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
The Case for Better Banking Options for Canadian SMEs
Banking Competition | Oct 28, 2024
Image from BNN Bloomberg, The Close (Cato Pastoll, CEO) Loop Financial)
Canadian small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) show great interest in expanding operations globally to tap new markets and scale but they often encounter an unexpected challenges when they do so. According to Cato Pastoll, CEO of Loop Financial during an interview on a BNN Bloomberg show The Close "Why small business needs better international banking access", Canada's banking infrastructure lacks the necessary capabilities to facilitate their global aspirations. So why is this the case? Canada doesn't have a competitive banking system to support Canadian companies looking to expand globally given there are only a handful of incumbent banks that dominate the market, leaving consumers with minimal choices.
See: Can Fintechs Help Narrow Canada’s Prosperity Gap?
Canada's financial system is heavily concentrated making it harder and more costly for small businesses to access better financial solutions that are available elsewhere. This is especially bad at a time when Canada's productivity is dying on the vine and in major need of a boost. This lack of diversity has resulted in outcomes such as charges, complicated procedures and restricted assistance for cross border transactions.
During small business week, Cato Pastoll spoke to many business owners who were frustrated with Canada's current financial system that failed to support their growth ambitions (understandably so) saying:
"It’s time to switch from unfocused grant programs to a targeted regulatory overhaul to help Canadian businesses succeed."
Fostering Change to Help Canadian Businesses Grow
He highlights two approaches to foster change to help Canadian businesses expand globally without unnecessary barriers.
1. Prioritize Competition
It is time for Canadian policymakers to shift their focus towards prioritizing competition and innovation by backing fintech firms that have the potential to provide innovative solutions for various financial needs. Implementing changes could pave the way for new entrants in the banking industry to introduce services catering to SME requirements like reduced charges and simplified international transactions.
See: CFPB Finalizes Open Banking Rule: What it Means for Canada
By emphasizing innovation and fostering the growth of fintech industry players in Canadas landscape the country could establish accessible financial services aimed at promoting fair competition among businesses (level the playing field).
2. Prioritize Innovation in Banking Services
Canadian businesses require specialized banking services tailored to their challenges in order to stay competitive globally. Fintech firms such, as Loop Financial are actively crafting payment solutions to streamline trade for businesses by offering faster and more convenient options. These innovative financial tools cater specifically to the needs of businesses, and play an essential services role in filling the void left by conventional banks in the market.
See:
Small Step Forward As Feds Publish Straw-man Open Banking Framework
FCAC Embraces New Role in Canadian Consumer Banking
Canada’s Open Banking Framework 2024 Preview
Conclusion
When Canadian companies thrive overseas the positive effects are felt throughout the economy. Expanding internationally leads to job creation, higher economic productivity and nurtures development.. Canadian SMEs need financial services that cater to their growth aspirations. By modernizing our banking system Canada can facilitate the expansion of SMEs that play an underappreciated role in strengthening economic resilience.
Canada's businesses are prepared to face competition but our financial infrastructure needs to keep pace with them.
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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CFPB Finalizes Open Banking Rule: What it Means for Canada
U.S. Open Banking | Oct 22, 2024
Image: Freepik/rawpixel.com
CFPB's New Open Banking Rule Impacts Data Rights, Influencing Competition and Innovation in Both the U.S. and Canada
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has introduced a new Open Banking rule that will change how Americans manage their financial data. The Personal Financial Data Rights Rule lets people have greater control over who can access their financial information, making it easier and safer to switch banks or service providers.
See: CFPB’s New Rule Boosts Open Banking Standards
The new rule aims to lower borrowing costs, improve customer service, and give consumers more options when it comes to banking and payment services. Beyond the United States, this change could also influence how Canada develops its own open banking system which would may help reshape the future of financial services in both countries.
What Does the New Rule Do for U.S. Consumers?
The new regulation from the CFPB allows consumers to provide their banks or financial service providers permission (or not) to share their financial data with other parties. Information from credit cards, bank accounts, payment applications, and other sources may be included. The goal of this rule is to make it simpler for customers to get better deals and improved services from banks and fintech companies by removing barriers (switching costs) that prevent them from sharing their data.
See: Competition Act Amendments and What It Means for Fintech
It is anticipated that increasing data portability and openness would boost competition and motivate financial institutions to enhance their products in order to keep their clients happy.
- People can transfer their financial data from one bank or provider to another without paying any fees, making it easier to switch to better options.
- The rule provides stronger privacy controls by ensuring that any data shared with third parties is only used for the specific services the consumer has approved. This prevents the data from being used for other purposes like advertising.
- Ability to remove access swiftly with a simple and easy to understand revocation process. If you take away access to your data, the rule ensures it stops immediately and your data is deleted by default unless you give permission (again) within a year.
- The rule will be phased in with institutions being required to follow the rule by 2026 (smaller institutions have until 2030).
Rohit Chopra, CFPB Director:
“Too many Americans are stuck in financial products with lousy rates and service. Today’s action will give people more power to get better rates and service on bank accounts, credit cards, and more.”
What Does This Mean for Open Banking in Canada?
The U.S. adopting open banking may have implications for Canada who has been working to develop its own 'consumer-driven' financial model of open banking for several years now (but has been dragging its feet).
See: Canada’s Open Banking Framework 2024 Preview
1. Canada has taken a step-by-step approach to giving people more control over their financial information. However, with the progress (and productivity) achieved in the United States around Open Banking it may encourage Canadian policymakers to accelerate their efforts to finalize open banking in Canada so Canadian consumers do not fall further behind and miss out on modern banking choices.
2. If both the U.S. and Canada have interoperable data-sharing standards, it will improve cross-broder options for financial services, which would be especially beneficial for Canadian fintechs looking to expand South of the border while providing Canadians with more options and new, creative products that operate in both countries. By aligning standards, it will also make it easier for companies operating in both the U.S. and Canada to comply with regulatory requirements (rather than have duplication of effort, causing productivity gaps).
3. Canadian banks will feel pressure to innovate their products in the face of increased competition from fintechs and U.S. banks. Otherwise, consumers may begin to switch in favour of cheaper, better financial offerings and an overall improved customer experience (more control over their data and privacy).
See: FCAC Embraces New Role in Canadian Consumer Banking
4. By allowing consumers to grant third parties access to approved data, the U.S. is creating stricter privacy regulations than currently in place. As data sharing grows, Canada will want to ensure its consumers are also being protected with comparable strict privacy laws to ensure public confidence.
While CFPBs Open Banking regulation is positive and promotes competition in payments, it draws attention to the challenges that Canada needs to overcome to successfully implement a similar open banking system in Canada that will help both customers and the larger financial ecosystem. While not an exhaustive list, these obstacles may include handling data privacy issues, guaranteeing compliance among smaller organizations (yet providing flexibility on its implementation), and handling the technological difficulties of safe data exchange.
Outlook
As Canada works on its own version of open banking, it can take useful insights from what the U.S. is doing to build a system that encourages competition and innovation while keeping consumers at the center. By emphasizing choice, data protection, and fair practices, Canada can develop a system that benefits its people and helps the digital economy grow. The U.S. approach to making data easier to share could also help smaller companies compete with bigger banks, leading to a more dynamic and healthy market.
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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From Open Banking to Utilities. Deck Raises $6.2M
Funding | Oct 17, 2024
Image: Freepik/rawpixel.com
Deck Secures $6.2M to Bring Open Banking's Transparency to Utility Management
As reported by Betakit, the co-founders of Flinks have raised $6.2 million CAD from investors like Golden Ventures, Better Tomorrow Ventures, and Luge Capital for a new business called Deck that plans to make it easier for Canadians to manage their energy and telecom services. The goal is to change how people interact with their utility providers while helping them save money and access their data more easily.
- Similar to open banking lets people share their financial info, Deck’s Open Utility model gives users real-time access to their energy and telecom data to help them track and reduce energy usage. It also makes it easier for people to switch providers which encourages more competition (and potentially lowering their bills).
See: National Bank acquires majority stake in fintech startup Flinks in $103M deal
- Studies show that being able to see and understand energy usage data can help people save 15-20% on their energy costs each year. With many households spending over $200 a month on utilities, there’s a ripe opportunity.
- The founders of Deck built Flinks, a popular company in open banking that connects bank data securely with financial apps. This experience gives them a strong understanding of keeping data safe and focusing on user needs.
Outlook
Deck has the potential to bring innovation to the industry and help people save money. This is similar to smart meters in the energy industry, where people can see real-time data about their energy use, allowing them to adjust their habits and save energy.
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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KOHO Secures $190M to Move Towards Banking Power
Fintech Capital | Oct 2, 2024
Image: Freepik
KOHO Banks on $190M Boost to Accelerate Towards a Banking License
We're getting closer to the day when a Fintech has grown so large in Canada that it can earn a coveted banking license. To that end, KOHO just announced that it's secured $190 million in fresh capital to grow it's lending business, offer a broader suite of financial products, and progress efforts towards becoming a Schedule 1 bank.
- Leading the $40 million equity portion is PROPELR Growth, with in new investor Rockefeller Capital and returning partners Drive Capital, TTV, and BDC.
- The $150 million debt financing is from new and existing partners and will primarily be used to grow KOHO's credit offerings.
- With this latest round of financing, KOHO will expand its range of financial solutions to empower consumers with their money, consisting of buy-now-pay-later plans, renter insurance, and rent reporting and new services that will be introduced.an emphasis on flexibility and customer empowerment by consistently introducing new services.
- PROPELR Growth originally invested in KOHO in 2022, so for them to lead the equity portion of this latest round highlights their confidence in KOHO's ability to execute their expansion strategy towards a schedule 1 banking license. Sanjiv Samant, Managing Partner of PROPELR Growth, will join KOHO's Board of Directors.
See: KOHO Gives Renters a Boost with Cash Back and Credit Help
Daniel Eberhard, CEO KOHO:
“We’re more excited than ever at KOHO. We had the choice of profitability with our existing capital but this injection allows us to grow faster and expand our lending business, both of which support our bank license application. This is going to let us keep building and scaling wonderful products like rent reporting, tenant insurance, buy-now pay later and more. We remain incredibly humbled by the trust of our team, our investors and most importantly, our users. Onwards.”
Outlook
Since its founding in 2014, KOHO has helped over a million Canadians by offering solutions for money management, credit development, and budgeting. The firm is clearly committed to changing the banking landscape in Canada. Its goal is to provide fully insured and regulated services in direct competition with established banks. With confident backing from investors and $190 million in new funding, Canadian fintech KOHO is ratcheting up its financial services on route to becoming a Schedule 1 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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Russia Pivot’s on Crypto as BRICS Momentum Builds
Crypto | Aug 28, 2024
Image: Freepik/wirestock
BRICS alternative payment system and Russia's transition to crypto signal's global finance pressure on US dollar
As reported by Bloomberg, Russia will formally start testing cryptocurrency exchanges on September 1, 2024, in an effort to promote international trade and avoid US sanctions. These experiments will use the National Payment Card System (NPCS) to convert rubles to cryptocurrency. Concurrently, the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are looking at trade alternatives to the US dollar, and talks about using a single currency are growing. These changes could have a profound impact to cross border payments, and provide new options for countries seeking to sever ties with the banking system dominated by the West.
Alternative Financial Networks
Russia hopes to provide a quick fix through the NPCS for Russian companies that are having trouble doing business abroad given the growing limitations of its access to international financial networks such as SWIFT.
See:
BRICS Announces Launch of Blockchain Payment System
SWIFT Launching CBDC Solution Within 2 Years (to Compete with BRICS)
At the same time, BRICS nations are discussing the possibility of establishing a single currency for commerce payments within their bloc. According to Cryptopolitan, On August 14, Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that the administration is still working out the details of legalizing cryptocurrency exchanges, stating:
"As of yet, we have not discovered a way to accomplish this."
While creating a BRICS currency is still a long ways off, Russia is looking to support cross-border payments with crypto as a stopgap measure. As BRICS momentum grows, it highlights how international economies are looking for alternatives to reliance on the US dollar and those that control it.
Why It Matters
Russia's decision to proceed with crypto trials is a direct response to economic sanctions and aligned with BRICS' discussions on alternative financial systems. If these initiatives are successful, they may quicken adoption of crypto for cross border payments and transform trade between BRICS countries and the rest of the world.
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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Revolut’s Crowdfunding Success from Start-up to $45 Billion
Crowdfunding | Aug 27, 2024
Image: Pixabay/geralt
Crowdfunding Triumph for Early Investors
While many know Revolut to be a robust global financial powerhouse, they may not be aware of the strategic and innovative crowdfunding success which opened the door to 433 retail investor to take part in their extraordinary growth journey. In 2016, Revolut raised a £1 million crowdfunding round at a valuation of just £42 million on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube. At that time, investors funded on average just £2,152 per investor. The demand was overwhelmingly successful that investors had to be randomly chosen from over 10,000 interested investors, and the campaign achieved its funding goal in a matter of days.
Fast forward to today, Revolut's valuation in 2024 has skyrocketed in true hockey stick fashion to $45 billion making those early crowdfunding investments ultra profitable with shares now valued at over £860,000 profit for up to 40,000% gains.
See: Fintech Revolut’s crowdfunding is going nuts, with £12 million pledged already
Looking back to that successful campaign over 8 years prior, Revolut together with Crowdcube demonstrated the power of crowdfunding where everyday retail investors could invest as remote 'armchair dragons' (a nod to entrepreneur's pitch show Dragon's Den) and achieve outsized returns in a world typically reserved for venture capitalists and early institutional investors.
Funding Milestones
- Seed Funding (2015): The cmopany raised $3.5 million to build its first product, a multi-currency card and payment platform.
- Series A (2016): Revolut secured $8.7 million to further build its platform and set the stage for future growth. At the time, Revolut's founders decided to allocate a portion of their raise to crowdfunding which not only resulted in fresh funds but earned 433 supportive fans who would promote and share the story.
- Series B (2017): Revolut raised $66 million at a valuation of $350 million to fuel international expansion.
See: Revolut Launches Low Fee Crypto Exchange in the UK
- Series C (2018): Next it was $250 million raise which brought Revolut’s valuation to $1.7 billion officially making it a unicorn.
- Series D (2020): Revolut secured $500 million which led its valuation to $5.5 billion. This led to new features like stock trading and crypto services.
- Series E (2021): $800 million at a valuation of $33 billion which confirmed itsposition as one of Europe’s most valuable fintech firms.
- 2024 Valuation: By this year in 2024, Revolut's value grew to $45 billion and the company announced plans to offer $500 million worth of shares to employees, signaling continued growth and eyeing a potential IPO.
Secret Sauce to Revolut's Growth?
- Revolut began as a straightforward multi-currency card and has now grown into a financial super-app that provides a swath of services like insurance, stock trading, cryptocurrency, and budgeting tools. Continuous product innovation.
- Global expansion has led Revolut to serving over 45 million customers in over 200 countries.
- Revolut's crowdfunding strategy helped raise funding dollars while creating a devoted group of early backers who served as brand evangelists and accelerated the company's growth.
See: Revolut Finally Receives UK Banking License (after 3 years)
Conclusion
Revolut's equity crowdfunding campaign provided retail investors the opportunity to join one of the biggest startup success stories in Europe highlighting the roadmap for innovation, strategic funding, smart investment, and the potential of equity crowdfunding as the firm contemplates an IPO.
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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Join the 2024 Canada FinTech Forum! Sept 10-11, 2024
Fintech Event | Aug 18, 2024
Image: Canada Fintech Forum 2024
Join Us at the 2024 Canada FinTech Forum
NCFA is pleased to be a visibility partner of the annual Canada FinTech Forum 2024 taking place at the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on September 10-11, 2024. This year’s event brings together over 1,300 industry leaders, innovators, and fintech enthusiasts to explore the latest trends in financial technology.
The forum’s theme, “Pushing the Boundaries of Fintech Innovation,” promises to deliver thought-provoking insights into the rapidly evolving landscape of fintech, with a focus on:
- AI Advancements in financial services
- Enterprise Infrastructure
- Integrated & Open Finance
Featured Speakers
The event will showcase thought leaders and innovators from across the fintech industry, including:
See: Innovative Approaches to Smarter Regulation
- Shelby Austin: Co-Founder and CEO, Arteria AI
- Dax Dasilva: Founder and CEO, Lightspeed Commerce
- Harley Finkelstein: President, Shopify
- Roham Gharegozlou: Co-Founder and CEO, Dapper Labs
- Darryl White: CEO, BMO Financial Group
- Jil Macdonald: Chief Operating Officer, Walnut Insurance
- Mara Reiff: Interim Co-CEO and Chief Customer Officer, FreshBooks
Hot Sessions
Attendees will have the chance to take part in lively panels and conversations that explore many aspects of financial technology's future throughout the 2 day event, such as:
- Concrete Gen AI Applications in Finance: Explore how generative AI is being applied to reshape the financial services industry with leaders from Scotiabank, NVIDIA, and Arteria AI.
See: FINTRAC Working to Fully Restore AML System Post-Cyberattack
- Building Bank-Fintech Partnerships: Learn from successful collaborations between institutions like National Bank of Canada and PayPal.
Networking & Exhibits
In addition, attendees can network with top executives at a prestigious Annual Supper, which features speakers like Shelby Austin and Dax Dasilva, and discover the latest innovative financial products in the Exhibit Hall.
Registration
Don’t pass up this great opportunity to be part of this influential fintech event. Use NCFA’s 15% discount code: FF2024NCFA15 and save $$!
🔗 Register here: Canada FinTech Forum 2024
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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