Plaid has two major announcements regarding our commitment to expanding digital finance’s positive impact on Canadian consumers and businesses. Since entering the market in 2018 – our first international market – we’ve worked with fintech companies, banks, credit unions, regulators, and industry experts to help improve financial access to the more than 37 million Canadians.
Team members across Plaid have been working to meet the digital financial needs of Canadians for years. This includes building customer relationships with partners like Wave, Drop, Lightspeed and Clearco, among others. Accordingly, we’ve also been growing our employee presence within the country to support our overall expansion.
1. Plaid has officially opened its first office in Canada
Plaid’s office is in Toronto, one of Canada’s four top 20 global fintech hubs along with Montreal, Calgary, and Vancouver. Our Canadian team supports critical functions for Plaid, including financial institution partnerships, policy, sales and account management, software engineering, and product management, among others. We can’t wait for existing and new customers, financial institution partners, and friends to visit our space just a stone’s throw from Toronto’s Financial District.
Our financial institution partnerships – some of which are both customers and data providers – play a vital role in driving consumer access to the digital financial solutions that will enable people to lead healthier financial lives. We work closely with financial institutions to enable all consumers to benefit from digital finance. These partnerships are particularly important in Canada, where only a handful of banks have ~90% of the market share.
2. Plaid is also pleased to announce a data access agreement with RBC, the largest bank in Canada
The agreement will – for the first time – bring about secure, API-based financial access for more than 14 million RBC digital clients, who will have the ability to securely connect to the 6,000+ apps and services on Plaid’s data network. This includes 9 of the top 10 most downloaded fintech apps via Androids and the Apple App store.
Plaid’s agreement with RBC, which is the 5th largest bank in North America and the 8th globally by market capitalization, adds exciting momentum to our efforts to empower all consumers with secure access and control over their own financial information so people can lead healthier financial lives. It also demonstrates how fintech-financial institution partnerships can accelerate the connectivity and interoperability that consumers want and deserve.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Despite compliance headaches and struggles with retention, the CEO of one of Europe’s largest neobanks says it’s still hiring amid the tech downturn, with plans to foray into crypto within weeks.
“I think we now have quite a strong C-level team, but getting there obviously means you have people churning on the way,” N26’s CEO and cofounder Valentin Stalf told Sifted, in response to a question about the digital bank’s higher than average employee churn. N26 has 7m customers and a $9bn valuation — a larger market cap than Germany’s second-biggest listed bank, Commerzbank. But in the past couple of years, the once high-flying digital bank has pulled out of the US and UK, and come under fire from regulators over its struggles with anti-money laundering rules.
The Road Ahead
Hiring but holding off global expansion: Stalf said the company plans to increase staff to around 1,700 by the end of this year, from 1,500 now. It’s a hiring plan that sets it apart from many fintechs that are getting leaner right now — and he was upfront about N26’s plans to poach people that are laid off elsewhere. Rather than focusing on boots on the ground in further geographies, however, these hires will be concentrated across N26’s existing eight offices before a second attempt at global expansion once the bank has “reached 15-20% market share in Europe”, up from single digits at the moment.
Crypto products: The product that N26 thinks its customers want and it hasn’t given them yet? Investments and savings. Currently N26 can put their money in different savings pots but they’re not paid interest, and the fintech offers them no way to invest in equities or crypto.
Filling the void: N26 has seen a slew of high-profile departures in the last two years, including one which left the digital bank with no full-time women at the C-suite level, and it ranks among the worst neobanks in Europe for women in management positions. Stalf acknowledged that the bank “can still do better” and “need[s] to work on bringing in more female leaders”.
Compliance: The neobank has also ramped up compliance efforts after facing a fine in Germany and even a new client ban in Italy from regulators over “shortcomings” in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems. “We had a banking licence for five years before having any discussion with the regulator,” he said. “And then from my perspective, a couple of crises happened with Wirecard and Greensill and suddenly the regulator paid more attention to new business models.”
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
On June 22, 2022Loop,the banking platform for international ecommerce brands, will be hosting the first ever in-person Canadian Startup CPG event for ecommerce and CPG brands to gather, share best practices and learn about solutions to help them grow.
During the event, startup CPG brands will have an opportunity to pitch their product with one company being selected to be carried across all of GoodGood’s Toronto locations. At a time when it’s more difficult than ever to acquire new customers online, GoodGood’s retail presence gives CPG brands access to a new channel to be discovered.
This event is the first of its kind in Canada and the Startup CPG community & Startup CPG hosts will select one winning brand to take their brand to the next level with retail distribution.
If you’d like to demo at the event join the CPG Slack Channel and reach out to community manager, Patricia Menegoto.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Launching, scaling or interested in disrupting the finance industry, raising capital or participating in Canada’s growing fintech, blockchain, crypto, web3/4/5, DAOs, digital assets, DeFi, AI, and open banking, sustainable finance, crowdfunding, payments, digital identity, and alternative investing sectors?
Here's a perfect opportunity to connect with stealth and emerging startups, scale-ups, and industry experts, and strategize with partners, pitch investors, and mingle with Toronto’s burgeoning fintech and funding ecosystem.
This event is for entrepreneurs and investors in the Fintech, Blockchain, Digital Finance, Payments, Crypto, Web3/4/5, AI, and Alternative Investing Community AND all innovative companies raising capital
Innovators and investors interested in financial innovation, deal flow, networking and collaborating with startups, investors, angels, early stage-focused VC's and industry experts and developers in alternative finance, fintech, blockchain, crypto, metaverse, web3, defi, refi, cefi, challenger banks, payments, open finance, P2P crowdfinance, wealthtech, insurtech, regtech, digital marketing platforms, innovators, investors and entrepreneurs.
Fintech advisors, consultants, and development experts (startups, institutions, researchers, academia, government)
Financial innovators and developers looking to partner or collaborate
High growth fintech start-ups (stealth mode) and scale-ups. Private or public.
Developers looking for opportunities and to connect with businesses
Funding platforms, dealers, providers and their client networks
Anyone interested in emerging fintech trends, regulations and industry developments
Event Host and Partners:
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain and cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks.
We believe work is about people and ideas. Our Spaces are inhabited by forward thinkers, innovators and game changers who are confident in achieving their goals. Whether you are a small business, entrepreneur or a corporate intrapreneur, at Spaces we help our community to expand their horizon. Our free-spirited vibe attracts an energetic community of positive and open-minded business thinkers who love to meet new people. The full program of professional events and hospitality services, and the inspiring sophisticated European design of our business clubs, involves people in the buzz and energy of Spaces, and make them feel at home. By creating dynamic workspaces with a unique and entrepreneurial spirit we help you think, create and collaborate while our friendly team sees to all of the background logistics and services. At Spaces we make sure that our community can focus on driving their business forward.
Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. focuses on the verification, management and monetization of Self Sovereign Identity, empowering users to control and benefit from the use of their online identity. The Liquid Avatar Mobile App, available in the Apple App Store and Google Play, is a verified Self Sovereign Identity platform that empowers users to create high quality digital icons representing their online personas. These icons allow users to manage and control their digital identity and Verifiable Access and Identity Credentials, and to use Liquid Avatars to share public and permission based private data when they want and with whom they want.
The Liquid Avatar Verifiable Credentials Ecosystem (LAVCE) has been developed to support all participants in a digital credential ecosystem, including the Holder, Issuer and Verifier, using state-of-the-art blockchain and open standards technologies initially as a node on the Indicio Network. The Company recently announced its LQID CARD, a unique US payment card, and the world's first Metaverse Rewards program. The LQID Card a cash back and reward program that has over 600 leading online merchants and is working to release its own branded network payment card. The Company's subsidiary, Oasis Digital Studios, is a creative and development agency that supports a wide range of artists, talent, and enterprises with Non-Fungible Token (NFT) solutions and has acquired 50% and controls the Aftermath Islands Metaverse program.
Liquid Avatar Technologies Inc. is publicly listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol "LQID" (CSE:LQID). The Company also trades in the United States, on the OTCQB under the symbol "LQAVF" and in Frankfurt under the symbol "4T51".
Gowling WLG is an international law firm created by the combination of Gowlings, a leading Canadian law firm, and Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG), a leading UK-based international law firm. With more than 1,400 legal professionals in 19 cities across Canada, the UK, Continental Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Gowling WLG provides clients with top-tier legal advice at home and abroad in a range of areas. Our clients have access to in-depth expertise and experience in key global sectors, including advanced manufacturing, energy, financial services, infrastructure, life sciences, natural resources, real estate and tech. We see the world through our clients’ eyes, and collaborate across countries, offices, service areas and sectors to help them succeed – no matter how challenging the circumstances. Our culture is, above all, about people and teams, based on our belief in the power of relationships to deliver tangible business results.
Hypercycle is an initiative for a new layer 2 blockchain network designed to supply massively scalable, low-cost infrastructure for decentralized AI applications and other associated software. Hypercycle will operate as a sidechain of Cardano, one of the top chains globally, leveraging Cardano’s Hydra sidechain framework, along with SingularityNET’s “proof of reputation” methodology and core algorithms and data structures from the TODA ledgerless blockchain framework. The Hypercycle project will be led by TODA co-founder Toufi Saliba along with Dr. Goertzel and a team of technical experts drawn from the SingularityNET and TODA ecosystems.
United Craft is an Ontario-based craft beverage company that is all about flavour innovation. We offer new flavours and styles of alcoholic beverages that suit today's lifestyles and emerging consumer preferences.
United Craft works with some of Ontario's best craft beverage producers to create natural, better-for-you recipes using unique combinations of hops, herbs, flowers, fruits, grains, specialty yeasts, and (new in 2022) nutrient-rich maple water. Our beverage offerings are all made in small batches and range from those with low alcohol and/or low sugar to traditional award-winning favourites as well as tasty seasonals flavoured with coffee, pecan, hibiscus, ginger, honey, blackberry, pineapple, peach and other popular fruits.
New for 2022 is Hail Caesar Korean BBQ (a vodka-based bold and tasty drink), Eden Grove Zero Sugar Apple Cider, Sip Elderflower Cherry and Juniper Line Maple Water Radlers, and Flair Los Sangria. YUP lager won the GOLD medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards and Tomorrow Brew Co's Honey Ginger Shandy and Coffee Milk Stout won GOLD at the Ontario Brewing Awards. Moi Mosa and Moi Jito are now top-selling malt-based radlers inspired by popular cocktails.
Finliti is an immersive dimension where you will meet your financial self. Through simulation missions, interactive quests, and narrative storytelling, you will explore your financial potential and join a community of knowledge-hungry investors. Unlock exciting virtual lands, deep dive into complex financial concepts, and evolve your Faction Guide from civilian form to Wealth Warrior. Our revolutionary Investor Risk Profile assigns you a Faction Guide, a customizable avatar whose stats develop simultaneously with your knowledge-base. You will leave Finlitiverse with tangible tools to implement in the real world. Leave emotionally-charged decision-making behind, experience better judgement, and cut down time spent on investment research by 80%.
GenBlock Financial aims to bring all North American investors within the rapidly advancing decentralized financial space, with a focus on ease of access and compliance without compromising on security, privacy, or decentralization.
We aim to bridge the gap between the two worlds of traditional and decentralized finance – all under GenBlock and in collaboration with our global entity blockbank. A reliable, convenient and integrated toolset for your financial empowerment, topped-off with an AI financial companion to assist in your decision making.
Grant Thornton LLP is a leading Canadian accounting and business advisory firm providing audit, tax and advisory services—locally and across Canada to dynamic privately owned, publicly listed and public sector organizations. We offer your organization the best of both worlds: a global outlook of what’s important plus our experience and insights in your local business market. We are dedicated to helping our clients, colleagues, and communities thrive.
Founded in 2017, Take It Easy Group’s mission is to help your Seed & Series A start-up scale for success. Our team of experienced Executive Assistants are your strategic partners, with proven methods to keep your business organized and efficient, so you can focus on growth.
In the early 2000s, the federal government convened a task force to review [why the banks have disproportionate influence over moving money in Canada]. The findings? Canada’s payment systems were still “controlled by Canada’s major banks and other key institutions,” whose “interests are best-served by keeping at bay new entrants to the system‚ the very entrants who would bring the innovations that Canadians need.”
Don’t disrupt the banks – disrupt the distributional coalitions
Decades ago, American economist and political scientist Mancur Olson argued that the longer a country is stable, the more “distributional coalitions” it will have. Distributional coalitions are interest groups. They lobby the government to protect them from competition, muting the forces of creative destruction and slowing down the rate of economic growth.
Canada’s problem is not that it doesn’t have a competitive payment system. The problem is that it has old and powerful distributional coalitions that stand between sclerosis and dynamism. Canada is predicted to be the slowest-growing OECD economy over the next decade. Although regulatory capture isn’t the only reason why, it’s one of them.
Old and powerful distributional coalitions need to be disrupted, beginning with the oldest one at the centre of the Canadian economy: the financial sector, which has a distribution coalition that predates 1867. “Improving the financial services sector’s productivity would not only boost its performance,” according to a recent report from the C.D. Howe Institute, “but also that of Canada’s economy as a whole.”
This should start with the Liberal government amending the Canadian Payments Act, which doesn’t let fintech companies become members of Payments Canada and use the payment systems.
Giving fintechs the ability to move money instantly empowers them to compete with big banks for market share. Moreover, as the fintechs get bigger, so will their distributional coalition, which also empowers them to compete with big banks.
In addition to letting new distributional coalitions get stronger, Canada should also prevent the old distributional coalitions from maintaining their dominance by anti-competitively merging with or acquiring their competitors. The Competition Act is up for review. The Liberal government should give the Competition Bureau the resources and legal room to do its job better.
Or we could do the opposite. We could wrestle power away from Canada’s biggest interests only to give it right back, as the federal government has done time and time again.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
EY Canada | Jessica Hansen and Sam Nazari | Apr 4, 2022
Open Banking is Changing Privacy Laws Around the Globe
Implementation of open banking in a number of jurisdictions — for example, Australia (the Customer Data Right), the UK (Open Banking Implementation Entity, 2018), Europe (Payments Services Directive II(PSD2)), Brazil (Regulation on Open Banking) and India (Unified Payments Interface, 2016) — has shown promises of immense value delivered to all kinds of clients.
As more and more consumers continue to shift their expectation to access flexible, alternative, and personalized products and services, businesses are being forced to think more innovatively to meet these expectations. Customers’ demand to take ownership of their data has led to a move where they will provide consent around the sharing of their data, with an expectation of then receiving improved products and services, while the organization still ensures the security of the personal information.
In August 2021, the Advisory Committee on Open Banking published its final report recommending that Phase 1, including design and implementation, of open banking in Canada be established by January 2023. In March 2022, the Government of Canada officially announced the open banking lead with a mandate to develop a "made-in-Canada" regime based on the final report's recommendations.
Risk management and privacy considerations
Consent management and the right to be forgotten: Any sharing of information across entities via APIs will require explicit consent from the data subject.
Data management: Identification, classification, protection, retention and destruction of client records should be agreed between the data controller and data processor in the organization and/or any third party engaged in any capacity through the data’s lifecycle. The need to align with regulatory requirements should be kept front and centre when developing policies governing the classification, level of protection, retention and destruction of client records.
Security risk: process to deal with data breaches or incidents will also be a factor. In a world where the protection of IT systems has become mandatory and fundamental for every kind of business, it is important to be prepared to face cyberattacks in the most cost-effective way.
Business risk: As the post-pandemic industry takes shape, consumer expectations are changing. Increased use of technology and the ready availability of information means that consumers’ knowledge around their rights, privacy and data use is growing.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Just this year, open banking hit 5m users in the UK. While this is far behind experts’ predictions of where the tech would be, it’s still a significant milestone.
“Open banking is the ability for people to have more control over their bank accounts. Closed banking means, if you have a bank account, you are at the mercy of your bank, you can only do the things that the bank has allowed you to do.
“But with open banking, your bank account is suddenly more valuable. You can use your bank account with third party applications, to track your finances, help you save and spend smarter. Moreover, with your consent, your bank account can make smart payments and smart payment decisions on your behalf.”
“It doesn’t seem like a lot, right?” says Mesters about the 5m mark. But, he tells Sifted, the speed at which the UK reached it is noteworthy; while it took 10 months to grow the number of users from 1m to 2m in 2020, it took four months to grow from 4m to more than 5m.
2. Adoption varies across Europe
Due to widespread mandating, the UK scored a 10 out of 10 and was the leading adopter of open banking in Europe. Hungary and Romania, at the other end of the spectrum, were given a two, due to open banking being a low priority for regulators. Adoption varies not only because of regulatory differences, but also the culture around payments.
3. Payments are accelerating open banking adoption
Boosting adoption — particularly in the UK — are payments enabled by open banking. McKinsey found most use cases created by fintechs and non-banks in the UK centred around payments.
McKinsey found 30% of open banking licence holders in the UK are infrastructure providers — and this had a “multiplying effect” on market innovation, since these providers make it easier for other fintechs to launch products and services.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
Plaid has two major announcements regarding our commitment to expanding digital finance’s positive impact on Canadian consumers and businesses. Since entering the market in 2018 – 
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. 
Despite compliance headaches and struggles with retention, the CEO of one of Europe’s largest neobanks says it’s still hiring amid the tech downturn, with plans to foray into crypto within weeks.
In the early 2000s, the federal government convened a task force to review [why the banks have disproportionate influence over moving money in Canada]. The 
Open Banking is Changing Privacy Laws Around the Globe
