 26.7 billion retail payments worth C$12.9 trillion in 2025, with cards still dominating payment volume while contactless use, online transfers and reported crypto payments continued to grow.
Canada is already a highly digital payment market before its Real-Time Rail launches. Canadians don't need convincing that digital payments are useful. The next opportunity is to make more of those payments settle in real time and carry better information with them.
That mix is important for fintech founders and payment providers. Cards dominate what consumers see, but much of the money moving through Canada's payment system travels through EFT and other account based channels. Business payments, treasury and reconciliation therefore matter at least as much as what happens at checkout.
Online transfers show how quickly account based behaviour has grown. Their volume increased 110% from 2020 to 2025, faster than any other payment method, while credit card volume rose 75% over the same period. It demonstrates that transferring money digitally between accounts is already familiar behaviour.
Contactless remains the dominant convenience story, while BNPL and crypto show where newer payment behaviours are developing.
The crypto increase stands out, particularly among younger Canadians, but it needs context. Payments Canada says users most often cited privacy or anonymity, transaction speed and lower fees. The survey doesn't capture how frequently people paid with crypto, which assets they used, whether a crypto linked card was involved or whether merchants ultimately received crypto or Canadian dollars. However it's proof of more reported payment use, not evidence that crypto has become a mainstream Canadian payment rail.
Payments Canada's consumer research found 52% of Canadians find real time payments appealing. The result comes from a separate survey of about 1,500 Canadian adults conducted through Leger's online panel in September and October 2025, rather than from transaction data. RTR adoption also doesn't require everyone to abandon cards or learn a new payment method.
Payments Canada plans to launch RTR in Q4 2026 with an initial group of direct exchange participants. Initial Interac e-Transfer clearing and settlement migration is scheduled for Q1 2027, followed by additional participants in Q2. Someone could keep sending an e-Transfer much as they do today while the clearing and settlement underneath that service moves onto RTR.
| Use Case | What Faster Settlement Could Change |
|---|---|
| Payroll and earned wages | A payroll service could make wages, bonuses or reimbursements available as soon as the payment settles |
| Refunds | Merchants could return approved funds without adding several more days of payment processing |
| Insurance payouts | Insurers could send an approved claim payment as soon as it is released |
| Supplier payments | Suppliers could receive funds as soon as payment is sent and settled, giving them better visibility over incoming cash |
| Merchant settlement | Payment services built on RTR could give businesses quicker access to proceeds from completed sales |
| Loan funding | Lenders could make approved loan proceeds available immediately after disbursement |
| Government payments | Benefits, refunds, rebates and emergency payments could reach recipients faster when government payment systems support RTR |
| Interac e-Transfer | A familiar service can move onto real time clearing and settlement without requiring customers to learn a new payment method |
Payments Canada says 37% of SMEs identify payment delays as a significant pain point. Instant settlement can't eliminate working capital needs, but it can shorten the period between sending money and knowing it has arrived. For businesses managing payroll, suppliers and daily cash positions, hours can matter even when days matter more.
RTR will use ISO 20022, allowing richer structured information to travel with a payment. That can include remittance information such as an invoice number, giving accounting and payment systems something useful to match against when the funds arrive. Payments Canada's business research says instant payments with enhanced data can make same day invoice matching possible.
With the right software, accounting systems can match payments to invoices automatically, treasury teams can see cash positions sooner and marketplaces can pay sellers faster. Payroll providers can offer quicker payouts, lenders can release approved funds sooner and payment companies can use payment data to improve reporting, fraud checks and cash flow tools.
Competition is opening at the same time. Registered payment service providers can now apply for Payments Canada membership, although membership alone does not guarantee RTR participation. The wider Payments Canada membership reform brings more fintechs and payment companies closer to national payment infrastructure, while the practical choices around RTR access and settlement still depend on technical, operational, security, fraud and settlement requirements.
Canada is also implementing Consumer-Driven Banking, which will let customers securely share financial data with approved providers. RTR does a different job by moving and settling payments in real time. Payment initiation could eventually connect the two, allowing an authorized service to use shared financial data, start a payment with the customer's permission and settle it quickly with useful payment information attached. Canada isn't at that stage yet, so payment initiation remains a future capability.
For businesses, that could mean using current account information to manage cash, send an approved supplier payment and match the payment to the right invoice with less manual work. Consumers could get more useful account based payment options without needing another standalone app. The bigger opportunity comes when financial data, payment instructions and settlement work together instead of sitting in separate systems.
Cards and tap already work well, while online transfers have more than doubled in five years. RTR doesn't need to replace them to create value. It can make familiar services settle faster and give businesses better payment data to automate more of the work around each transaction. As real time payments connect with financial data sharing, where will faster money and better data create something customers and businesses couldn't do as easily before?
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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September 15, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Digital Banking And BaaS, Cross Border Payments And FX, Competition And Market Structure

On September 14, 2026, UK-based global payments company Wise launched a Chequing Account in Canada with no monthly fee, Interac e-Transfer support, Canadian account details, pre-authorized debits, debit-card access and multi-currency features. The launch takes Wise further into everyday Canadian financial activity while keeping the cross-border tools that built its original customer base.
The account is available to personal and business customers in Canada. Customers can hold more than 40 currencies, receive money using account details available across 22 currencies and send money to more than 70 countries. Wise converts currencies at the mid-market rate and charges a separate conversion fee that currently starts from 0.19%, depending on the currency and transaction.
Canadian customers can send up to C$25,000 to a supported Interac email address and receive up to C$25,000 per day through Interac Autodeposit. Wise doesn't charge its own fee to receive Autodeposit payments, and the September launch removed the Wise fee for sending CAD to an Interac alias and adding CAD through Interac. Incoming transfers that require a security question and manual acceptance aren't currently supported, and an email registered for Wise Autodeposit can't remain registered for Autodeposit at another financial institution.
Wise also provides Canadian institution, transit and account numbers for electronic deposits and withdrawals. Customers can receive pay, set up pre-authorized debits for recurring bills, spend through a physical or digital debit card and withdraw cash at ATMs. Wise currently charges no withdrawal fee on the first C$100 each month, then C$2.69 plus 2.69% on the amount above C$100, while an ATM operator can charge its own fee.
Group Spend lets customers create a shared balance for expenses such as household bills or trips. Wise's international features are still a key difference. Customers can hold CAD and dozens of other currencies in one account, convert between them and receive money using account details available in 22 currencies.
Wise Payments Canada Inc. is not a Canadian bank. It is registered with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada as a Money Services Business under registration M15193392 and with the Bank of Canada as a payment service provider under the Retail Payment Activities Act. It also holds a Quebec money services business licence.
Wise keeps customer funds separate from its operating money under Canada's payment-safeguarding rules. For its Chequing Account, Wise says eligible deposits are held in trust at a Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation member institution with customers identified as beneficiaries. Eligible deposits can receive CDIC protection of up to the equivalent of C$100,000 per beneficiary if the member institution fails and the trust-disclosure requirements are satisfied; Wise itself is not a CDIC member.
Foreign-currency balances aren't automatically excluded because CDIC can cover eligible deposits in Canadian or foreign currency. Coverage still depends on the deposit meeting CDIC rules, and balances held for the same customer at the same member institution can be combined when insurance limits are calculated.
Wise also became a Payments Canada member in January 2026 after federal rule changes opened membership to regulated payment service providers. That gives Wise a formal role inside Canada's payments system and makes eligible PSP members able to seek participation in payment systems under the applicable rules. Membership doesn't automatically give Wise direct access to every Canadian payment rail.
Canadian consumers can already choose among traditional banks, digital banks and fintech accounts that cover much of the same daily activity. Wise competes with domestic payment functions and a deep multi-currency product, while using a regulated non-bank structure for the account itself.
Big Six banks: Traditional banks still combine chequing with lending, credit, branches, drafts and direct deposit-taking. RBC Day to Day Banking, for example, has a standard C$4 monthly fee and includes 12 debit transactions plus unlimited Interac e-Transfers. Wise removes the monthly fee and adds much deeper multi-currency functionality, but it doesn't replace the full range of services available through a bank.
Wealthsimple: Wealthsimple has expanded deeper into everyday banking with chequing, payments, direct deposit, cards and other daily money tools. Customer cash is held in trust with CDIC member institutions rather than by Wealthsimple as a bank. Wise has the stronger cross-border proposition through currency holding, foreign account details and international transfers.
KOHO: KOHO combines prepaid-card spending, Interac transfers, Autodeposit and bill payments, with customer funds held through a trust structure designed to qualify for CDIC protection. Its product is centred more heavily on Canadian spending, credit building, rewards and budgeting, while Wise puts international money management at the centre of the account.
EQ Bank: EQ Bank's Personal Account also has no monthly fee and includes unlimited Interac e-Transfers, bill payments, direct deposit and card access. The legal model is different because EQ Bank is a trade name of Equitable Bank, a federally regulated bank and CDIC member that accepts deposits directly. EQ already uses Wise for international transfers, making it both a competitor in everyday banking and a distribution partner for Wise's cross-border capability.
Neo Financial: Neo gained direct Interac e-Transfer access in April 2026 and offers digital chequing functions including Interac transfers, bill payments, pre-authorized debits and card spending. Its focus is more Canadian spending, credit and rewards, while Wise brings a much deeper international money layer.
Wise now covers many of the tasks that keep a chequing account central to a customer's financial life, while adding something most Canadian chequing products don't offer at the same depth: one account built around both domestic use and frequent cross-border money movement.
Canada's regulatory changes give non-bank providers more room to compete for that relationship. RPAA supervision applies operational-risk and safeguarding requirements to payment service providers, while Payments Canada membership brings qualifying fintechs closer to national payment systems. Consumer-driven banking could extend that competition further if customers gain easier ways to connect financial data and services across institutions.
Wise is also giving the launch a physical presence through a temporary pop-up at Toronto Eaton Centre on Level 1 from September 14 through October 11. Customers can register, get product help and participate in launch promotions there, but the location is a Wise promotional and service activation rather than a Canadian bank branch.
Wise can now handle many of the transactions Canadians associate with a primary chequing account while remaining a regulated non-bank provider. How much of the everyday banking relationship can fintechs win before customers care less about whether their main account comes from a bank?
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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September 11, 2026 | NCFA Resource | Open Banking And Consumer Driven Finance, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Competition And Market Structure

Understanding Open Banking and Consumer Driven Finance means keeping several things in view at once. Canada has proposed regulations and an implementation program underway, other markets already have years of operating experience, and fintechs are testing products around financial data, identity, credit, payments and decisioning.
The NCFA Open Banking & Consumer-Driven Finance Interactive Intelligence resource brings that material into one interactive environment. It is Canada-led, with international examples and global benchmarks where they help explain market structure, implementation choices and commercial activity.
Readers can learn through a Canadian Open Banking Market Map, 146 learning modules, company intelligence, discussions, innovation themes, global benchmarks or Quick Checks (there's even an NCFA arcade perk for completing modules). There is no required starting point.
The Canadian Open Banking Market Map shows who is participating and where different capabilities fit, helping readers identify competitors, infrastructure providers, potential partners and areas of market activity.
The 146 learning modules break Open Banking and Consumer Driven Finance into smaller topics that can be explored individually or in sequence. Quick Checks let readers test what they understand before continuing, making it easier to get current on a specific issue without working through a long report.
Company intelligence connects firms to market categories, technologies and use cases, while discussions and innovation themes explore where new capabilities are developing and where parts of the ecosystem may already be crowded.
Global benchmarks put Canadian developments in perspective. Australia, the UK, Europe and other jurisdictions have tested different approaches to data access, consumer consent, accreditation, payments and competition. Their experience cannot be copied directly into Canada, but it gives Canadian teams evidence to compare against emerging policy and market choices.
Canada’s detailed operating requirements are still being finalized. Worth nothing that NCFA also offers a separate Open Banking Regulatory Intelligence Guide, a dedicated resource for proposed regulations, implementation requirements and regulatory readiness.
Founders and product teams can see where a product fits before committing time and capital, while banks and credit unions can use the same market view across strategy, product and innovation teams. Investors can trace a market theme into the companies working on it and compare the opportunity with evidence from operating jurisdictions.
Policymakers, advisers and industry organizations can examine what happened after policy choices reached the market without assuming another country’s model belongs in Canada. The practical question is what worked, what did not and which lessons are relevant here.
NCFA’s separate Open Banking In Canada Opportunity Brief goes deeper on commercialization, evidence and product opportunities. Interactive Intelligence is broader, giving readers the market and international context before they narrow in on a specific commercial thesis.
The main strength is a one stop destination to research and learn about Open Banking. They can start with a company, market category, learning topic, international example or innovation question and follow the connections that are relevant to their work. Further, the page will be refreshed periodically to capture key updates and changes.
Data-sharing requirements affect product design, new technical capabilities can create commercial opportunities, and evidence from other markets can challenge assumptions about adoption or competition.
Open Banking Decision Intelligence analysis takes that thinking further by examining what firms can do with permissioned financial data, including credit, fraud detection and financial guidance.
There are limits. Canada’s proposed Consumer Driven Banking Regulations may still change, international examples operate under different legal and competitive conditions, and company intelligence dates quickly in an active market. The resource is designed to be revisited as the market develops and should not replace legal advice, due diligence or primary regulatory sources.
Canada Open Banking And Consumer Driven Banking Rules (proposed Canadian requirements, implementation and regulatory intelligence)
How Canada Started Opening Its Financial Infrastructure (payments, data access and financial infrastructure context)
Canada’s Open Banking Strategy Starts With Trust (consent, fraud, liability and consumer protection)
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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Explore and compare companies in Canada’s open banking market by capability, market layer, documented Canadian traction and selected global benchmarks, from financial data and bank infrastructure to payments, business systems and intelligence.
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Learn how open banking and consumer-driven finance work, use Canadian market evidence alongside leading international examples, test key claims, and apply what you learn to product, operating, investment and policy decisions.
Choose A Topic (match it to your product, investment or policy question)
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Start with the decision in front of you. Work through one topic or use the full guide to connect regulation, infrastructure, products, competition, adoption and risk.
Connect customer permission, standards, shared infrastructure, business models and trust.
See what could slow launch, adoption, scale or commercial value.
Compare who pays, who benefits, where margins sit and what evidence is still missing.
Separate announcements from operating evidence, activity from adoption and access from outcomes.
Search the full 146-module guide or narrow it by the perspective most relevant to you.
Search the full guide or narrow the modules by the decision or market question you are working on.
Explore selected current and emerging Open Banking discussions through verified market evidence, competing commercial cases and NCFA insight. Cast your view and compare with the market as participation builds.
Canada’s first phase has to prove that data access can improve real financial tasks before payment initiation arrives.
Your View
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The near term opportunity is strongest where better data cuts underwriting time, verification cost or manual work. If those services do not generate repeat use, payment initiation becomes more important to the commercial case.
Canada must decide how much operating evidence it needs before moving from data access into customer authorized payments.
Your View
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A staged rollout tied to transaction risk and proven operating performance would let Canada add useful functionality without treating every payment use case the same.
Compliance costs can protect consumers and still become a barrier if they do not reflect the activity and risk of the participant.
Your View
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Consent, security, liability and consumer redress need a firm baseline. Other obligations should track the activity, exposure and risk a participant creates. If smaller firms carry costs that do not reduce material risk, the framework can weaken the competition and consumer choice it is meant to support.
Private agreements and industry standards continue to develop while the federal framework remains unsettled.
Your View
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Commercial data sharing can keep growing without a settled federal rule. The competitive issue is who controls access terms. Continued uncertainty favours firms with the scale to negotiate bilateral arrangements and absorb repeated integration costs.
The UK has proven demand for Open Banking. The commercial test is whether payment services can fund continued investment without restricting access.
Your View
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Paid services make sense when they deliver functionality, service levels or risk controls beyond the baseline. Charging for ordinary access too early can weaken fintech economics and reduce the demand needed to support a durable market.
Australia shows what happens when a mature data right expands faster than the ability to complete customer actions.
Your View
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More data can improve advice, comparison and underwriting. Action becomes more valuable when it removes a meaningful customer step. The case for wider authority should be judged against the friction it removes and the additional fraud, consent and liability risk it creates.
The UK now has to decide how standards should be governed once the market is established and commercial interests are stronger.
Your View
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Standards need to adapt faster than legislation without giving the largest participants control over market access. Funding, technical administration, consumer representation and statutory enforcement should remain clearly separated.
AI agents can progress from reading financial data to recommending and executing financial actions.
Your View
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The key control is authority. Customers need clear limits on what an agent can do, for how much, for whom and for how long. Auditability, revocation and liability become more important as autonomy increases.
Brazil links Open Finance to a high frequency payment system, giving customers an immediate reason to use connected financial services.
Your View
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Brazil shows the value of pairing data access with an action customers already understand and use frequently. Canada does not need the same payment model, but its early data services still need to solve problems often enough to create repeat behaviour.
Open finance can improve advice and competition, but every additional data category increases consent, privacy and implementation complexity.
Your View
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Wider access is most useful when the additional data changes a financial decision or removes customer friction. Scope should follow clear use cases, with common identity, consent and liability controls reducing the cost and risk of expansion.
Explore commercial opportunities in Canadian open banking, consumer-driven finance, data access and financial infrastructure, then assess where new products and business models may be viable.
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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