Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Enterprise, Scaleup
Saris Raises $28.8M USD For Bank AI Workflows
June 1, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Risk Compliance And Regtech, Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing
Bank AI Workflow Automation With Real Lending Proof
On May 28, 2026, Saris announced a $28.8M USD Series A to scale its agentic workflow platform for banks and credit unions. 8VC led the round, with participation from Audacious Ventures, Homebrew, Btech Consortium, and Service Ventures. Saris builds AI agents for lending, compliance, and operations, where financial institutions still spend staff time on document review, data validation, exception handling, and repetitive back office work.
Saris is a Canadian and US based AI fintech, not a Canada only vendor. The company’s hiring page describes a Canada and US hiring footprint, with hybrid workspace options in Montréal, Toronto, and San Francisco. This affects the business model. Saris can draw from Canadian AI and fintech talent while selling into the larger US banking market, where 8VC and enterprise partners can help open doors.
See: National Bank Adds Sardine For Fraud Controls
The Canadian link also sits in the founder story. Danial Jameel, Alice Dinu, and James Dang previously built Oohlala Mobile, later Ready Education, which Y Combinator lists in its Summer 2016 batch with a Montréal location. That history gives Saris a stronger base than a typical first time AI startup. Selling workflow software into regulated institutions takes trust, implementation discipline, and patience.
Saris now has more capital to compete in the US banking market, deepen integrations with Fiserv, Encompass, and MeridianLink, and grow the team that trains and deploys its AI agents. The strategic question for Canada is how much of that growth, talent, and customer expansion stays connected to the domestic fintech ecosystem.
How Saris Automates Lending And Compliance Work
Saris trains agents on each institution’s workflows and systems, then applies them to repeatable tasks across lending and operations under human supervision. Based on company reported figures, Saris’ agentic workflows automate up to 70% of consumer, mortgage, and commercial lending tasks and reduce costs by up to 35%. The platform also more than doubles output without adding headcount.
MeridianLink’s partner page says Saris works directly inside MeridianLink to automate document review, field validation, discrepancy remediation, post closing QA, and fraud alert resolution across consumer lending, DL4, and quality control workflows. MeridianLink also reports 99.8% field accuracy, 10x faster file review, and 3x underwriter and loan officer capacity, with one customer clearing a 600 loan backlog in four days.
Saris Against nCino, thirdstream, And Boss Insights
So how does Saris stack up to competitors. Its target market extends beyond Canadian financial institutions, and its product fits banks and credit unions that already use systems such as Fiserv, Encompass, and MeridianLink.
US founded nCino brings global platform scale. More than 2,700 customers globally use nCino’s platform, including enterprise banks, regional banks, community banks, credit unions, challenger banks, building societies, and independent mortgage banks. That scale gives nCino a distribution advantage with institutions that want a broad cloud banking platform across lending, account opening, portfolio workflows, and customer engagement.
See: Credit Unions Build Shared Digital Banking Scale
Saris does not need to replace the full operating platform. Its opening is file review, document checks, exception handling, and throughput inside systems institutions already use. That gives Saris a more focused sale where banks and credit unions already run core platforms or loan origination systems but still rely on staff to clear repetitive work.
Canadian based thirdstream is more domestic and onboarding focused. More than 50 financial institutions use thirdstream’s onboarding platform, including banks, credit unions, brokerages, and trust companies. Its strength is in Canadian account origination, identity verification, automated decisioning, real time account funding, and document management.
Toronto based Boss Insights sits closer to lending data infrastructure. Its platform gives financial institutions business lending data infrastructure across accounting, sales, banking, payroll, tax, analytics, monitoring, and customer portal capabilities. Boss Insights lists 1 API and 1,000 plus integrations, which places it closer to open finance, borrower data, and commercial lending intelligence than Saris’ document and workflow automation layer.
Saris looks strongest where banks and credit unions want targeted AI automation without a full platform replacement. Saris can draw from Canadian talent and a Montréal founder history while selling into larger US banking budgets. The question is whether customer relationships, implementation teams, and product leadership stay connected to Canada as the company grows.
Danial Jameel, cofounder and CEO of Saris:
“Our vision is a future where humans and AI work side by side in financial services.”
Talking Point
Saris’ raise shows financial AI moving into the parts of banking where cost, controls, and customer turnaround times get measured. AI can lower operating costs, but financial firms still need evidence that models remain fair, secure, monitored, and accountable. That operating pressure also runs through AI compliance and governance costs.
Should Canadian AI funding and fintech policy focus more on regulated proof points inside banks, credit unions, payments, lending, compliance, and capital markets rather than broad AI adoption metrics?
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
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
NCFA Weekly Fintech Intelligence May 23-29, 2026
May 29, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer Weekly Intelligence | Payments And Market Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure
Image: Freepik
This live weekly NCFA intelligence page tracks financial technology developments that significantly affect how fintechs build, sell, raise capital, and operate under scrutiny. Coverage prioritizes Canada and includes global events that directly influence competitive conditions, market access, and execution realities across fintech sectors. This page will be updated throughout the week with market movers in a live format and then each week we'll close the prior week's contents in prep for the upcoming week, and continue on a rolling basis. (Missed prior week's Fintech Whisperer? (December 6-12, 2025, December 13-19, 2025, January 1-9, 2026, January 10-16, 2026, January 17-23, 2026, January 24-30, 2026, January 31-February 6, 2026, February 7-13, 2026, February 14-20, 2026, February 21-27, 2026, February 28-March 6, 2026, March 7-13, 2026, March 14-20, 2026, March 21-27, 2026, March 28-April 3, 2026, April 4-10, 2026, April 11-17, 2026, April 18-24, 2026, April 25-May 1, 2026, May 2-8, 2026, May 9-15, 2026, May 16-22, 2026).
Weekly Fintech Market Intelligence May 23 - 29, 2026
Artificial Intelligence And Data
UK ICO Plans AI And Agentic Systems Guidance
May 27, 2026, United Kingdom
- The ICO says it will develop an AI and ADM statutory code of practice to clarify data protection requirements for organizations developing and deploying AI systems.
- The regulator will publish guidance on how agentic AI systems can comply with UK GDPR.
- The ICO also plans public guidance on personal data use in AI tools and transparency resources for SMEs and public bodies procuring cloud based AI services.
AI compliance is moving from broad principles into operating guidance for agents, automated decisions, procurement, and personal data use. Fintechs, banks, insurers, regtech firms, and AI vendors should track how privacy rules shape AI product design, governance, and customer trust.
Payments And Market Infrastructure
Bank Of Canada Joins BIS Project Agorá Wholesale Settlement Tests
May 27, 2026, Canada
- The Bank of Canada joins the next phase of BIS Project Agorá after the project tested wholesale cross border settlement using tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank money.
- The BIS published a 97 page Project Agorá report covering unified ledger design, programmable settlement logic, liquidity coordination, and atomic settlement testing across jurisdictions.
- The project involves the BIS Innovation Hub, seven central banks, and major private financial institutions testing whether tokenized deposits and wholesale central bank money can improve cross border payment efficiency.
- The Bank of Canada says the next phase will test how the model performs with real value transactions and more complex settlement scenarios.
Project Agorá's focus is not retail crypto speculation. It is wholesale financial infrastructure, cross border settlement efficiency, programmable payments, and institutional control over tokenized money movement. Go deeper, visit NCFA's curated fintech reports and research library, where the BIS Project Agorá report is listed.
Fed Proposes Limited Payment Accounts For Eligible Firms
May 26, 2026, United States
- The Federal Reserve requests comment on special purpose Payment Accounts for legally eligible institutions to clear and settle certain payment activity through Reserve Bank accounts.
- The proposal would update the Payment System Risk Policy and Account Access Guidelines, with Payment Accounts separate from full Master Accounts.
- Payment Accounts would include tighter controls, including no intraday credit, no discount window access, no interest on balances, limited services, and balance limits generally capped at $1B.
- The Fed discusses use cases raised by commenters including stablecoin reserve operations, tokenized securities settlement, tokenized assets, pay by bank checkout, B2B transfers, instant wages, refunds, and the U.S. dollar leg of cross border transactions.
- Comments are due by July 27, 2026 under Docket No. OP-1878.
This is not open access to the Fed system. It is a narrower settlement pathway for legally eligible firms operating outside the traditional bank model. Stablecoin issuers, PSPs, crypto firms, tokenization platforms, and embedded finance providers should track whether limited Reserve Bank account access becomes a practical alternative to sponsor bank dependence. This connects to NCFA’s analysis of Fed Payment Accounts and fintech settlement access.
Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization
Open Transaction Layer Launches For Onchain Finance
May 28, 2026, United States
- Open Transaction Layer launches as an industry initiative for identity, messaging, and transaction coordination across onchain finance.
- Founding participants include Fireblocks, Checkout.com, Cross River Bank, MetaMask, Robinhood, Securitize, SoFi, Stellar Development Foundation, Solana Foundation, and others.
- The initiative targets coordination between institutions, wallets, protocols, and agents as tokenized finance and onchain payments become more complex.
Onchain finance needs shared coordination standards before institutional adoption can scale cleanly. Banks, wallets, PSPs, exchanges, tokenization platforms, and agentic payment builders should track whether identity, messaging, and transaction standards become competitive infrastructure rather than optional middleware.
Mastercard Receives New York BitLicense
May 27, 2026, United States
- Mastercard receives a New York BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services.
- The approval expands Mastercard’s regulated digital asset permissions in New York, one of the strictest U.S. state licensing regimes for virtual currency activity.
- Mastercard says the licence supports its work across digital assets, stablecoins, and tokenized settlement services.
Large payment networks are adding regulated digital asset permissions to support stablecoin, tokenized settlement, and digital asset infrastructure at institutional scale. Banks, PSPs, exchanges, custodians, and fintech platforms should track which firms secure licences that let crypto services connect with mainstream payment networks.
SoFi Brings Bank Issued Stablecoin To 15 Million Members
May 27, 2026, United States
- SoFi says nearly 15 million members can now buy, sell, hold, and convert SoFiUSD directly inside the SoFi app.
- SoFiUSD becomes the first stablecoin issued by a U.S. national bank to launch on a banking platform.
- The stablecoin is issued by SoFi Bank, N.A. and is designed as a fully reserved, 1:1 redeemable U.S. dollar stablecoin operating on public blockchains.
- SoFi says upcoming features include blockchain based international transfers and conversion into interest bearing tokenized deposits.
Stablecoins are moving deeper into consumer banking distribution, not just crypto infrastructure. Banks, fintechs, PSPs, and regulators should watch whether regulated bank issued stablecoins begin competing directly with cards, deposits, remittance products, and embedded payment flows. Also supports this analysis of stablecoins becoming payment infrastructure.
Tether Plans Georgian Lari Stablecoin With Government Support
May 25, 2026, Georgia
- Tether says it plans to launch GEL₮, a stablecoin representing the Georgian lari, with support from the Government of Georgia.
- Reuters reports Tether did not clarify the exact structure of the partnership or whether the initiative would amount to a central bank digital currency.
- The initiative targets digital payments, cross border commerce, remittances, and fintech development using regulated digital fiat infrastructure.
National currency stablecoins are expanding beyond major economies. Stablecoin issuers, banks, PSPs, regulators, and treasury teams should track how smaller jurisdictions use digital fiat infrastructure to compete for payment flows, fintech investment, and cross border settlement.
Regulation And Policy
SEC Proposes Rescinding Climate Disclosure Rules
May 29, 2026, United States
- The SEC proposes rescinding its 2024 climate related disclosure rules in full.
- The Commission says the rules exceed its statutory authority, conflict with a materiality based disclosure model, and impose costs not justified by their expected informational benefits.
- The 2024 rules had been stayed since April 2024 during litigation and never took effect.
- Public comments will run for 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Climate disclosure is moving back toward company specific materiality rather than a dedicated SEC climate reporting regime. Public companies, fintech lenders, ESG data providers, regtech firms, investors, and capital markets platforms should track how climate risk reporting moves across U.S. federal rules, state rules, EU requirements, and voluntary investor expectations.
OCC Approves United Texas Bank National Charter Conversion
May 28, 2026, United States
- The OCC grants conditional approval for United Texas Bank to convert from a Texas state chartered bank into a national bank.
- The approval brings the bank under OCC supervision and includes conditions tied to governance, risk management, compliance, and Bank Secrecy Act controls.
- The charter conversion matters for firms watching how banks with digital asset, correspondent banking, and settlement ambitions move into federal supervision.
Bank charter strategy is becoming part of digital asset and payment infrastructure competition. Banks, fintechs, stablecoin firms, custodians, and compliance teams should track which institutions secure federal supervision, stronger operating permissions, and clearer access to national banking infrastructure.
France Warns Crypto Firms Ahead Of MiCA Deadline
May 28, 2026, France
- Reuters reports France’s markets regulator warned crypto firms they could face blacklisting and prosecution if they operate without EU authorization after the end of June.
- The warning raises the compliance stakes for crypto firms relying on transition periods under MiCA.
- The deadline affects market access for crypto asset service providers operating across EU jurisdictions.
MiCA is moving from licensing theory into enforcement risk. Crypto exchanges, custodians, wallet providers, brokers, and compliance teams should treat EU authorization, local regulator engagement, and operating perimeter checks as immediate market access priorities.
Spain Blocks Polymarket And Kalshi Over Gambling Licences
May 26, 2026, Spain
- Spain’s Consumer Rights Ministry temporarily blocks access to prediction market platforms Polymarket and Kalshi while regulators investigate whether the firms violated Spanish gambling law.
- Reuters reports Spanish authorities said both platforms operated without the administrative gambling licences required under national rules.
- The action includes disciplinary proceedings and ISP level access blocks expected to remain in place during the investigation period.
Prediction markets are moving deeper into conflict with gambling, derivatives, and securities frameworks. Exchanges, fintechs, tokenization firms, and prediction market operators should expect more pressure around licensing, market surveillance, consumer protection, and jurisdictional authority as these platforms expand globally.
U.S. Trade Chief Says Tariffs May Stay Under USMCA
May 26, 2026, United States
- Reuters reports U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said tariffs on some USMCA trading partners may remain even after the agreement comes under review.
- Greer said the United States has “significant issues” with Canada, while also saying there is room to work with both Canada and Mexico.
- The remarks add pressure to the 2026 USMCA review process as Canada faces renewed uncertainty around cross border trade, investment, manufacturing, and supply chains.
USMCA risk is now back inside Canada’s competitiveness file. Fintech lenders, payment firms, investors, marketplaces, and platforms serving SMEs should watch how tariff uncertainty affects customer margins, capital demand, foreign exchange exposure, supplier payments, and cross border expansion.
UK Targets Russian Crypto Networks In New Sanctions Package
May 26, 2026, United Kingdom
- The UK government announces new sanctions targeting Russian illicit finance and sanctions evasion networks.
- The package includes crypto and financial infrastructure used to move funds through backdoor routes around sanctions.
- The action adds pressure on exchanges, PSPs, compliance providers, banks, and blockchain analytics firms monitoring cross border sanctions exposure.
Crypto sanctions enforcement now reaches deeper into financial infrastructure networks, not just individual wallets or isolated actors. Exchanges, custodians, PSPs, banks, compliance teams, and blockchain monitoring firms should expect more scrutiny around transaction tracing, counterparty checks, and sanctions controls tied to digital asset flows.
ESMA Consults On CSDR Messaging Protocol Updates
May 26, 2026, Europe
- ESMA opens consultation on amendments to its guidelines for standardised procedures and messaging protocols under CSDR.
- The consultation targets post trading operations for investment firms, credit institutions, central securities depositories, CSD participants, and professional clients.
- Comments are due by July 7, 2026.
Post trading rules are becoming more important as Europe modernizes settlement operations, CSD messaging, and market infrastructure controls. CSDs, brokers, banks, custodians, tokenization platforms, and compliance teams should track how messaging standards affect settlement efficiency, operational risk, and future market infrastructure integration.
Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure
Paxos Receives SEC Clearing Agency Registration
May 28, 2026, United States
- Paxos says Paxos Securities Settlement Company received SEC clearing agency registration under Section 17A of the Securities Exchange Act.
- The registration allows PSSC to provide clearing and settlement services as a central securities depository in the United States.
- Paxos says PSSC is the only blockchain native firm approved as a registered clearing agency for this role.
Blockchain based settlement is moving into formal U.S. market infrastructure permissions. Brokers, custodians, tokenization platforms, exchanges, and asset managers should track how SEC registered clearing models affect securities settlement, custody design, and tokenized market structure.
Cash App Investing Selects Apex For Clearing Infrastructure
May 28, 2026, United States
- Cash App Investing names Apex Ascend as its strategic clearing platform for millions of retail investors.
- Apex will support custody, clearing, trading infrastructure, and future product expansion through AscendOS.
- Cash App serves more than 59 million monthly transacting actives, making the clearing transition a mainstream fintech infrastructure event.
Retail investing scale increasingly depends on back end clearing and custody infrastructure. Fintech platforms, brokers, clearing firms, embedded finance providers, and regulators should track how large consumer apps choose clearing partners that can support faster launches, broader products, and stronger operational controls.
Conclusion
This week was less about crypto adoption and more about who gets trusted access to the pipes. The Fed tested a narrow settlement account, Paxos received SEC clearing agency registration, Mastercard secured a BitLicense, SoFi launched a bank issued stablecoin, and Project Agorá moved wholesale tokenized settlement into deeper testing. The fresh lesson is that access is becoming tiered. Firms won’t all get the same rails, licences, or settlement rights.
NCFA offers various curated resources to help founders and investors stay current on developments that impact fintech markets, subscribe to NCFA weekly newsletter updates, view a rundown of current fintech news and insights, or dive into the latest fintech industry research.
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Is AI Creating A New Compliance Burden?
AI Adoption Brings New Governance And Oversight Costs
Last Updated: May 29, 2026
Status: Strengthening
Organizations: Bank of Canada, FCA, APRA, UK Parliament Treasury Committee, European Council, Microsoft, Google, Mastercard, Florida Attorney General
The answer is yes, but the burden is not only regulatory paperwork. AI is creating new costs around model governance, board oversight, vendor control, data quality, fraud prevention, customer fairness, audit trails, human review, and incident response. Financial firms can still gain productivity and better customer service, but the cost of using AI responsibly is rising.
- AI adoption in finance is accelerating, which means risk teams must now manage model behaviour, data access, explainability, consumer outcomes, and third party controls.
- Regulators are not banning AI. They are asking firms to prove that AI use remains safe, fair, monitored, accountable, and resilient.
- The tradeoff is practical. Firms that avoid AI may fall behind, but firms that deploy it without controls may create legal, conduct, operational, and fraud exposure.
This is why the AI finance question is no longer just about productivity. NCFA analyzed this tension in AI spending and workforce cost resets. The same pressure now extends into compliance. If AI lowers cost per decision, firms still need to prove those decisions remain fair, secure, monitored, and accountable.
It is about whether firms can use AI at scale without losing control. The compliance burden grows when AI starts impacting decisions, communications, onboarding, payments, fraud detection, research, advice, and customer journeys.
That control problem becomes even more acute in AI payments and liability, where consent, authorization, and accountability need to work before autonomous transactions can scale.
The firms to watch are the ones that can turn AI controls into operating discipline. That means clear ownership, tested models, clean data, human escalation, vendor oversight, audit evidence, and governance that works before a regulator asks for proof.
Strategic Takeaway
AI can lower costs and improve service, but it also raises the control bar. The strongest financial firms will not be the ones that use AI everywhere. They will be the ones that know where AI belongs, where humans stay accountable, and how to prove the system works.
Market Evidence
Click each item to expand
1. Bank Of Canada Links AI To Productivity And Risk (May 2026, Canada) ⓘ
The Bank of Canada says AI may support productivity growth, but financial firms still need to manage model risk, job changes, data quality, cyber exposure, and financial stability concerns.
- The Bank frames AI as a major productivity opportunity for Canada.
- The analysis connects AI adoption with firm level execution, labour market effects, cyber risk, and financial stability questions.
- This gives the compliance burden direct Canadian relevance because AI adoption is no longer a side project for financial firms.
Source
2. FCA Tests AI In Live Financial Workflows (Apr 2026, United Kingdom) ⓘ
The FCA selected eight firms for its second AI Live Testing cohort, including Barclays, Experian, Lloyds Banking Group, and UBS. The focus is safe and responsible deployment, not AI experimentation in isolation.
- The FCA says the cohort will test AI applications in live financial services contexts.
- The firms include major banks, data firms, wealth platforms, and payment related businesses.
- The burden for firms is practical: document use cases, controls, monitoring, outcomes, and escalation before AI becomes embedded in customer or risk workflows.
Source
3. Agentic Payments Add Authorization And Audit Demands (Oct 2025, Global) ⓘ
Mastercard’s Agent Pay Acceptance Framework shows why AI creates a new control layer in payments. If an AI agent can help initiate or complete a transaction, firms need controls over identity, authorization, tokenized credentials, consent, limits, and disputes.
- Mastercard says the framework helps merchants recognize trusted AI agents and accept secure tokenized transactions.
- Agentic payments introduce new questions about who authorized a transaction and how a firm proves that authorization.
- Payment firms will need stronger audit trails as AI agents become part of checkout, commerce, and customer decision flows.
Source
4. Microsoft Frames AI Security As A Control Stack (Dec 2025, United States) ⓘ
Microsoft says financial firms need to embed governance and security into AI transformation. This includes identity based access, audit trails, adaptive risk controls, and monitoring.
- Microsoft calls identity based access, audit trails, and adaptive risk controls non negotiable for financial services AI.
- Its AI security guidance also emphasizes monitoring for misuse, anomalous behaviour, bypass attempts, and harmful outputs.
- This turns AI governance into an everyday operational burden for security, compliance, technology, and risk teams.
5. AI Research Agents Raise Traceability Requirements (May 2026, United States) ⓘ
Google’s Gemini Deep Research Agent can plan, execute, and synthesize multi step research tasks. That kind of tool is useful in finance, but it raises questions about source quality, review, recordkeeping, and responsibility for output.
- Google says the agent produces detailed cited reports and can connect to external tools.
- Research agents can support financial analysis, market monitoring, due diligence, and customer support.
- Financial firms still need human review, source traceability, privacy controls, and evidence that AI generated content was checked before use.
Source
Policy Evidence
Click each item to expand
6. APRA Calls For A Step Change In AI Risk Governance (Apr 2026, Australia) ⓘ
APRA told industry it is finalizing its forward plan for AI supervision and will continue monitoring AI use for prudential risks. This is a clear sign that AI governance is entering prudential oversight.
- APRA says it will use reviews, thematic activity, and AI supplier engagement.
- The focus includes prudential risks from AI adoption, not only consumer facing harms.
- Boards and senior leaders should expect more scrutiny of AI literacy, vendor reliance, fallback planning, and operational resilience.
Source
7. UK Parliament Warns AI Adoption Is Outpacing Readiness (Jan 2026, United Kingdom) ⓘ
The UK Parliament Treasury Committee reported that 75% of UK financial services firms use AI and called for clearer regulatory direction. That makes the compliance burden visible at sector scale.
- The report says the financial services sector substantially outpaces other sectors in AI adoption.
- It identifies risks around transparency, consumers, financial stability, fraud, cybersecurity, and dependence on major technology providers.
- For firms, the message is direct: AI use now requires stronger governance before problems become public or systemic.
Source
8. EU AI Act Changes Give Firms More Time But Not A Free Pass (May 2026, European Union) ⓘ
The Council and European Parliament agreed to simplify and streamline parts of the AI Act timeline. Even with timing relief, firms still need to prepare for high risk AI obligations, synthetic content rules, documentation, and governance requirements.
- The agreement keeps the AI Act compliance framework in place while adjusting implementation timing.
- Regulated firms gain more time, but not exemption from accountability.
- Financial firms operating in or serving Europe need to map AI use cases, data sources, controls, and oversight responsibilities now.
Source
9. FCA Warns AI Can Increase Fraud And Manipulation Risk (Jan 2026, United Kingdom) ⓘ
The FCA’s Mills Review call for input said AI may enable more sophisticated financial crime, fraud, and manipulation. That makes AI a compliance and fraud control issue, not only a technology choice.
- The FCA says bad actors will exploit the same technological advances that support innovation.
- Firms and regulators face new challenges in detecting, preventing, and mitigating harm.
- Retail finance firms should expect more pressure around monitoring, fraud analytics, disclosures, and customer protection controls.
Source
10. Criminal Probe Shows AI Recordkeeping Risk Is Rising (Apr 2026, United States) ⓘ
Florida’s Attorney General opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI related to ChatGPT and the Florida State University shooting. The facts are outside financial services, but the compliance lesson is relevant for any firm deploying AI into high risk workflows.
- The investigation seeks records about safeguards, threats, and crime reporting policies.
- The case shows why firms need clear logs, escalation rules, and evidence of safety controls.
- Financial firms using AI in fraud, advice, credit, onboarding, or customer communications should expect similar questions if AI output contributes to harm.
Source
Do you agree the evidence is strengthening?
3
Explore Trending Questions
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Polymath Adds Protocol Privacy For Tokenized Asset Markets
May 29, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Risk Compliance And Regtech
Controlled Disclosure Becoming Core Tokenization Infrastructure
On May 27, 2026, Toronto based Polymath launched Confidential Assets on Polymesh, a protocol level privacy feature for tokenized securities and real world assets. It uses zero knowledge cryptography to keep transaction details private while preserving access for regulators, auditors, and authorized parties.
Privacy solves a practical market problem. Public blockchains can expose positions, client data, and transaction flows. Private chains can protect confidentiality, but they can also silo activity inside closed systems. Confidential Assets is Polymath aim to give regulated asset markets privacy without giving up public permissioned infrastructure.
Martin Halford, CEO, Polymath:
“The question the market has been asking is not whether assets can be tokenized -- they can. The question is whether tokenization can be done at an institutional scale, with the privacy and compliance standards that real financial infrastructure demands. Confidential Assets is our answer to that question.”
The stronger use case isn't about keeping secrets, but rather controlled disclosure. Issuers, investors, and asset managers need privacy around holdings and transfers. Yet a wide range of stakeholders from regulators to auditors, custodians, and compliance teams still need access when rules require it.
See: Polymath Dalmore Partner On Tokenized Capital Raising
Confidential Assets is built into the Polymesh protocol, not added through a third party tool or Layer 2 solution. This allows privacy to work within the same system that handles compliance, governance, and settlement. A fund, private credit issuer, real estate platform, or broker dealer could use the feature to complete a compliant transfer without exposing position size or counterparty details to the broader market.
The ultimate goal and impact is the right mix of privacy and oversight. If Polymath gets that balance right, Confidential Assets could make Polymesh more useful for real capital markets activity, not just token issuance.
What To Watch Next
Confidential Assets is available immediately to institutions building on Polymesh. Polymath has been building regulated asset infrastructure since 2017 and contributed the ERC 1400 security token standard. Polymesh achieved SOC 2 Type 1 compliance in 2025. Polymath also says a post quantum ready version of Confidential Assets is in development for long term assets that may remain on chain for decades.
For Canadian capital markets and fintech firms, controlled disclosure is becoming core infrastructure for tokenized assets. Platforms that manage who can see what, and when, will become harder to replace in digital securities markets, over time.
Talking Point
Can tokenized markets reach institutional scale without protocol level privacy, or will controlled disclosure become a core requirement for regulated digital assets?
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Top 5 Digital Marketing Agencies in Canada to Consider in 2026
May 29, 2026
Most businesses don't struggle to find digital marketing agencies. They struggle to find one that actually understands their industry, reports honestly, and ties every dollar spent back to real revenue. After reviewing dozens of Canadian agencies across service depth, client results, and transparency, a clear pattern emerged: the ones worth your budget are the ones that treat return on investment as a must-have, not a nice-to-have. This guide breaks down the top five agencies in Canada worth serious consideration heading into 2026.
The research approach for this ranking
Every agency on this list was assessed using publicly available sources: Clutch profiles, client testimonials, published case studies, award records, and official service pages. The focus stayed on agencies with a verifiable track record in digital marketing, not just strong website copy or a polished pitch deck.
-> See the full research breakdown
- dNovo Group - Best for legal and healthcare digital marketing
- Dialekta - Best for performance marketing and 360 media strategy
- Major Tom - Best for full-service digital marketing and ecommerce
- Kinex Media - Best for enterprise and mid-market ecommerce and digital marketing
- Marvel Marketing - Best for local professional practices and home service businesses
Why Digital Marketing Agencies Matter for Your Business
Picking the wrong agency doesn't just waste budget. It sets your business back months while competitors pull ahead.
The real challenge isn't finding an agency that offers services. It's finding one that genuinely understands your industry, can trace every lead back to a specific campaign, and gives you reporting you can actually trust.
Specialized agencies tend to produce better outcomes because they already know the ad platform policies, the content angles that convert, and the audience behavior patterns that matter in your space. That kind of focused experience usually shows up directly in your numbers, whether you're tracking Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), or Cost Per Lead (CPL).
The right fit doesn't just run campaigns. It moves your business forward.
Top 5 Digital Marketing Agencies Breakdown and Comparison
Note: All data in this table is sourced from review platforms and the official websites of the listed companies.
| Company Name | Years Operating | Headquartered In | Rating |
| dNovo Group | Est. 2011 | Toronto, ON, Canada | 5/5 (Clutch) |
| Dialekta | Est. 2010 | Montreal, Toronto, and Paris | Not listed |
| Major Tom | Est. 2018 | Vancouver, British Columbia | Not listed |
| Kinex Media | Est. 2008 | Mississauga, Ontario, Canada | Not listed |
| Marvel Marketing | Est. 2014 | Calgary, AB | Not listed |
dNOVO Group - Best for Legal and Healthcare Digital Marketing
What Does dNovo Group Do?
dNovo Group is a Toronto-based boutique agency founded in 2011, built around legal and healthcare marketing. They cover SEO, Local SEO, AI Search Optimization, Google Ads, web design, and content marketing for law firms and medical practices across personal injury, criminal defense, immigration, family law, and more. What sets them apart is the fully in-house team structure. Every campaign is built and managed internally, which means accountability stays in one place and results don't get lost between vendors.
Why dNovo Group Stands Out for Digital Marketing:
The agency fills a specific gap for law firms and healthcare practices that need a marketing partner who already understands their industry's advertising restrictions and client acquisition dynamics. From what the case study data shows, that kind of sector-specific focus tends to produce results that general agencies struggle to replicate at the same pace.
Summary of Real User Reviews:
dNovo Group holds a 5/5 rating across 66 reviews on Clutch, which is honestly rare at that volume. Clients consistently point to measurable outcomes, including 150% increases in qualified leads and website visitors driven by campaigns and 180% gains in client acquisition. The recognition as a Top SEO, Top Advertising, and Top Web Design company on Clutch, plus a Netty Award nomination, backs up what the client feedback is already saying.
Dialekta - Best for Performance Marketing and 360 Media Strategy
What Does Dialekta Do?
Dialekta is a Montreal-based performance marketing agency founded in 2010, and they've grown considerably since then. They cover SEM, SEO, analytics, conversion rate optimization (CRO), media planning, and business intelligence. What makes them interesting compared to others on this list is their move into traditional media in 2020 and their 2024 acquisition of Varibase, which deepened their data and loyalty marketing capabilities. They serve major Canadian brands including Vidéotron, Bell Media, Intact Insurance, and Desjardins Group (not a small client list by any measure).
Why Dialekta Stands Out for Digital Marketing:
Dialekta addresses a real challenge for mid-to-large businesses that need a single partner to connect digital and traditional media without losing performance accountability across channels. Their data activation work, built out further through the Varibase acquisition, gives clients a clearer picture of how campaigns are actually driving discovery call to signed retainer conversion, not just surface-level impressions.
Summary of Real User Reviews:
Dialekta's industry reputation carries weight, especially the Google recognition as one of six most forward-thinking companies worldwide in Search Innovation. Their client retention rates are reported as among the highest in the Canadian agency market, which suggests the results are holding up long after the initial campaign launch. Multiple Infopresse awards round out a track record that's hard to ignore for enterprise-level marketing buyers.
Major Tom - Best for Full-Service Digital Marketing and Ecommerce
What Does Major Tom Do?
Major Tom is a Vancouver-based full-service agency formed in 2018 through the merger of 6S Marketing and Drive Digital, two respected names in Canadian digital marketing. They cover strategy consulting, web development, creative design, SEO, paid media, ecommerce, social media, content marketing, and marketing automation. Think of them as a shop that can take a brand from broad strategy all the way through to live campaign execution. Their client list includes PepsiCo, SAP, and DoorDash, which shows they can operate at serious scale.
Why Major Tom Stands Out for Digital Marketing:
The agency solves a specific problem for growing businesses that need strategy and execution under one roof, without bouncing between a consulting firm and a production agency. That merger background means their teams are genuinely skilled at both the planning side and the technical delivery, which is a combination that's harder to find than it sounds.
Summary of Real User Reviews:
Major Tom has earned recognition through the Canadian Search Awards for ecommerce work, which points to real performance in a competitive category. The combined heritage of two established agencies gives them a credibility base that newer firms can't replicate overnight. And honestly, the strength of their client portfolio across major global brands says a lot about the trust they've built with marketing buyers at scale.
Kinex Media - Best for Enterprise and Mid-Market Ecommerce and Digital Marketing
What Does Kinex Media Do?
Kinex Media is a Mississauga-based agency founded in 2008, giving them over 15 years of active work in the digital space. They focus on website design and development, Magento ecommerce, SEO, SEM, and print services. What stands out about their approach is the experiment-driven model. Rather than applying a standard playbook, they test strategies on a per-client basis and adjust based on what the data shows. They've worked with more than 2,000 businesses, from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies (not a small range by any measure).
Why Kinex Media Stands Out for Digital Marketing:
Kinex Media addresses the frustration businesses face when agencies apply cookie-cutter strategies regardless of industry or business model. Their testing-first mindset means campaigns are shaped by actual performance signals, not assumptions carried over from a previous client in a different vertical.
Summary of Real User Reviews:
The Globe and Mail named Kinex Media one of Canada's top companies for multiple consecutive years, and they ranked #298 on The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies list in 2023. Clutch also places them among Toronto's top web design and development firms. That kind of consistent external recognition across different platforms suggests the client experience is holding up well beyond just the initial project launch.
Marvel Marketing - Best for Local Professional Practices and Home Service Businesses
What Does Marvel Marketing Do?
Marvel Marketing is a Calgary-based full-service agency founded in 2014, with offices in Toronto and Vancouver. They cover web design, SEO, social media marketing, PPC, content strategy, brand development, ecommerce, local SEO, and email marketing. They work across B2B, legal, real estate, automotive, franchise, trades, healthcare, and sports sectors. The thing that makes them genuinely different is their "NO RESULTS, NO PAYMENT" guarantee combined with a strict limit of three new clients per month. That kind of intentional capacity cap is rare and signals they're serious about delivering, not just scaling.
Why Marvel Marketing Stands Out for Digital Marketing:
Marvel Marketing directly addresses the anxiety businesses feel when signing long-term agency contracts without knowing if results will follow. Their human-in-the-loop execution model (no reliance on public AI models for strategic decisions) combined with SOC-2 and GDPR data compliance builds trust with clients in regulated industries who can't afford data handling mistakes.
Summary of Real User Reviews:
Detailed third-party review data for Marvel Marketing isn't as widely published as some other agencies on this list, so drawing direct comparisons is harder. That said, their model speaks for itself. The combination of a results-backed guarantee and deliberate client limits suggests a team that would rather do fewer things exceptionally well than take on volume at the expense of quality.
Research Methodology and Selection Process
Initial Data Collection
The starting point was a broad sweep of agencies operating across Canada, pulled from directories like Clutch, UpCity, agency-specific review platforms, and Google Business listings. The goal at this stage was building a wide longlist, not filtering yet. Agencies were flagged based on their presence in Canadian markets, the range of digital marketing services listed on their official sites, and whether they had any documented client history.
Shortlisting Phase
From that longlist, agencies without verifiable client results or independently published review records were set aside. The shortlisting process focused on identifying patterns across multiple signals: Were the reviews consistent? Did the agency's stated services match what clients actually described receiving? Agencies with thin public footprints or unverified claims were removed before deeper evaluation began.
Verification of Claims
Each agency's website claims were cross-referenced against third-party sources. If a firm claimed a specific award or recognition, that recognition was confirmed through the awarding organization's published records. Case study numbers (such as percentage increases in client acquisition or campaign performance improvements) were checked against what was publicly available on Clutch profiles and the agencies' own published materials. Claims that couldn't be traced to a source were discounted in the scoring.
Authority and Industry Contribution Layer
Beyond standard service verification, each agency was assessed for its broader standing in the industry. This included award histories, mentions in recognized Canadian business publications, Google Partner or platform certifications, and any original research or published commentary the agency had produced. Recognition from credible external sources (like Google's global Search Innovation ranking for Dialekta or Globe and Mail top-company recognition for Kinex Media) added weight to an agency's overall assessment.
Digital Marketing Agencies-Specific Evidence
The final layer focused on digital marketing depth. Each agency needed dedicated, clearly defined service pages (not just a general "digital marketing" label), verified client reviews that referenced specific campaign types and measurable outcomes, and case studies that demonstrated performance across relevant channels. Agencies that only operated in one narrow service area without broader digital marketing capabilities were excluded from the final list, keeping the focus on firms that can genuinely support a business's full marketing needs.
How to Choose the Right Digital Marketing Agencies
Choosing an agency isn't just about who has the best website. The right fit depends on how well their strengths line up with what your business actually needs right now.
See: Bringing Good Ideas to Life: 13 Modern Ways to Innovate
Here's what to look at before signing anything:
- Industry and Domain Experience: Look for agencies that have worked in your specific sector. An agency that already understands your audience, your ad platform restrictions, and your competitive environment will move faster and waste less of your budget getting up to speed.
- Features and Service Offerings: Match their services to your actual gaps. If you need paid media and content but the agency leans mostly toward web design, that's a misalignment worth catching early.
- Pricing Structure: Understand exactly what you're paying for and what triggers additional costs. Hourly rates, retainers, and performance-based models each carry different risk levels for your business.
- Results Measurement: Ask how they report on Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Cost Per Lead (CPL), and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). If they can't clearly explain how they attribute revenue to their work, that's a problem.
- Industry Knowledge and Compliance: Agencies working in healthcare, legal, or finance need to understand FTC disclosure guidelines, GDPR, CCPA, and platform advertising policies. Ask directly how they handle this.
Bottom Line
Canada has no shortage of digital marketing agencies, but the ones worth your budget share a few things in common: real industry experience, honest reporting, and results you can trace back to actual campaigns. Whether you need niche legal marketing like dNovo Group offers, enterprise-level performance work like Dialekta delivers, or a full-service setup like Major Tom provides, the best agency is the one built for your specific business stage and goals.
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Are Tokenized RWAs Legal And Becoming Market Infrastructure?
Tokenized RWAs Gain Ground Inside Regulated Markets
Last Updated: May 28, 2026
Status: Strengthening
Organizations: Bank of Canada, DTCC, Broadridge, NYSE, Securitize, FCA, LSEG, BIS
The answer is yes, but only in the right legal and market structure. Tokenized real world assets are becoming usable where regulators connect them to securities, custody, fund, settlement, collateral, payment, and investor protection rules. The strongest evidence is not speculative token launches. It is regulated infrastructure that can support bonds, Treasuries, funds, repo, collateral, transfer agency, and settlement.
- Tokenized RWAs are legal in some jurisdictions when they fit existing rules. The answer depends on the asset, investor type, issuer, custody model, market venue, and settlement rail.
- The strongest growth is happening inside institutional infrastructure. DTCC, Broadridge, NYSE, Securitize, FCA, LSEG, BIS, and central banks are testing the market plumbing, not just the token wrapper.
- Canada has direct relevance through the Bank of Canada tokenized bond experiment and broader work on wholesale settlement, stablecoins, and tokenized cash infrastructure.
The practical question is not whether RWAs can be tokenized. They can. NCFA has tracked this progression from experimentation to execution. Earlier evidence showed how tokenization started looking like financial infrastructure, while more recent developments show tokenization finding scale in collateral and cash. European policymakers are also advancing a roadmap for tokenized finance infrastructure, reinforcing the view that tokenization is increasingly being evaluated as market infrastructure rather than a standalone asset class.
The firms to watch are the ones building the boring middle layer. That means custody, transfer agency, collateral management, settlement links, reporting, governance, and legal certainty. RWA growth depends on trust and operating proof, not marketing.
Strategic Takeaway
Tokenized RWAs are becoming market infrastructure where legal rights, custody, settlement, collateral, and investor protections connect. The opportunity is not just putting assets on chain. It is making regulated assets easier to hold, move, finance, and reconcile inside trusted financial systems.
Market And Policy Evidence
Click each item to expand
1. Canada Tests A Full Tokenized Bond Lifecycle (Mar 2026, Canada) ⓘ
The Bank of Canada, Export Development Canada, RBC, TD, and RBC Investor Services completed a tokenized bond experiment using distributed ledger technology. This gives Canada a credible domestic proof point for tokenized securities infrastructure.
- The experiment used a single $100 million Canadian dollar bond.
- The platform tested issuance, bidding, coupon payments, redemption, secondary trading, and settlement.
- The cash leg used wholesale central bank deposits, which matters because tokenized assets need trusted settlement money.
2. DTCC Prepares Tokenized RWAs For Production (May 2026, United States) ⓘ
DTCC is preparing tokenized real world asset services for production use. This is important because DTCC sits inside regulated post trade infrastructure, not outside the system.
- DTC planned initial limited production trades in July 2026.
- A broader service launch was planned for October 2026.
- More than 50 firms joined the working group.
3. Broadridge Shows Tokenized Repo At Institutional Scale (Apr 2026, United States) ⓘ
Broadridge’s Distributed Ledger Repo platform shows tokenization already operating in a serious institutional workflow. Repo is market plumbing tied to collateral, liquidity, and funding.
- Broadridge reported $8 trillion in tokenized repo volume in March 2026.
- The platform recorded 392% year over year growth.
- This evidence points to collateral and settlement use cases, not retail token speculation.
4. NYSE And Securitize Push Tokenized Securities Standards (Mar 2026, United States) ⓘ
NYSE and Securitize agreed to support tokenized securities infrastructure, including standards for digital transfer agents and tokenization agents.
- The agreement focuses on institutional tokenized securities infrastructure.
- Transfer agency matters because tokenized securities need legally recognized ownership records.
- The larger signal is integration with regulated markets rather than replacement of them.
5. UK Rules Bring Tokenized Funds Into Asset Management (Apr 2026, United Kingdom) ⓘ
The UK FCA published rules and guidance for fund tokenisation, giving asset managers a practical framework for tokenized fund operations.
- The FCA links tokenized funds to existing asset management rules.
- The UK asset management market includes about 2,600 firms managing £16.5 trillion.
- This supports the view that tokenized RWAs gain credibility when they fit regulated fund structures.
6. Project Agorá Connects Tokenized Assets With Settlement Money (May 2026, Global) ⓘ
Project Agorá, led by the BIS with central banks and commercial banks, tests tokenized deposits and wholesale central bank money for cross border settlement. This matters because tokenized assets need a reliable cash leg.
- The latest BIS work included seven central banks and a 97 page findings report.
- The next phase includes real value transaction testing.
- Tokenized securities, collateral, and funds become more practical when money and asset settlement improve together.
Do you agree the evidence is strengthening?
2
Explore Trending Questions
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Project Agorá Tests Real Money Bank Settlement Rails
May 28, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Payments And Market Infrastructure, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure
Bank Of Canada Joins Next Phase Of Tokenized Bank Settlement
On May 26, 2026, the BIS released its 97 page Project Agorá report, detailing how a global public private prototype tested the feasibility of tokenized commercial bank deposits and wholesale central bank money for cross border payments. The report explains the project vision, who participated, what the prototype tested, what worked (or not), and what has to happen before any production system can operate at scale.
Project Agorá isn't a retail CBDC project, nor is it a stablecoin clone. It tests whether today’s correspondent banking system can use tokenized bank money and smart payment workflows to make wholesale cross border payments faster, safer, more transparent, and easier to coordinate.
Cross border payments totalled USD $195 trillion in 2024 and are projected to reach USD $320 trillion by 2032. Wholesale payments accounted for 91% of cross border payment value in 2023. These flows affect banks, PSPs, exporters, capital markets firms, treasury teams, and fintechs building around global money movement.
Bank Of Canada Joins The Next Phase
On May 27, 2026, the Bank of Canada joined Project Agorá, giving Canada a seat at the table and role in the next phase of testing. The Bank says the project has successfully tested the feasibility of a multi currency unified ledger that enables atomic settlement of wholesale cross border transactions.
The next phase will continue testing the prototype and examine how an Agorá type platform could operate under existing legal and regulatory frameworks, including settlement finality, anti money laundering rules, and terrorist financing rules.
Carolyn Rogers, Senior Deputy Governor, Bank of Canada:
“We know that the Canadian economy could benefit from innovation in cross-border payments. Tokenization has the potential to make these payments faster, cheaper and more efficient and secure. Project Agorá is a unique opportunity to test the technology across several jurisdictions and currencies, with the participation of private sector financial institutions.”
Agorá Tests Programmable Bank Money
Project Agorá was convened by the BIS and the Institute of International Finance. It originally brought together 7 central banks and more than 40 regulated financial institutions, including banks, payment service providers, financial market infrastructures, and global payment networks.
The central bank group includes the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Bank of England, Bank of France representing the Eurosystem, Bank of Japan, Bank of Mexico, Swiss National Bank, Bank of Korea, and now the Bank of Canada for the next phase. That makes Agorá a multi currency and multi jurisdiction test, not a single bank proof of concept.
See: AI, Capital, Money Rewire Financial Infrastructure In 2026
The project keeps correspondent banking as the base model. Banks still manage customers, deposits, access, compliance, and balance sheet relationships. Central banks still control reserves and domestic policy settings. Agorá adds a shared programmable platform to coordinate the payment workflow.
How The Platform Would Work
The prototype uses a two layer architecture. (1) A unifying ledger records tokenized commercial bank deposits and coordinates the cross border workflow. (2) Separate jurisdictional ledgers record tokenized central bank reserves so each central bank keeps control over its own money, access rules, and policy settings.
The payment workflow has five stages. Agorá checks the payee, finds the payment route, confirms required checks, locks the needed balances, then settles the transaction. In report terms, those stages are confirmation of payee, path discovery, validation, locking, and settlement.
The order sequencing matters. Agorá checks the payment before banks lock up liquidity. It confirms the payee, route, required checks, and available balances first. Only then does settlement begin. That reduces the risk of finding a problem after money has already been committed.
Source: Bank for International Settlements, Project Agorá, “Wholesale cross border payments today and in Project Agorá,” Figure 1.
Atomic Settlement Worked In The Prototype
The prototype showed that atomic settlement is achievable in a tokenized environment across the participating jurisdictions. This means that either every required balance update happens, or none of them happen. One leg of a transaction cannot settle while another fails.
The report says settlement can occur in seconds once funds or liquidity are locked. The platform is also designed to operate around the clock, which could reduce delays caused by time zones and market hours. That doesn't mean every payment becomes instant from start to finish. It means the settlement step can happen quickly after the required checks and liquidity locks are complete.
The prototype also showed that shared infrastructure doesn't require shared data by default. Participants can coordinate payment status, validation outcomes, and settlement without exposing customer data, internal risk models, or sensitive routing information to everyone on the platform.
The Pain Points Are Operational
The report identifies specific pain points in wholesale cross border payments. They include mismatched operating hours, sanctions and compliance false positives, serial processing, poor data quality, weak payment status visibility, unclear fees, liquidity pressure, settlement risk, reconciliation breaks, and client outreach.
See: CBDC Tokenization And Stablecoin Design For Fintechs
These are practical banking problems. A false positive can stop a legitimate payment. A missing data field can trigger manual review. A payment status gap can leave banks and clients unsure where funds are stuck. A reconciliation break can create cost after settlement. Liquidity sitting in the wrong place can weaken treasury efficiency.
The report doesn't make cost reduction the main objective because many wholesale payment costs come from FX pricing and market structure. The stronger claim is narrower though. Fewer failed payments, investigations, returns, and reconciliation breaks could reduce operating drag if the model works in production.
Compliance Stays With Each Institution
Agorá doesn't try to centralize AML, counter terrorist financing, sanctions, fraud, or policy decisions. Each institution still performs its own checks inside its own systems. The platform coordinates only the outcomes needed to move the workflow forward.
This is important for banks who need shared infrastructure, but they don't want to expose customer information, proprietary screening logic, or internal compliance decisions to every other participant in a payment chain. Agorá uses scoped privacy and controlled information sharing so only relevant parties receive the data they need.
The result is a realistic compliance model for regulated institutions. It doesn't remove compliance work. It tries to reduce duplication, bring validations earlier in the process, and stop settlement from starting before required checks are complete.
Tokenized Money Keeps Its Legal Nature
The report’s legal analysis as tested in Agorá, found that tokenization doesn't fundamentally change the legal nature of money. Tokenized central bank reserves remain central bank reserves. Tokenized deposits remain commercial bank deposit obligations.
See: VersaBank USA Launches Tokenized Deposits Pilot
It suggests tokenized bank money can develop inside existing legal and regulatory frameworks instead of starting from a blank page. It also separates Agorá from private digital asset models where the legal nature of the claim can be less familiar.
The report doesn't claim every legal issue is solved however. Settlement finality is achievable across the participating jurisdictions, but production deployment would still need rulebooks, contractual frameworks, liability rules, governance, data rules, insolvency treatment, and clear legal effect across jurisdictions.
Benefits And Risks For Banks And Fintechs
The strongest benefits are operational. Agorá could give banks better payment status visibility, earlier data checks, fewer late stage failures, faster settlement after liquidity is locked, and more predictable workflows across currencies.
Treasury teams could benefit from better liquidity coordination. Cross border payments today can require prefunding, manual investigation, and treasury allocation across time zones. Agorá’s design could reduce some of that friction by coordinating payment paths, validations, balance locks, and settlement in one workflow.
The risks are in production execution. The report says the prototype didn't prioritize production grade performance, cyber security, or liquidity saving tools. It also left FX integration and other tokenized asset classes outside scope.
A real system would need to connect with existing bank infrastructure and prove it can operate under stress. That means strong governance, resilience testing, failover, monitoring, and clear performance benchmarks.
What To Watch Next
The Bank of Canada is now involved, but commercial value depends on private sector participation. Canadian banks, PSPs, market infrastructure providers, and fintechs need a role in testing, rule design, and integration.
For fintechs, the opportunity is to build around the workflow through compliance tools, privacy technology, treasury systems, FX routing, liquidity optimization, reconciliation software, APIs, and analytics.
See: Tokenization Finds Scale In Collateral And Cash
Agorá gives banks and central banks a regulated alternative to stablecoin settlement networks, but only if the next phase proves it can handle real value, real liquidity, and real operating rules.
Talking Point
If Project Agorá evolves from prototype to real value settlement, will tokenized bank deposits become the regulated answer to stablecoin driven cross border payments?
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
