Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Small Businesses
Market Forces Pressuring Fintech Plans For 2026
Strategic Planning | Nov 28, 2025
Image: Freepik/rawpixel.com
Fintech Considerations For 2026 Strategy
2026 is approaching and fintechs are entering the new year with clear signals on how capital is being deployed, how financial institutions are investing in automation and AI driven capabilities and which policies will shape financial infrastructure. Markets place a higher premium on efficiency, governance and resilience as financial institutions modernize data access and digital settlement. Retail investor participation also expanded as equity crowdfunding set new records in Canada, strengthening another channel of capital formation.
See: United States Genesis Mission And Canada’s Competitiveness
United States tariffs and interest rate expectations continue to influence capital costs and enterprise demand across North America. Singapore FinTech Festival 2025 recently wrapped and outlined what global leaders expect over the next decade. This article provides an overview of how these forces intersect and will impact 2026 conditions, helping fintechs define runway, product plans and investor alignment for the year ahead.
Capital Planning End of 2025
Global investors concentrated capital into fewer fintech companies through 2025. KPMG tracked $44.7B across 2,216 global fintech deals and reported stronger momentum in digital assets and AI powered platforms. The global fintech funding review for 2025 notes uneven performance across payments and infrastructure and continued strength in digital asset investment. AI influence extends across every funding stage and drives the clearest premium in investor behaviour.
Canadian fintechs raised about $1.62B across 60 deals. KPMG data reported by Lexpert shows a steep decline from record 2024 levels as investors became more selective and disciplined. KPMG’s H1 2025 report confirms the trend toward fewer large cheques and more careful deployment.
CVCA reported $2.9B across 254 Canadian VC deals with average cheque sizes near $11.4M. The VC deployment across Canada in H1 2025 reported that early stages represented more than half of deal count but only 10% of dollars. NCFA’s seed review shows AI companies raising about $24M across 12 early stage rounds and fintech attracting about $9M across pre-seed and seed combined in the seed investing trends in H1 2025.
Canadian founders also turned to retail investors through regulated equity crowdfunding channels. FrontFundr, a leading Canadian investment crowdfunding platform, enjoyed a banner year raising CAD $68.3M across 66 campaigns in 2024 with 4,226 individual investments, its strongest year on record. This growth in community capital raising speaks volumes that diversified sources of early stage capital can complement VC allocations during selective cycles. For fintechs, retail participation can help extend runway, validate demand and reduce dependence on a small number of institutional investors.
AI remains the strongest source of valuation strength across the fintech sector. NCFA’s analysis shows that AI fintechs attract a 242 valuation premium compared with non AI peers. This tells fintechs that investors reward automation, accuracy and data advantage even during slower deployment cycles. AI's impact will continue to drive product development strategy, unit economics and growth planning for 2026.
Canada Moving On Open Banking, Payments, Stablecoins, While Pausing Climate Disclosure
Open banking moves into implementation. Budget 2025 commits to a consumer driven banking framework that designates the Bank of Canada as the supervisor for accredited participants and sets rules for data access, liability, security and technical standards. The consumer driven banking framework in Budget 2025 changes data mobility from one off arrangements to regulated data rails. These data rails also support AI adoption because models require secure access to high quality data. Fintechs that prepare for accredited access and safe data workflows will gain an advantage as institutions deploy AI into risk, compliance and customer operations.
Fintechs should expect accreditation activity, testing and early stage integrations as technical standards move toward production readiness through 2026.
Retail Payment supervision is operational and supports future access to real time settlement. Under the Retail Payment Activities Act, the Bank of Canada supervises payment service providers to ensure operational resilience and safeguarding of client funds. This oversight creates the regulatory foundation required for participation in core payment systems. Payments Canada continues development of the Real Time Rail (expected Q2 2026), while the Bank’s commentary on cashing in on payments innovation explains how regulation strengthens competition and prepares the foundation for modernized settlement. It also sets the operational standards that AI systems must meet for real time fraud detection, liquidity monitoring and compliance automation. Fintechs should plan for higher compliance expectations in 2026 and a clearer pathway into national payment systems once real time settlement becomes available.
See: Canada Open Banking Commercialization Roadmap
Stablecoin regulation advances. Canada released the first draft of its federal stablecoin legislation which sets out rules for high quality reserves, custody, redemption, disclosures and prudential oversight. NCFA’s summary of the first draft of the Stablecoin Act outlines a government framework that brings fiat backed stablecoins into a supervised environment. As tokenized settlement expands, AI will move deeper into treasury, reconciliation, fraud control and settlement routing. Fintechs that design early AI enabled settlement workflows will operate more efficiently under these rules. Fintechs involved in digital money, cross border payments or tokenized settlement should expect stronger regulatory clarity across 2026.
Climate and sustainability disclosure remains paused. CSA halted its mandatory climate disclosure rule in April 2025 and signalled the pause will continue. Although the rule is on hold, enterprise buyers and investors still assess climate and transition risk data during diligence. The CSA climate disclosure update notes that existing materiality rules and OSFI Guideline B-15 still apply through 2026. AI plays a growing role in climate analytics and transition planning, which means fintechs that use AI for risk scoring and scenario work will offer enterprise buyers more actionable intelligence during diligence. Fintechs should assume voluntary disclosure is expected even without a formal mandate.
Competitiveness pressure remains. Bank of Canada leadership warns that slow progress on open data, payment modernization and digital infrastructure affects productivity and innovation. Reuters coverage of the warning on over regulation and competitiveness highlights the need to accelerate foundational reforms. AI impacts that competitiveness gap because institutions deploy AI into fraud detection, lending, treasury and customer workflows. Fintechs that use AI with strong governance will operate more efficiently, support regulated environments and scale faster when data access and payment rails modernize.
For fintechs, these signals point to regulated data access, modern payments and digital assets becoming the highest value infrastructure themes for 2026..
United States Tariffs, Rates And Capital Conditions
Fintechs operating in the North American economy are being impacted by United States tariffs, rate decisions and political volatility. United States imposed tariffs cut Canada’s projected GDP growth to about 1.4% in 2025 and 1.6% in 2026, according to IMF linked projections. These estimates reflect weaker demand and reduced investment appetite across export dependent sectors. Fintechs should treat tariffs as a structural constraint for 2026, not a short term shock.
Markets now expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates in December. Polymarket shows an 87% chance of a 25 point rate cut, based on more than $183M in trading volume, which reflects strong real time sentiment. Economists still expect only small rate cuts through 2026, with United States growth around 2% and inflation near 2.6%. Fintechs may receive some cost of capital relief but investors will continue to expect efficient spending, strong revenue performance and clear evidence of product viability at today’s cost structure.
See: Canada Expanding Economic Ties With UAE India And Africa
Canadian monetary authorities modeled the tariff impact and warned that trade friction could reduce investment by about 12% and lower output by almost 3% over two years. The Bank’s scenario work on tariffs and structural change supports planning for lower investment and slower recovery.
Fintechs should prepare for slower enterprise procurement cycles and more selective purchasing behavior.
Globally Expect Slower Trade, Fragmented Rules And AI Pressure
Global growth projections dropped to about 2.8% in 2025 as tariffs spread and trade tensions widened. Export Development Canada’s global economic outlook for 2025 and 2026 forecasts Canadian growth around 0.8% in 2025 and 1.1% in 2026. Fintechs should expect slower demand, higher operating costs and more uncertainty across key trading regions.
An MIT study released in 2025 shows that about 12% of United States jobs could be automated using current AI tools today. As AI pressure intensifies it drives enterprise demand for automation, cost control and compliance. It also accelerates talent scarcity and raises expectations for governance and model transparency across financial services.
Global regulatory fragmentation expands. The EU AI Act, United Kingdom digital regulation, Singapore AI governance frameworks and China data sovereignty rules all diverge. If fintechs want to scale internationally in 2026, they must build modular compliance, auditability and data governance into core architecture.
What SFF 2025 Says About 2026 And Beyond
SFF 2025 provided a clear view into the next cycle of fintech infrastructure and the capabilities that institutions expect. The SFF 2025 blueprint for the next decade of finance placed AI, tokenized settlement, quantum readiness and talent at the centre of global financial transformation for the coming years.
AI moved into production across onboarding, monitoring, underwriting and support. Financial institutions showed mature applications that reduce fraud, improve accuracy and accelerate customer workflows. Tokenized finance advanced as central banks and major institutions tested tokenized settlement assets, wholesale CBDCs and regulated stablecoins. These experiments are clear move from demos towards infrastructure design.
See: How Fintech Teams Move From Tools To Agents
Quantum readiness entered strategic planning as banks prepared for post quantum cryptography and assessed their high value data inventory.
Talent emerged as one of the most constrained resources, with strong demand for cybersecurity, data and AI capabilities.
2026 will reward fintechs that integrate AI into their core stack, design products that support tokenized workflows, build quantum safe readiness and hire for digital infrastructure skills that support resilience and scale.
2026 Fintech Planning Insights
| Canada Policy Shifts That Drive 2026 Strategy | ||
|---|---|---|
| Open Banking Readiness | Canada moves to regulated data rails with accreditation and Bank of Canada oversight. | Build accredited data access readiness now. This creates a major advantage when banks and credit unions adopt regulated data sharing in 2026 and gives fintechs a lead when institutional partners demand safe integration. |
| Payment Supervision Alignment | Retail Payment Activities Act supervision is active and PSPs prepare for Real Time Rail participation. | Raise operational standards to meet supervision requirements. This clears the path for Real Time Rail access when available and strengthens partnership credibility with banks that expect higher resilience from PSPs. |
| Stablecoin Compliance Design | Canada released the first draft of the Stablecoin Act with rules for reserves, custody and redemption. | Design compliance into digital money products now. This avoids costly retrofits when rules finalize and positions fintechs for early participation in tokenized settlement experiments that banks support across 2026. |
| Transition And Climate Disclosure | CSA paused mandatory climate disclosure but investors still expect transition data in diligence. | Maintain credible voluntary disclosure. This reduces diligence friction with investors and large institutions that rank climate and transition data as core risk inputs even without a mandate. |
| Capital Conditions For Canadian Fintechs | ||
| Runway Discipline | Canadian funding normalizes with more selective deployment and fewer large rounds. | Plan 18 to 24 months of runway. This protects valuations and gives Canadian fintechs flexibility during slower deployment cycles and longer diligence timelines. |
| Revenue Quality First | Investors reward revenue durability as rates in the United States and Canada change slowly. | Increase margins, retention and customer lifetime value. This strengthens funding outcomes and signals that the business performs at today cost of capital. |
| Diversified Capital Routes | Equity crowdfunding reached record levels with rising retail participation in Canada. | Use investment crowdfunding to extend runway and validate market demand. This reduces reliance on a small number of venture investors and supports growth during selective funding cycles. |
| AI As The Primary Driver Of Competitiveness | ||
| AI As Core Infrastructure | SFF 2025 showed AI runs onboarding, risk, fraud and support in production. | Automate core work and improve accuracy. This reduces cost, raises product reliability and strengthens enterprise trust when selling into Canadian banks and credit unions. Remember, AI fintechs receive a valuation premium because automation and accuracy improve economics at every growth stage. |
| Model Governance Strength | Institutions expect clear model behaviour and explainability before integration. | Document lineage and monitoring with precision. This increases procurement success and accelerates enterprise adoption when institutions face rising AI governance requirements. |
| AI Driven Efficiency | Canadian enterprises invest in automation as budgets remain tight. | Replace manual workflows with AI to lower operating cost. This strengthens margins during slower growth and improves investor confidence. |
| Tokenized Settlement And Security Readiness | ||
| Tokenized Settlement Readiness | Banks and central banks test tokenized deposits and wholesale CBDCs. | Design workflows that support tokenized settlement. This prepares Canadian fintechs for early pilot participation when infrastructure tests expand in 2026. |
| Quantum Safe Architecture | Institutions begin planning for post quantum encryption. | Inventory sensitive data and adopt cryptographic agility. This protects long term assets and reduces future migration cost for Canadian fintechs selling into regulated environments. |
| Trade, Tariffs And Canadian Procurement Conditions | ||
| Adjusted Sales Cycles | Tariffs reduce Canadian investment and slow enterprise buying. | Extend sales cycle assumptions and build conservative forecasts. This improves cash planning and prevents burn surprises when procurement slows across regulated sectors. |
| Cost And Risk Value Propositions | Global growth slows and Canadian enterprises protect budgets. | Lead with measurable savings and risk reduction. This increases purchase probability in cost constrained environments and improves sales success during slow demand cycles. |
Why It Matters For 2026
As the close of 2025 nears, fintechs operate in a world where capital rewards evidence first, and where AI driven performance gains receive premium valuation only when they improve accuracy, automation or margins. Fintech policy advancement in Canada moves forward on open banking, payments and stablecoins and these developments create new regulated rails to build on. Tariffs, interest rates and slower global growth increase the need for financial discipline and durable revenue streams. Retail investors also became more active in 2025 as equity crowdfunding set new records, giving Canadian fintechs another way to raise capital when venture funding is more selective. SFF 2025 highlighted the technologies that will shape financial infrastructure for the next decade.
See: AI Immerses Youth Today And The Real Question Of Protection
Fintechs that align their strategy with the forces that matter, including AI, regulated data access, modern payments, tokenized settlement and stronger governance, will be better positioned to raise capital, win enterprise partnerships and scale through uncertainty.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Building Financial Resilience in an Age of Uncertainty
Nov 27, 2025
Image: Freepik/creativeart
In today’s uncertain and volatile global economy, businesses need to be resilient in order to succeed. Many businesses have been struggling to steady the ship since the pandemic due to a range of factors, including lockdowns, lower consumer confidence, increasing costs, cybercrime, tariffs, supply chain issues, and more. Therefore, businesses must be resilient in order to weather the storm and achieve success despite the external factors. So, how can a company build financial resilience during an age of uncertainty? It might feel like an uphill battle, but there are a few smart strategies to build financial resilience that can help you succeed and benefit from peace of mind.
Risk Awareness
First, businesses must be aware of the risks that their company faces. Risk assessments can help companies determine the general and specific risks they face, allowing them to develop strategies to mitigate these risks. For SMEs, this is vital for resilience against various threats but also for building trust with investors, partners, and clients. Threats are constantly evolving, so it is wise to conduct regular risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and reduce your exposure. This can prevent issues from arising in the first place, allowing you to take a proactive stance.
Emergency Buffer
One of the most effective ways to build financial resilience is to build an emergency buffer. This is a contingency fund that you can turn to if you face an unexpected expense or if business slows down for one reason or another. It is generally recommended to have 3-6 months’ worth of expenses in the fund and keep it in an easy-access, high-interest account. This can prevent you from having to take on debt in an emergency and can provide peace of mind.
Insurance Coverage
Liquidity is certainly important in uncertain times, but you should never underestimate the importance of insurance. Insurance can provide financial stability and business continuity when an unexpected situation arises, so you want to make sure that you are fully protected against general and industry-specific threats. You will also want to find a reliable insurance provider, such as Aviva. Trusted companies like this can provide insurance policies tailored to the needs of your business, allowing for comprehensive protection and reassurance.
Adaptability
Finally, it is important to be adaptable. To achieve long-term success, businesses need to be ahead of the curve and willing to change. This means embracing digital transformation and new technologies, investing in staff training, conducting regular market research, and taking advantage of new opportunities that present themselves. While these uncertain times can certainly create challenges, they can also create new opportunities. This is why the businesses that are light on their feet are the ones that enjoy long-term success.
See: Strengthening Resilience and Leading Through Uncertainty
It can be challenging for businesses to thrive during these uncertain times, which is why building financial resilience is key. By focusing on the above areas, businesses will be able to protect themselves against the various modern threats that every company faces and industry-specific challenges. Hopefully, this will enable you to weather the storm, adapt, and achieve long-term success.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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How Fintech Teams Move From Tools To Agents
AI Productivity | Nov 25, 2025
Managing Hybrid AI Teams For Stronger Performance
A founder at a Canadian fintech reviewed a routine workflow and noticed something important. The company had recently replaced several older tools with newer AI powered systems, and remarkably the new configuration could complete multi step tasks that used to require manual effort. The system gathered information, applied rules and moved the case forward without constant human prompts. Nothing unexpected happened. The work simply flowed from step to step. In that moment the team recognized that they were no longer working with simple tools. They had introduced capabilities that belonged in the agent category, even if no one had used that word yet.
See: Should Fintechs Design for People or AI Agents?
The realization opened a larger conversation inside the company. That is the new AI systems didn't behave like single purpose tools like before. They behave more like assistants that can move through a workflow once they understand the goal. The team had not changed the work. The technology had changed what the work could look like, and recent research confirmed this realty of how teams are coordinating autonomous systems across full processes.
Understanding the Difference Between A Tool And An Agent
A tool performs a single action only when prompted. It behaves like a calculator or a search bar. Tasks such as summarizing documents, extracting fields, drafting support replies or classifying transactions remain inside this zone. A person decides each step. The system never chooses what to do next.
An agent behaves differently. It acts. It moves through a journey, maintains context, decides the next step and continues until it reaches a point where it needs help or completes the goal. Take a look at these AI use cases by haptik, such as CASHe credit flow where a conversational system guides a borrower from authentication to instant approval, or how Zuri improves efficiency and customer experience at Global insurance leader Zurich without human involvement. Both examples highlight AI agent behaviour, and not tools.
The practical 'acid test' for fintech teams is simple. Ask who chooses the next step in the workflow. If the human chooses, it remains a tool. If the system decides, it behaves as an agent. This distinction matters because agents require supervision, governance and ownership. They influence outcomes and customer experience. Treating an agent as a tool leads to blind spots.
See: Which Fintech Processes Are Most Ready for Agentic AI
Evidence from global surveys explains why this distinction matters for performance. The findings on workplace AI usage show that 88% of employees use AI at work but only 5% use it in ways that change their roles. Organizations also lose more than 40% of potential productivity gains (opportunity cost) when talent, workflows and governance do not align with the technology.
When fintech leaders understand the moment when tools become agents, they gain the vision needed to build high performing hybrid teams.
How AI Agents Change Daily Work In Fintech
Once a fintech organization recognizes that its systems behave like agents, the nature of work begins to change. People no longer complete tasks in isolation. They supervise agents that perform sequences. The work becomes a blend of human judgement and systems execution. See this research on end-to-end agentic workflows, which analyzes how a few people can guide a large number of agents across full processes. These supervisors focus on results rather than steps. They correct behaviour, interpret outputs and refine the system. The work becomes less about completing tasks and more about guiding outcomes.
Check out this practical example describing an agentic fraud systems showing how agents monitor transactions, test controls and highlight anomalies. Human analysts review these exceptions, approve responses and explain logic to regulators. The agent carries out the first layer of work. Humans perform higher judgement. This structure changes daily routines.
A hybrid team begins the day by reviewing the agent log. They scan escalations, exceptions, unexpected patterns and customer interactions. The team also discusses where the agent needs correction, where it performed well and where rules need refinement. This daily rhythm feels closer to coaching a junior colleague than running a piece of software.
See: Breaking Canada’s Productivity Trap For Stronger Growth
Changing structural workflows and shifting from doing to supervising can have cultural effects. Some feel replaced while others feel empowered. Leadership determines the direction.
When leaders explain that supervising agents is a higher judgement role, employees view it as progression. When leaders fail to explain, they view it as displacement.
5 Insights to Manage High Performing Hybrid Teams
Managing hybrid teams requires clarity, structure and shared visibility. A hybrid team succeeds when the agent behaves predictably, the humans supervise confidently and both sides contribute to results.
1. Ownership
When no one owns the behaviour of an agent, the system drifts. Fintech leaders need to assign a small group of people to own a journey end to end. Strong supervision with the authority to adjust prompts, thresholds and workflow logic.
2. Transparency
Every action taken by an agent must appear in a shared log. Without this, the team can't diagnose issues or maintain trust. The shared log becomes the anchor of the hybrid team.
See: Canada’s Fintech and AI Firms Lead Deloitte’s 2025 Fast 50
When a human intervenes, the reason appears in the same log. When an agent acts, the outcome appears there as well. This shared view prevents confusion.
3. Refinement
Teams must review the agent’s behaviour frequently. The review cycles in studies of agentic processes show that continuous improvement drives results. In practice, teams meet weekly to adjust rules, refine decision boundaries and align the agent with policy. These refinements keep the system current and adaptive.
4. Human Override
Agents cannot handle every scenario. Hybrid teams need clear rules for human intervention. They must know when to stop the agent and how to redirect it. Regulatory environments require this clarity. Fintech companies that operate in regulated sectors must explain why the agent acted and when a human stepped in.
5. Measurement
Leaders need to measure the hybrid team as one unit. The work of the humans and the work of the agent form one system. Outcomes such as customer satisfaction, approval speed, fraud reduction and error rates reflect joint performance. When both sides improve together, results accelerate.
Hybrid teams succeed when leaders treat the agent as a teammate with responsibilities and supervision rather than as a simple tool or gadget.
Why Hybrid Teams Matter
Canadian fintech companies operate inside a competitive global environment. Research from major international surveys positions AI as critical infrastructure for financial systems. Productivity gains increasingly come from the interaction between humans and agents rather than from models alone.
Read: AI’s Hidden Costs in Replacing Junior Workers
Tools help people work. Agents help the company run. Those that treat AI only as a set of single purpose tools are at risk of falling behind. Fintech leaders who understand this difference, and who build hybrid teams around it, will gain an advantage in scale, efficiency, and risk management. They also build trust with regulators and partners. A company that can explain how its agents behave, why they behave that way and how humans supervise them will become a more reliable and stronger participant.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Fintech and Canada’s Updated Rules for Environmental Claims
Greeneashing Rules | Nov 24, 2025
Canada Updates Greenwashing Rules and What Fintechs Need To Know
On November 18 2025 the federal government introduced proposed changes to Canada’s environmental claim and greenwashing rules through Bill C-15, building on the November 4 2025 federal Budget. These proposals respond to concerns from businesses that the original 2024 framework increased uncertainty and cost. For financial technology firms that use climate related data or sustainability linked claims, these adjustments have important implications.
What The Original Regime Introduced
The original greenwashing provisions came into force through Bill C-59, which received royal assent on June 20 2024. See NCFA's fintech focused overview of the original green claim rules.
When the Competition Bureau released the June 2025 environmental claims guidance, firms received clearer detail on what regulators expected for forward looking climate statements, evidence standards and internal documentation. Even with that guidance, companies found the requirements strict and often unclear, particularly around which international standards qualified.
Why and What Changes Under Bill C-15
Bill C-15 proposes to adjust parts of the greenwashing rules that came into force in 2024. The government introduced these changes because many companies, including financial institutions, said the original rules were too unclear and made it difficult to speak openly about their environmental plans.
Bill C-15 responds to those concerns by removing the requirement that business level environmental claims must follow an internationally recognized methodology, which was one of the main sources of confusion. Businesses would still need evidence to support any environmental claim they make but they can focus on internal logic and documented methods.
See: Rising AI Energy Use: A Call for Sustainable Innovation
Bill C-15 also proposes to change how greenwashing complaints are handled. Under the rules introduced in 2024, private parties such as advocacy groups, competitors or individuals can file applications directly with the Competition Tribunal for business environmental claims. This direct access was part of broader competition law reforms and became a significant concern for companies. Bill C-15 would remove that direct pathway and require private parties to bring their concerns to the Competition Bureau instead. The Bureau would then decide whether a case should proceed. The government introduced this change because many firms said the threat of direct Tribunal applications increased uncertainty and could discourage them from sharing legitimate climate related information.
The proposed changes aims to preserve protections against misleading claims while reducing the risk of unnecessary or strategic litigation.
Comparison Before and After the Changes
| Consideration | Original 2024 Rules | Updated 2025 Rules (Bill C-15) | What This Means For Fintechs |
| How Environmental Claims Are Justified | Required adequate testing and alignment with an internationally recognized methodology | Requires substantiation but allows firms to use documented internal methods | More flexibility in climate data modelling, ESG scoring and analytics tools |
| Interpretation Burden | High. Firms struggled to interpret which global frameworks counted | Lower. Evidence judged on internal consistency | Clearer expectations reduce risk of misinterpretation |
| Documentation Expectations | Documentation needed to show alignment with international frameworks | Firms must document data sources and assumptions but no external alignment is required | Focus on internal logic and auditability |
| Future Oriented Climate Claims | Long term claims required alignment to global pathways | Claims still require evidence but internal pathways may be used | Forecasts need realistic milestones rather than matching global models |
| Risk of Challenge | Higher due to methodology disputes | Lower for methodology disputes but misleading advertising rules still apply | Risk shifts toward evidence quality |
| Enforcement Pathway | Private parties could bring cases to the Tribunal | Complaints routed through the Competition Bureau | Fewer activist driven cases but oversight continues |
| Practical Impact on Companies | Some firms paused climate commitments due to uncertainty | More predictable expectations support climate initiatives | More predictable environment for climate product development |
| Compliance Costs | Higher due to ambiguity around methodology | Moderate. Costs remain but ambiguity decreases | Less need for external validation. More need for strong internal controls |
| Innovation and Competitiveness | Rigid framework slowed innovation | Flexible system encourages innovation | Fintechs gain room to differentiate through credibility |
| Investor Signal | Uncertainty signalled regulatory volatility | Clear expectations reduce perceived friction | Fintechs become more attractive to investors |
Fintech Implications
Claim Support And Data Systems
Fintech firms need strong and reliable data infrastructure to support any environmental claims made in their products or services. While the updated rules remove the pressure to match a specific international framework, but they do not lower the expectation for clear evidence. Fintechs must be able to show how their data is collected, how their models work and why their outputs are reasonable.
See: Green Fintech 2.0 Shows Progress in the UK
Internal logic, consistency and transparent documentation matter more than ever because the assessment standard focuses on whether a claim can be substantiated using the firm’s own methods. This means the credibility of a fintech product depends heavily on the quality of its data foundations and (environmental) claims.
Future Climate Commitments Also Carry Risk
Any statement about future emissions, climate pathways or long term environmental outcomes requires realistic modelling and measurable steps.
This risk was highlighted when the Royal Bank of Canada pulled back its sustainable finance commitment after saying it could not confidently measure progress under the current rules.
Fintech tools that produce projections, risk curves or carbon estimates must demonstrate how the assumptions behind those outputs were chosen and how progress will be tracked. Future oriented claims remain high risk unless methods, milestones and supporting records are clear.
Compliance Costs And Competitive Positioning
The updated framework may reduce the cost that came from interpreting international standards, but meaningful compliance work remains. Fintechs still need controlled data environments, version tracking, testing protocols and maintained audit trails.
Read: Sustainability: A Must for Fintech Growth
Firms that use verification as a core part of product design can position themselves ahead of competitors because customers and investors will expect transparency in climate related data. Strong internal controls also help firms defend claims if they are questioned by regulators or partners.
Risk Remains, Gatekeeper Pathway Changes
Removing direct access to the Competition Tribunal lowers the chance of activist driven cases, but environmental claims will continue to be reviewed under misleading advertising rules.
The Competition Bureau remains the main decision maker and it can act where evidence is weak or claims are overstated. For fintechs this means that scrutiny continues but will be more predictable and clearer process. Firms should expect oversight to focus on accuracy and evidence rather than whether a specific global methodology was used.
Priorities For Fintechs Right Now
Fintech teams should review the environmental claims used in products, marketing or investor materials and ensure the evidence behind those claims is complete and easy to explain.
Internal methodologies should be clear so product, compliance and technical teams can show how calculations and scores are produced. Future oriented statements need documented assumptions, milestones and data sources.
See: AI Energy Score Ratings A Step Towards Transparency in AI
Firms should also monitor the progress of Bill C-15 and upcoming Competition Bureau guidance so they can adjust their documentation and product practices as expectations evolve.
Why This Matters
Environmental credibility impacts how investors and partners evaluate opportunities in sustainable finance and climate technology ventures. The updated rules aim to keep protections against misleading claims while reducing uncertainty that can slow down innovation. Fintechs that build strong and transparent verification systems can strengthen their competitive position, support customer confidence and contribute to a more trusted and transparent sustainable finance ecosystem in Canada.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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FrontFundr Achieves Record Investment Growth in 2025
FrontFundr | Nov 20, 2025
Image generated by AI
Strong Rise in Revenue and Investor Participation as Private Markets at Record Levels
On 18 November 2025, FrontFundr announced its fiscal year 2025 results for the year ending 30 September 2025. The company reported revenue of $1.85 million, which it stated was a 60% increase from fiscal 2024. FrontFundr also reported an EBITDA loss of $45,000, compared with a loss of $1.25 million in the previous fiscal year. The company described these results as its strongest annual performance.
See: Equity Crowdfunding Breaks Records in Canada
According to the release, FrontFundr processed $81.4 million in investment volume during fiscal 2025, representing a 45% increase over fiscal 2024. The company completed 5,729 investment transactions during the period, nearly double the number completed the year before.
The company also increased it's investor base in 2025 with 58,335 registered users, an increase of 24% over the prior year. The number of active investors reached 20,148, an increase of 28% compared with fiscal 2024.
FrontFundr cited several campaigns that contributed to activity on the platform. Edison Motors raised $6.9 million, and Blossom Social raised $1.93 million in under one week marking Canada’s most successful equity crowdfunding campaign.
The company also provided early results from the start of fiscal 2026. FrontFundr generated $255,200 in revenue for October 2025, which exceeded its internal monthly target by 68%.
FrontFundr mentioned in the release that these stellar fiscal 2025 results coincided with the firm's 10 year milestone from the day the company processed its first investment in May 2015. The release links the milestone with the reported increases in revenue, completed transactions, investment volume, registered users, active investors, and individual campaign outcomes.
See: Fintech Fridays EP57: 10 Years of Investment Crowdfunding: Past, Present & Future Since the JOBS Act
With equity crowdfunding as part of the wider private markets landscape in Canada, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association reported that the first nine months of 2025 marked the strongest nine month period on record for private equity, with $56.5 billion across 483 transactions.
Congrats!
FrontFundr’s fiscal 2025 results highlight a year where the company reported growth across its platform, and reaching the 10 year mark offers a moment to congratulate Peter-Paul and the entire team and acknowledge the sustained multi year effort behind that progress. Recognizing this milestone is appropriate as the company continues its work within Canada’s developing investment crowdfunding and private market investing landscape.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Breaking Canada’s Productivity Trap For Stronger Growth
Bank of Canada | Speech | Nov 20, 2025
Image: OECD via Haver Analytics and Bank of Canada 2023
Bank of Canada Calls For Action To Fix Canada’s Productivity
On November 19 2025, the Bank of Canada (BoC) released a speech, 'Toward a virtuous circle for productivity' delivered by Nicolas Vincent the external Deputy Governor at a recent event of the Association des économistes québécois (ASDEQ) together with CFA Québec.
See: BoC’s Carolyn Rogers Calls Banks an Oligopoly
His talk explains the pattern of Canada's long standing productivity challenges and sets out what needs to change. Canada has lived with the same productivity problem for a generation. Growth has slowed, investment has weakened, and the country has become more exposed to global shocks.
Key Takeaways
Weak productivity discourages investment, and weak investment keeps productivity low.
Regulatory and competitive conditions are central to improving that pattern.
Training, mobility, and credential recognition must work better to support new technology.
- Status quo isn't acceptable as keeping the current environment in place would lock in today’s slow growth.
Vincent captures the situation clear:
“To put it bluntly, we’re stuck in a vicious circle.”
He notes that productivity grew about 3% in the 1960s and 1970s but fell to roughly 1% between 2000 and 2019. When productivity is weak, wage gains soften and demand becomes fragile. Then companies hesitate to invest in new tools or equipment, and that hesitation feeds right back into weaker productivity.
He highlights 3 things that need to change the trajectory (not a quick fix)
1. Strengthening The Investment Environment
The investment climate is paramount for firms trying to modernize. One of the clearest lines in his speech addresses the barrier businesses often describe:
“Businesses often tell us that Canada’s regulatory framework is too cumbersome, complex and far-reaching.”
A stronger investment climate means faster decisions, clearer expectations, and fewer overlapping rules. That allows companies to move ahead with projects that raise productivity instead of delaying them.
See: Why AI Investment Is Missing What Workers Actually Want
In fintech, it's especially important because licensing decisions, compliance approvals, and inter-provincial regulatory alignment determine how quickly a firm can launch or scale. When these pathways work well, investment grows and innovation accelerates.
The opposite has been visible for a decade (at least). Companies often face unpredictable pathways, uneven timelines, and unclear requirements (think the original equity crowdfunding rules, open banking, payment modernization etc). Those conditions slow product launches, and discourage upgrades. They also weaken the broader economy by delaying the investment (both internal and external) needed to lift productivity.
2. Promoting More Competitive and Dynamic Markets
Vincent says competition pushes companies to improve and become more resilient:
“Canadian businesses that are highly exposed to international competition evolve and improve. This makes them more productive, competitive and resilient.”
Competitive markets encourage businesses to adopt better technology, strengthen processes, and serve customers more effectively. This raises productivity across entire sectors.
See: Competition Bureau Consultation: New Enforcement Guidelines
When competitive pressure is limited, firms face fewer reasons to upgrade or innovate quickly. That is the opposite of what a modern economy needs. Slower adoption means slower productivity gains, and slower gains leave the economy more exposed to global changes.
Leaving competition conditions unchanged would keep the loop intact and make it more difficult for Canada to close its gap with peer countries.
3. Investing In Skills, Mobility And Talent
Vincent points out that productivity depends on people as much as on technology:
“Investing in our talent … means making it easier to recognize professional accreditations across provinces and territories, and the foreign credentials of people who move to Canada.”
Training systems that adapt quickly, credential pathways that work smoothly, and mobility across provinces all help firms adopt new technology with confidence.
See: What Gen Z and Millennials Expect From Fintech
Today’s reality is different. Workers often wait months or years to have skills recognized, training programs lag behind new tools, and mobility rules slow the movement of talent. These conditions limit how quickly firms can scale, modernize, or respond to new opportunities.
Keeping this in place would weaken the very foundation needed for stronger productivity.
Productivity Gains Are Essential For Canada’s Future
Vincent’s message is measured but urgent. Canada's productivity problem is caused by multiple things, and no single fix. But the government policies that impact investment, competition, and talent development must work better than they do today. These are public frameworks that governments influence, and businesses must act on them once conditions improve.
The payoff is substantial and what all Canadians should be aiming for. Higher productivity strengthens incomes, supports wage growth without inflation pressure, expands competitiveness, and improves resilience in a world where shocks are becoming more common.
See: Fintech’s Role in Canada’s Productivity Revival
The status quo of slow investment, limited competition, and restricted talent must be changed to improve the the country’s economic strength and provide opportunities for Canadians to build a stronger future.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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OpenAI And Intuit Add AI Tools To Tax And Business Apps
AI Finance | Nov 19, 2025
Image generated by AI
AI Partnership Brings Intuit Apps Into ChatGPT
On November 18 2025, Intuit announced a new multi year contract with OpenAI, valued at more than US $100 million that will both bring Intuit products directly into ChatGPT while expanding Intuit’s use of OpenAI frontier models inside its own financial platforms. The deal positions Intuit’s AI driven expert platform as a central financial interface for consumers and businesses by connecting TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma and Mailchimp to ChatGPT at the point of need.
Intuit stated that providing these experiences inside ChatGPT will enable the company to deepen engagement with its approximately 100 million customers and introduce its financial tools to new users, while accelerating its AI platform strategy through deeper integration of OpenAI models in Intuit’s proprietary GenOS system.
See: Digital Commerce Bank Launches Interac e-Transfer Cards
Intuit has not yet confirmed when ChatGPT access will be available inside Canadian TurboTax or QuickBooks, or how subscription tiers will work in Canada. This creates uncertainty for Canadian accountants, small businesses and fintech providers that want to understand timing, product eligibility and data governance obligations under Canadian rules.
Intuit's Push into AI Finance
The Intuit and OpenAI deal is part of a longer vision for Intuit's product strategy, as it positions itself as an AI first financial platform. In June 2025, Intuit introduced a new all in one consumer money platform that uses generative AI to automate data entry for more than 90 % of common tax forms and reported that TurboTax saved Americans 6 million hours during tax season.
In July 2025, Intuit launched QuickBooks virtual AI agents that help businesses save up to 12 hours each month on routine work such as bookkeeping and invoicing.
In October 2025, Intuit unveiled an AI native system of intelligence for mid market companies to help them grow more efficiently.
See: OpenAI Launches Group Chat Pilot Shared Intelligence
TurboTax users will be able to access tax related workflows through ChatGPT, including refund estimates, personal loan or mortgage analysis and guided tax filing flows connected to Intuit data.
QuickBooks will continue to expand its agent based automation which is already available for Canadian QuickBooks businesses, as reported on the Canadian QuickBooks agent rollout.
The OpenAI partnership extends this direction by linking Intuit data and tools with assistant based workflows in ChatGPT. For fintech innovators, this means the competitive bar continues to rise as large incumbents blend domain data, AI models and conversational interfaces.
Implications And Takeaways
Several implications stand out for founders, investors and policymakers.
Distribution is changing because users can now activate financial tools inside conversational assistants rather than starting in a dedicated application.
Data depth and model quality become competitive advantages as Intuit leans on its proprietary financial data and credit models.
See: AI Agents and the New Return on Intelligence in Finance
Regulatory and trust boundaries will tighten as tax filing, bookkeeping and credit related tasks move into assistant based channels.
Canada must plan for timing and access because the lack of clear roll out information could reshape competitive dynamics. Global competition is accelerating as AI powered financial tools become mainstream rather than experimental, which raises the stakes for Canadian fintech innovation and policy.
Outlook
For Canadian fintech innovators and regulators, quick (and thoughtful) adaptation is essential. The assistant is becoming both gateway and interface, and Canada’s ability to innovate, regulate and compete will impact how well its financial ecosystem performs in an AI enabled future.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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