June 29, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Capital Markets And Funding, SME Finance And Business Banking, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Fintech And Innovation
Credit Union Capital Backs AI Small Business Lending
On June 29, 2026, Conexus Venture Capital invests in JUDI.AI, a Vancouver fintech whose AI cash flow underwriting platform helps credit unions and community banks make faster small business lending decisions. Existing investor Unitus Community Credit Union also participated.
The round size wasn't disclosed, but its a strong transaction. A credit union backed venture fund is financing AI lending infrastructure that already serves credit unions and community banks across Canada and the U.S.
JUDI.AI says its platform has processed more than $2 billion in small business loan applications, supports more than 50 clients, and can reduce the loan application and decisioning process from more than seven days to under ten minutes without collecting financial statements. The platform uses permissioned bank transaction data, a domain specific credit model, and a real time view of cash flow to assess small business borrowers.
Conexus Backs Faster Credit Union Lending
Small business lending has always fit the credit union model in theory. Credit unions know local communities, relationship banking, and member service. The problem is operating cost.
A small business loan can still require bank statements, financial statements, manual review, back and forth questions, policy checks, risk scoring, and approval work. If the process takes too long, borrowers look elsewhere. If the process costs too much, lenders struggle to serve smaller tickets profitably.
JUDI.AI is targeting that gap. The platform combines cash flow analysis, automated underwriting, loan portfolio reporting, and analytics for credit unions and community banks. Instead of relying only on older financial statements or conventional lending metrics, it helps lenders assess live business activity through permissioned transaction data.
That gives credit unions a way to compete on speed without abandoning lending discipline.
Conexus Invests After Using JUDI.AI
Conexus was already familiar with the platform before the venture investment. The announcement says small business members in Saskatchewan previously used JUDI.AI for years to access loans faster, while Conexus reduced the time required to process applications.
That makes the investment more than a financial bet. Conexus is backing a tool it's used inside its own lending workflow, where speed, borrower experience, staff capacity, and credit discipline all matter.
Gord Baizley, CEO of JUDI.AI, framed the business around lending practice:
"At JUDI, we're not just selling a platform. We're championing a methodology. We've learned that success in small business lending is more than just technology, but a holistic approach that blends people, process, technology and intentional growth."
Better SME credit infrastructure is not only about faster models. It also depends on workflow design, risk controls, lender adoption, borrower experience, and portfolio monitoring.
Cash Flow Data For SME Credit
JUDI.AI's model fits a larger fintech pattern. SME finance is increasingly built around current business activity rather than static documents.
For small businesses, the commercial value comes when permissioned financial data helps lenders understand revenue, expense patterns, repayment capacity, seasonality, and account behaviour without weeks of manual collection.
The AI model needs good data, the lender needs clear controls, and the borrower needs a simpler application path. If those pieces work together, small business credit can become faster and more accessible without turning into loose lending.
JUDI.AI's decade of performance data also gives the platform a stronger adoption story than a new AI wrapper. Credit unions are buying a tested underwriting process designed for their borrower base.
Canadian SME Finance Is Getting More Operational
Float's $85 million Series C shows Canadian business finance platforms expanding across payments, cash management, credit, and AI finance workflows.
Better banking options for Canadian SMEs remain a live competition issue as business owners seek lower friction, better credit access, and more useful digital financial tools.
NCFA's Financial Innovation Map tracks SME finance, open finance, AI underwriting, business banking, and financial data infrastructure opportunities.
Can Credit Unions Scale AI Lending Locally?
The Conexus investment shows how credit unions can use venture capital as more than a financial return tool. They can back fintech infrastructure that improves member service, strengthens local business lending, and gives community based institutions a better way to compete with digital lenders.
For JUDI.AI, the next step is continued growth. The platform already supports credit unions and community banks across Canada and the U.S., and the new capital supports North American growth and product development. The strongest path is helping lenders approve strong small business borrowers faster, manage risk with better cash flow data, and keep local credit relationships inside the credit union system.
The competitive question is whether credit unions can adopt fast enough? Fintech lenders, banks, embedded finance platforms, and business finance software firms are all trying to own more of the SME finance relationship. Credit unions have trust and local presence. They now need digital credit infrastructure that matches borrower expectations.
Talking Point
If credit unions can combine local member trust with AI cash flow underwriting, can they become the strongest distribution channel for small business lending 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](http://www.ncfacanada.org)
June 29, 2026 | NCFA Feature | Open Banking And Open Finance, Digital Identity And Trust, Cybersecurity And Fraud, Risk Compliance And Regtech, Fintech And Innovation
Fraud, Consent And Liability Before Open Finance Scale
At first glance, the two regulatory packages appear separate. One establishes the operating rules for consumer driven banking. The other requires federally regulated banks to strengthen fraud prevention for electronic funds transfers.
Together, however, they reveal something much bigger.
Canada isn't simply launching open banking. It's building the trust infrastructure needed before open finance can scale.
The problem is that millions of Canadians already share their financial information through screen scraping, a practice tracked as a core open banking risk in Bank Of Canada Signals Open Banking Timing Risk. Finance Canada estimates roughly nine million Canadians currently use screen scraping despite the security, liability, and consumer protection concerns it creates. The new framework is designed to replace that model with accredited participants, standardized APIs, consumer controlled consent, and clear accountability.
The Regulations Explain Canada's Strategy
Much of the early discussion around open banking has focused on data portability. The regulations suggest Finance Canada sees the challenge differently.
Data sharing is only one part of the system.
Consumers must know who can access their information
Financial institutions must know who they are sharing data with
Accredited participants must meet common operational and security requirements
Liability must be clear when something goes wrong
Fraud must be monitored
Technical standards must allow systems to communicate securely
Consumers need complaint mechanisms and regulatory oversight
Only after these pieces exist does secure data sharing become practical.
The Regulatory Impact Analysis estimates the framework will generate approximately $13.2 billion in net benefits over ten years, compared with implementation costs of about $457.7 million, largely through greater competition, improved consumer choice, reduced friction, and innovation.
Those numbers reinforce that Consumer Driven Banking is being treated as national financial infrastructure rather than another fintech initiative.
Why Fraud Rules Arrived At The Same Time
Some viewed the fraud regulations as a separate announcement, but the timing suggests otherwise.
As consumers gain greater control over financial data and eventually broader payment functionality, fraud risks also change. Criminals increasingly exploit social engineering, account takeover, impersonation, and authorized push payment scams rather than technical weaknesses alone.
Finance Canada's fraud framework responds by requiring federally regulated banks to establish policies and procedures to detect, prevent, and mitigate consumer targeted fraud involving electronic funds transfers.
The regulations also introduce stronger expectations around consumer controls, including the ability to manage transaction capabilities and limits, express consent before enabling electronic funds transfer functionality, and fraud reporting to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada.
Greater consumer control must be matched by stronger consumer protection. The inherent message is that the federal government wants to make fraud prevention part of the architecture rather than an afterthought.
Canada Is Turning Trust Into Rules
Reading the regulations together shows that trust is no longer treated as a policy objective. It's becoming operational and the framework combines:
consumer controlled consent
accreditation of participating organizations
secure API based data exchange
authentication requirements
defined liability arrangements
technical standards
record keeping obligations
ongoing supervision
consumer complaint processes
fraud monitoring and reporting
None of those capabilities creates value on its own, but collectively they create an environment where consumers, banks, fintechs, and regulators can exchange financial information with greater confidence than today's screen scraping model.
The regulations therefore answer an important implementation question that has existed since Canada's open banking discussions began several years ago.
Trust is not assumed. It's engineered.
Every Regulatory Requirement Creates A Product Opportunity
The regulations also strengthen several areas already appearing across NCFA's Financial Innovation Map.
Consumer consent requirements create opportunities for consent orchestration platforms that help consumers understand, grant, renew, and withdraw permissions across multiple financial relationships.
Accreditation requirements create opportunities for compliance operations platforms that help fintech companies prepare for accreditation, maintain operational controls, manage evidence, and demonstrate ongoing compliance.
Fraud obligations strengthen demand for behavioural fraud analytics, scam detection, mule account monitoring, transaction risk scoring, and real time payment controls.
Authentication requirements reinforce opportunities for digital identity, credential management, and secure customer authentication.
Technical standards create demand for API testing, interoperability tools, certification services, and developer infrastructure.
Liability and complaint provisions strengthen opportunities for workflow automation covering dispute management, evidence collection, case handling, and regulatory reporting.
None of these businesses exists because regulators explicitly created them, but they will emerge because every operational requirement creates work that financial institutions and technology providers must perform efficiently. And that's often where durable fintech companies are built.
Canada Is Building Beyond Read Only Banking
The initial Consumer Driven Banking framework focuses on secure consumer permissioned data sharing. It's an intentional starting point.
Once accreditation, liability, consent management, authentication, and technical standards mature, the same infrastructure can support broader open finance capabilities, including additional financial products and, potentially, future write access.
The regulations therefore describe more than the first phase of open banking. They establish the operating foundation for future financial data ecosystems.
The opportunity is not limited to data sharing. It extends into the systems that make data sharing safe, usable, auditable, and commercially scalable.
That includes trust infrastructure, fraud infrastructure, consent systems, API reliability, compliance operations, data governance, and consumer protection workflows.
The next phase of Canada's open banking market will depend on whether these operating layers mature quickly enough for banks, fintechs, consumers, and businesses to use the framework with confidence.
That makes today's implementation decisions highly important because many of tomorrow's fintech products will inherit the rules established now.
For Canada's fintech ecosystem, this strengthens the opportunity case outlined in NCFA's Open Banking Opportunity Brief. The next iteration of value will come from tools that make consent, risk, identity, fraud controls, interoperability, and compliance easier to operate at scale.
Talking Point
If trust, consent, fraud controls, liability, and interoperability become core infrastructure for open banking, which product category will create the greatest competitive advantage for Canadian fintech companies over the next five years?
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
June 26, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, Risk Compliance And Regtech, Payments And Market Infrastructure, Regulation And Policy, Treasury Liquidity And Cash Management
Stablecore, Circuit and Curql launched an early access stablecoin and digital asset programme for credit unions, with initial participation from RBFCU, Stanford FCU, La Capitol FCU and other institutions representing approximately $25 billion in combined assets.
The programme allows participating credit unions to evaluate stablecoin payments, tokenized deposits, Bitcoin on and off ramps, digital asset accounts, staking, compliance support and member education before broader deployment.
The initiative gives credit unions a coordinated path to test digital asset services instead of running isolated vendor experiments.
Credit unions now have a clearer way to test stablecoins, tokenized deposits and digital asset accounts inside member owned financial institutions. Banks, core providers, payments firms, fintechs and regulators should watch whether these early programmes become production deployments for real time settlement, deposit tokens and broader member access to digital assets.
FinCEN and the federal banking agencies proposed customer identification program requirements for permitted payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act.
The proposal would treat permitted payment stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act and require them to maintain effective CIPs.
The Federal Register notice opened a public comment period ending Aug.21, 2026.
Stablecoin issuer regulation is becoming an AML and identity control issue, not only a reserve or redemption issue. Issuers, banks, custodians, wallets, exchanges and compliance teams should prepare for customer identification, verification, recordkeeping and risk controls as payment stablecoin frameworks mature.
The Bank of England published a policy statement and draft rules for systemic sterling stablecoin issuers.
The framework covers reserve assets, safeguarding, redemption, issuer resilience, disclosure, supervision, and the role of stablecoins in payments.
The rules are aimed at firms whose stablecoins may become systemically important for UK payments and financial stability.
Stablecoin regulation is moving from policy design into operating rules for payment infrastructure. Issuers, banks, custodians, payment firms, exchanges, and fintechs should watch how reserve design, redemption rights, safeguarding, and systemic supervision shape market access for regulated digital money.
Securitize and Cantor Equity Partners II said their business combination is expected to raise approximately $400 million in gross proceeds.
The combined company is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SECZ after closing, subject to shareholder approval and closing conditions.
Securitize said it has more than $4 billion in tokenized real world assets under management and operates regulated digital securities infrastructure in the United States and Europe.
Tokenization platforms are entering public capital markets. Asset managers, broker dealers, transfer agents, custodians, exchanges and investors should watch how public company access, regulated ATS infrastructure and cross border digital securities permissions shape the next phase of tokenized fund and real world asset distribution.
Senators John Curtis and Adam Schiff introduced the Prediction Markets Are Gambling Act to prohibit CFTC registered entities from listing prediction contracts that resemble sports bets or casino style games.
The bill would clarify that the Commodity Exchange Act does not permit sports gambling through federally regulated prediction market contracts.
The senators said sports prediction contracts are being offered across all 50 states, including states with sports betting restrictions or prohibitions.
Event contract markets are facing a sharper boundary test. Exchanges, brokers, prediction market platforms, sports leagues, tribal gaming authorities and regulators should watch whether Congress narrows the line between federally regulated event contracts and state regulated gambling.
The Financial Reporting Council issued staff guidance on auditor independence requirements for companies traded on the UK Private Intermittent Securities and Capital Exchange System.
The guidance says PISCES traded companies should not currently be treated as listed entities under the FRC Ethical Standard for auditor independence purposes.
The FRC said it will give at least one year’s notice before any future change to this position.
Private market trading infrastructure needs audit rules that firms can apply before transactions scale. Companies, auditors, advisers, venues and investors should watch how PISCES treatment affects independence checks, audit committee planning, transaction readiness and the operating model for periodic private share trading.
The Canadian Securities Administrators announced final amendments to implement an access model for annual financial statements, interim financial reports, and related MD&A for reporting issuers other than investment funds.
The model lets issuers provide electronic access to eligible disclosure documents instead of sending paper copies, while investors can still request paper or electronic delivery.
The amendments are expected to take effect on Sept. 22, 2026 and include new SEDAR+ functionality to notify investors when eligible documents are filed.
Canadian issuer disclosure is becoming more digital by default. Public companies, transfer agents, investor relations teams, legal advisers and compliance staff need to adjust delivery controls, SEDAR+ workflows, investor notices and request handling before the new access model takes effect.
CSA and CIRO delayed implementation of final amendments to Canadian access fee and tick size rules.
The amendments had been scheduled to come into force on Nov. 2, 2026.
The delay follows the SEC’s postponement of related US tick size and access fee reforms, affecting harmonization for interlisted securities.
Canadian equity market structure remains tied to US implementation timelines. Trading venues, brokers, market makers, and technology teams need more time to adjust routing logic, fee models, tick increments, compliance controls, and systems that support trading in interlisted securities.
Intercontinental Exchange and OKX announced a 50-50 joint venture, subject to regulatory approvals, to connect traditional and digital asset markets.
The venture is expected to operate as a US registered broker dealer and futures commission merchant.
The companies say the platform will give OKX customers access to ICE futures markets and NYSE tokenized equities markets.
Tokenization is moving closer to regulated market infrastructure. Exchanges, brokers, clearing firms, custodians, digital asset platforms, and regulators should watch how traditional market operators and crypto venues build permissioned pathways for tokenized securities, futures access, custody, execution, and compliance. Similar infrastructure questions are also emerging in event contract markets as new regulated venues, distribution channels, and contract frameworks develop.
Santander extended AI access to all 185,000 employees as part of its AI first operating strategy.
The bank reported €35 million in AI generated value in Q1 2026, with a target above €200 million in 2026 and more than €1 billion from 2026 to 2028.
Santander says it has deployed 280 process automation agents and is applying AI across fraud, KYC, operations, software development, customer service, and internal productivity.
Bank AI adoption is moving from pilots to operating metrics. Financial institutions, fintech vendors, compliance teams, investors, and regulators should watch how large banks measure AI value, scale employee access, govern automation agents, and connect AI deployment to fraud control, onboarding, productivity, risk operations, and compute infrastructure markets.
Skydo co founder Movin Jain said Skydo Payments Inc. is registered as a FINTRAC approved money services business and authorized under Canada’s Retail Payment Activities Act.
The post described the Canadian authorization as Skydo’s first regulatory step outside India.
Finextra reported that the Canadian entry supports local collections, local payouts and two way payment flows between India and Canada.
Cross border payments are becoming a regulated corridor strategy. Exporters, payment firms, banks, compliance teams and fintechs should watch how RPAA registration, money services business obligations, local payout capability and bank account connectivity affect competition in Canada India payment flows.
The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee adopted its position on the establishment of the digital euro by 43 votes to 14, with one abstention.
The proposal would create an electronic form of ECB money that works online and offline, with privacy safeguards, holding limits, fee rules, and a distribution role for banks, e-money providers, post offices, and regulated crypto-asset providers.
The committee also backed related files on digital euro services by PSPs in non-euro member states and the legal tender status of euro cash.
Digital euro policy is becoming payment infrastructure design. The next test is how offline use, privacy controls, holding limits, fees, PSP distribution, and cash protection fit into a system that has to work across public money, private payment providers, and existing rails.
B.C.’s Mortgage Services Act comes into force Oct.13, 2026, replacing the Mortgage Brokers Act.
BCFSA says the new framework modernizes licensing, supervision, rulemaking, investigation, discipline, and consumer protection for mortgage services.
Discipline penalties for serious contraventions can reach $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for mortgage brokerages, while administrative penalties can range from $1,000 to $100,000.
Mortgage distribution is becoming a stronger fraud, licensing, and consumer protection issue. Brokers, lenders, fintech mortgage platforms, compliance teams, and investors should watch how higher penalties, clearer licensing rules, and stronger supervision reshape risk controls in mortgage services.
FINTRAC confirmed that reporting entities can now exchange designated information with one another to detect and deter money laundering, terrorist activity financing and sanctions evasion under Canada's amended anti money laundering framework.
The changes allow regulated entities to strengthen financial crime detection while remaining subject to legislative requirements governing the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.
The new information sharing framework forms part of broader amendments to Canada's anti money laundering and anti terrorist financing regime.
Financial crime detection no longer depends only on what individual institutions can see. Banks, credit unions, payment service providers, securities dealers, fintechs and other reporting entities can now strengthen risk detection by sharing designated information, creating new opportunities for collaborative fraud controls, network analysis and anti money laundering investigations.
Bank of England Head of Enforcement and Litigation David Chaplin said PRA and Bank enforcement cases are showing earlier engagement, candour and remediation by investigation subjects.
The speech highlighted the Early Account Scheme, which can support faster investigations and enhanced penalty discounts where firms provide accurate accounts and make early admissions.
The Bank said the change is already visible across live cases, with firms making admissions earlier than would previously have been typical.
Regulatory enforcement is becoming more incentive driven. Banks, insurers, investment firms, credit unions and compliance teams should review how early investigation strategy, breach assessment, remediation evidence and senior accountability affect enforcement outcomes.
The Financial Reporting Council revised ISA (UK) 700, ISA (UK) 701 and ISA (UK) 720 to shorten auditor reports and improve investor usefulness.
The standards add auditor reporting requirements linked to UK Corporate Governance Code Provision 29 controls statements for companies that follow the code.
The FRC withdrew two older audit bulletins and said the revised standards take effect from Dec. 15, 2026.
Audit reporting is becoming more focused on useful disclosure, controls evidence and investor readability. Companies, audit committees, auditors, governance advisers and compliance teams should prepare for updated report content, Provision 29 controls statements and revised audit workflows before the December effective date.
The White House issued an Executive Order directing federal agencies to accelerate migration to post quantum cryptography to address future quantum computing threats to encryption.
Federal agencies must designate post quantum cryptography migration leads within 30 days, while OMB is required to issue implementation guidance within 90 days.
The order establishes transition targets requiring high value assets and high impact systems to adopt post quantum cryptography for key establishment by Dec. 31, 2030 and digital signatures by Dec. 31, 2031.
Firms need to know where encryption is used, which vendors are exposed, which systems protect high value data, and how long migration will take. Crypto inventory, procurement language, vendor assurance, and roadmap planning should start before compliance dates become delivery pressure.
SCRYPT integrated BENJI, the tokenized share of the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, into its internal treasury operations.
The deployment gives SCRYPT 24/7 onchain access to a yield-bearing money market fund for managing idle liquidity.
SCRYPT is using the fund through the same Swiss-licensed trading, settlement and custody infrastructure that supports its institutional digital asset operations.
A regulated operating company is using a tokenized money market fund for its own liquidity rather than presenting it as a future client product. That moves tokenization into daily treasury operations, where continuous access, settlement speed, custody controls and balance-sheet utility can be tested against conventional cash-management infrastructure.
OSFI launched its Streamlined Approvals Framework to provide eligible new entrants with a quicker, clearer and more predictable approvals process for federally regulated financial institutions.
The framework introduces a three phase approvals process with defined service standards, greater transparency and a public dashboard showing the status of applications.
The initiative applies to eligible incorporations, continuances, business expansions and other approval requests, using a risk based approach to streamline lower risk applications.
Approval processes are becoming more transparent and predictable for eligible applicants entering or expanding within Canada's federally regulated financial sector. Banks, fintechs, federal credit union applicants and regulated financial institutions should watch how the framework affects application timelines, market entry, organizational changes and future supervisory expectations. For background, see NCFA's earlier coverage of the Streamlined Approvals Framework proposal.
Manitoba gave Royal Assent to the Public Sector Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Governance Act, creating a legal framework for AI and cybersecurity controls across prescribed public sector organizations.
The Act allows requirements covering AI accountability, monitoring, documentation, risk assessment, bias testing, human oversight and prescribed technical standards.
It also provides for cybersecurity programs, incident reporting, procurement requirements and ministerial cybersecurity directives.
Most practical obligations still depend on proclamation and future regulations, which will determine who is covered and how the requirements operate.
Manitoba has put AI governance and cybersecurity inside the same statutory control structure for the public sector. The next test is implementation. Regulations will determine how far the province goes on human oversight, technical standards, incident reporting and vendor procurement, and whether those requirements become a practical benchmark for other Canadian governments.
Conclusion
Every week brings hundreds of announcements. Only a small number signal meaningful change. This week's developments point to new opportunities across payments, digital assets, AI, capital markets and regulation that could influence where innovation accelerates, investment flows and new business models emerge next.
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
June 26, 2026 | NCFA Insight | SME Finance And Business Banking, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Open Banking And Open Finance, Fintech And Innovation
OECD Says Reusable SME Data Is The Real Unlock
On June 26, 2026, the OECD published Leveraging AI and Digital Tools for SME Sustainable Finance, arguing that one of the biggest barriers to sustainable finance for small and medium sized businesses is not only capital availability but the cost of collecting, verifying, sharing, and monitoring reliable business information.
SMEs account for around 50% of economic output and business sector environmental impacts, yet remain underrepresented in sustainable finance. Sustainable finance markets have grown, but smaller firms still struggle because sustainability data is costly to generate, difficult to verify, and fragmented across reporting frameworks.
So what does this mean?
AI can help lenders process information faster, automate routine work, and monitor portfolios, but only when SMEs can produce trusted, reusable data. Without that foundation, AI just processes weak information faster.
The Real Barrier Is Information Cost
The OECD identifies four main barriers holding back SME sustainable finance:
information asymmetry, because SMEs often have limited disclosure, shorter credit histories, weaker collateral, and less standardized reporting
fragmented reporting, because banks, buyers, regulators, and platforms often ask for similar sustainability data in different formats
digital capability gaps, because many SMEs lack the time, budget, systems, and technical skills to collect and report sustainability information
high transaction costs, because due diligence, verification, monitoring, and reporting can be expensive relative to small SME loan sizes
The report cites survey evidence that SMEs identify lack of time at 42%, technical difficulties at 41%, and high reporting costs at 41% as top barriers to sustainability measurement and reporting.
Many SMEs may want financing for efficiency upgrades, transition investments, or buyer requirements, but the paperwork and verification burden can make targeted sustainable finance harder to access than standard financing.
AI Needs A Usable Data Trail
The OECD looks at the full financing path, not just the lending decision. The process starts when an SME collects sustainability information and continues through bank onboarding, risk review, monitoring, and reporting.
For SMEs, the first job is basic data capture. Carbon calculators, digital templates, consent based APIs, and automated reporting tools can help owners turn energy use, emissions, invoices, utility data, and operating records into information lenders can review.
For financial institutions, the work then moves through three stages. Front office tools can help with onboarding, document intake, product matching, and early screening. Middle office tools can support risk review, evidence checks, benchmarking, and sustainability claim review. Back office tools can monitor targets, prepare reports, track KPIs, and keep portfolio records current.
The OECD’s warning is direct and impactful. AI cannot compensate for missing, inconsistent, or weakly verified data. AI becomes useful only when the underlying information is trusted enough to compare, reuse, and monitor over time.
Small Loans Break When Admin Costs Stay High
Sustainable finance does not scale for SMEs if every small loan requires a custom review. Origination, due diligence, verification, monitoring, and reporting all take time. When the loan is small, those fixed costs can make SME sustainable finance unattractive for lenders even when capital is available.
This is why the OECD's lifecycle approach may help. Digital onboarding, reusable sustainability credentials, API based data sharing, AI assisted verification, and continuous monitoring can reduce the cost of serving smaller borrowers.
The opportunity is not just faster approvals. It is making small ticket sustainable finance workable for lenders and less painful for SMEs.
Global Examples Point To Reusable Data
The OECD highlights several initiatives that show how reusable sustainability data can work in practice.
Denmark's Climate Compass gives SMEs a free digital tool to calculate Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions in line with recognized standards. The SME Climate Hub offers a free carbon calculator for micro and small businesses. Ireland's Climate Toolkit 4 Business combines an emissions calculator with a climate action plan.
Singapore's Project Greenprint helps SMEs generate emissions reports by pulling data from trusted sources, while the United Kingdom's Project Perseus explores how SMEs can share energy data with banks through reporting solutions. Belgium's Kube ESG, developed with major Belgian banks, gives SMEs a digital platform for sustainability reporting.
SMEs shouldn't have to rebuild the same sustainability file for every bank, buyer, or public program. They need data that can be generated once, verified, and reused with permission.
What Canada Should Take From This
Canada already has many of the building blocks the OECD describes, but policy and market conversations are often separate.
Open banking and open finance can support permission based business data sharing. Digital identity can improve trust and verification. AI underwriting can reduce manual review. Embedded finance can connect lending to accounting, payments, invoicing, payroll, and commerce data. Sustainability reporting tools can help SMEs generate the evidence lenders and buyers increasingly request.
The opportunity is to connect those pieces. If Canadian SMEs can share trusted business and sustainability data through secure, interoperable systems, lenders can reduce manual work and price risk with better information.
That is where sustainable finance becomes a fintech infrastructure problem. The outcome is trusted business data that SMEs can reuse across banks, buyers, insurers, platforms, and government programs.
Related NCFA Coverage
Open banking in Canada shows how permission based data sharing can improve financial services and reduce friction for consumers and businesses.
NCFA's Financial Innovation Map tracks opportunities across SME finance, open finance, AI, digital identity, sustainability, and financial data infrastructure.
Talking Point
If trusted SME data was portable and secure between businesses, lenders, buyers, insurers, platforms, and public programs with permission, which parts of commercial lending would still need manual verification?
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
June 25, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Capital Markets And Funding, SME Finance And Business Banking, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Fintech And Innovation
AI Finance Workflows Move Deeper Into Canadian Business Banking
On June 24, 2026, Float Financial announced a CAD $85 million all equity Series C led by Inovia Capital, with continued participation from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Garage Capital, and new investment from BDC Capital and Northleaf. Float says the round raises its valuation by 70% and brings total capital raised since inception to CAD $300 million, including debt and equity financing.
The financing gives Float more capital to expand its AI finance workflow layer, grow across Western Canada and Quebec, and hire across product, R&D, sales, and marketing. The company now serves more than 7,500 Canadian businesses and says revenue has grown more than 120% since its Series B.
Float’s own growth data shows how quickly Canadian business finance is moving from point solutions into connected operating platforms. Business account balances are up more than 4.5x, volumes across five products are up more than 100%, and nearly one third of customers now use more than one Float product which suggests Float is expanding inside existing finance teams rather than only adding new accounts.
Float Wants More Of The Finance Workflow
Float gives Canadian businesses tools for corporate cards, expense management, bill pay, reimbursements, foreign exchange, business accounts, reporting, and working capital credit. The Series C adds more fuel to Float Intelligence, the company’s AI layer for automating finance workflows.
Rob Khazzam, CEO and co-founder of Float, framed the round around infrastructure:
“We are not building a single feature. We are building the infrastructure that powers how Canada does business - and proving that the best financial tools for Canadian businesses don't have to come from somewhere else.”
Canadian businesses want fewer disconnected finance tools. They need better control over spending, faster approvals, clean reporting, cash visibility, cross border payments, and finance workflows that don't depend on manual work.
Float says its platform is trusted by companies including Cohere, Knix, Neo, Jane, and Rebel. The Jane customer quote in the release points to the same theme: Canadian companies want AP, expense, and finance tools built for the Canadian market, not adapted from U.S. systems.
If Float keeps expanding across cards, accounts, payments, credit, and AI finance workflows, Canadian businesses may get a stronger local alternative to the tools many finance teams stitch together today.
Canadian SMB banking research highlights high fees, credit friction, and outdated financial systems as ongoing barriers for business owners.
Talking Point
If Canadian businesses adopt one platform for spending, payments, cash, credit, and AI finance workflows, which institution owns the primary operating relationship: the bank, the fintech, or the software layer?
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
Jun 20, 2026 | NCFA Resource | Risk Compliance And Regtech, Artificial Intelligence And Data
How Regulators Are Using SupTech To Strengthen Supervision
On June 18, 2026, IOSCO published a Supervisory Tech (SupTech) report called 'Mapping the Use of Technology in Financial Supervision', a global survey of 49 authorities on how regulators are using technology to improve financial supervision. The report maps where SupTech is already being used, what is driving adoption, and which barriers are slowing progress.
SupTech is becoming part of regular ongoing supervision, and is no longer an experiment. Regulators are using technology to improve efficiency, receive and analyze information faster, and strengthen oversight across investor protection, market conduct, capital markets, and emerging areas such as digital assets.
What It Does In Practice
The report gives regulators, fintech firms, and regtech providers a global benchmark for how supervisory technology is being adopted. It covers strategy, budgets, leadership, data, cloud infrastructure, AI, cybersecurity, digital assets, cooperation, and workforce planning.
IOSCO found that efficiency is the main driver of SupTech adoption, followed by faster access to information and stronger supervisory capabilities. AI applications, improved data access, and cloud infrastructure are the leading technology enablers.
Consumer and investor protection and capital markets supervision are the most developed use cases. Digital assets are less mature today, but interest is rising. That gap matters because market activity is moving faster than many supervisory tools.
The report also shows why implementation is hard. Cyber risk, third party dependencies, operational risk, funding gaps, and skills shortages remain major constraints. Many authorities have strategies under way, but full implementation is still uneven.
Who Gets Value
This resource is useful for securities regulators, policy teams, regtech firms, fintech compliance teams, financial institutions, digital asset platforms, market surveillance teams, and researchers tracking regulatory modernization.
It is especially useful for organizations building or assessing tools for market monitoring, fraud detection, complaints analysis, digital asset oversight, supervisory analytics, data collection, and AI enabled supervision.
Strengths And Limits
The strength of this resource is its global scope. The survey covers authorities across all IOSCO regions and gives readers a baseline for comparing SupTech maturity, priorities, and constraints.
It is also useful because it avoids hype. The report shows that many regulators are still using mid level technologies and practical tools. Advanced analytics and machine learning are important ambitions, but funding and implementation capacity remain real limits.
The limit is that it's survey based, not a product guide. It doesn't rank vendors, provide implementation playbooks, or prove which tools produce the best supervisory outcomes. Its value is in the benchmark, the use cases, and the policy signals.
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
Innovation Map → Open Banking And Open Finance → SME Finance → Opportunity
Last Updated Jun 24, 2026
FINANCIAL INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY BRIEFThis page tracks evidence, risks, validation signals and venture opportunities emerging as open finance connects permissioned business data to AI assisted SME capital decisions.
Innovation OpportunityOpen Finance, SME Finance And AI Decisioning
Open Finance SME Capital Access
Open finance can move SME capital access beyond static applications and backward looking credit files. The opportunity is to use permissioned business, financial, invoice, payment, accounting and treasury data to support better working capital, credit, invoice finance and treasury decisions.
20 Evidence5 Questions4 Related Opps8 Resources
Opportunity Intelligence
Market Potential
SME lendingEarly open finance priority
Embedded capitalWorkflow distribution
HighGrowth signals
4Source count
Market sizing should not rely on one broad fintech TAM figure. The more reliable assessment is that several adjacent markets are converging: SME lending, embedded finance, invoice finance, working capital, open finance infrastructure and AI assisted credit decisioning.
The strongest opening is not simple cash flow underwriting. It is the decision and action layer that turns permissioned SME data into capital access: embedded working capital, real time credit, invoice finance automation and treasury optimization.
Top Risks
Open finance standards may develop unevenly across jurisdictions, limiting cross market product repeatability.
Connected data may improve decisions but still fail to create buyer trust without clear governance, liability, consent and model oversight.
Large platforms, lenders and accounting software providers may absorb the best distribution points before specialists scale.
Products that only repackage mature cash flow underwriting or revenue based finance may not qualify as true innovation opportunities.
What To Watch
UK open finance experiments, CFIT SME prototypes, Canada Consumer Driven Banking implementation, Competition Bureau SME financing findings, embedded finance distribution, AI credit decision controls, invoice data standards, and early evidence that SME treasury optimization becomes a purchasable product rather than only a dashboard feature.
Product Opportunities
Lead path: Embedded Working Capital
Evidence currently supports four venture scale paths. Connected SME data, cash flow underwriting and AI decisioning are enabling layers. They should not be treated as standalone product paths unless evidence later shows a distinct purchasable product category.
1. Embedded Working Capital
Capital inside SME workflows and platforms
strongest current path
workflow distribution
commercial window open
SMEs often need capital at the point of activity: invoices, payroll, inventory, supplier payments, marketplace sales or software workflows. Embedded working capital uses platform context and permissioned financial data to offer capital where the need appears.
The innovation is not embedding a loan button. It is combining workflow data, financial data, repayment capacity and AI assisted decisioning so capital can be offered with better timing, fit and controls.
What could break the thesis
Platforms may prefer to partner with existing lenders or build lending directly, reducing room for specialist infrastructure providers.
Market WindowOpen
Buyer ClarityHigh
Competitive PressureMedium High
Evidence StrengthHigh
What to validate first
Which embedded workflows create the clearest budget: accounting, PSPs, invoicing, marketplaces, payroll, procurement or vertical software?
2. Real Time SME Credit
Dynamic credit decisions from live business data
growing evidence
AI decisioning
regulatory dependency
Real time SME credit uses fresh cash flow, account, payment, invoice, accounting and business data to support faster approvals, dynamic limits and ongoing reviews. It is different from mature cash flow underwriting when the credit product updates as business conditions change.
Potential buyers include lenders, banks, embedded finance providers, PSPs, accounting platforms and credit infrastructure providers.
What could break the thesis
If real time credit remains only a faster version of existing underwriting, the innovation window may be too narrow.
Market WindowOpening
Buyer ClarityMedium High
Competitive PressureHigh
Evidence StrengthGrowing
What to validate first
Can connected data support dynamic limits, early warnings, covenant style monitoring or instant credit decisions without creating unacceptable bias, privacy or model risk?
3. Invoice Finance Automation
Receivables finance using invoice and payment data
distinct product path
fraud controls
accounting integration
Invoice finance automation uses invoice, accounting, buyer, payment and fraud data to decide whether receivables can be financed. The opportunity is stronger when systems verify invoice validity, buyer reliability, payment timing and repayment risk without manual PDF workflows.
This path may be distinct enough to survive as a child opportunity if evidence grows around invoice intelligence, receivables verification and automated funding decisions.
What could break the thesis
Invoice finance may remain a lender workflow improvement unless automation clearly reduces fraud, friction, cost or access barriers for SMEs.
Market WindowOpening
Buyer ClarityMedium High
Competitive PressureMedium
Evidence StrengthGrowing
What to validate first
Are lenders and platforms using live invoice and accounting connections to automate financing decisions, or only digitizing existing manual workflows?
4. SME Treasury Optimization
Capital allocation and liquidity decisions
emerging path
AI assisted actions
stablecoin adjacency
SME treasury optimization goes beyond monitoring. It uses connected financial data and AI assisted decisioning to help SMEs decide when to borrow, repay debt, hold cash, pay suppliers, finance invoices, invest surplus cash or allocate liquidity across accounts and payment rails.
This is currently earlier than embedded working capital, but it may become the most differentiated open finance path if evidence shows SMEs adopting decision products rather than dashboards.
What could break the thesis
If products remain cash flow dashboards or alerts without trusted action, this should remain an enabling feature rather than a product path.
Market WindowEarly
Buyer ClarityMedium
Competitive PressureMedium
Evidence StrengthEmerging
What to validate first
Will SMEs delegate capital allocation, liquidity and financing actions to AI assisted treasury tools with human oversight?
Evidence Trail
20 verified and early evidence items. Evidence type classifies the signal, not the publisher.
Filter by signal type to review source records, market signals and thought leadership supporting this opportunity. Evidence is sorted newest to oldest.
Canadian SME financing market study relevant to competition, data portability and capital access.
Participate In This Opportunity
Share your perspective, research, case study or video response. You can also express interest in future discussions, collaboration opportunities and innovation activities related to this topic.
NCFA Opportunity Intelligence tracks emerging venture opportunities using evidence, market developments and validation signals. Opportunity briefs are updated as new information, evidence and stakeholder perspectives become available. This content is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, investment, financial, tax or professional advice.
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
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. 
