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FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP.6-Aug 24): Asian Crypto Markets Meet Canadian Talent with Henri Arslanian, Chairman of FinTech Association of HK
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | Aug 24, 2018
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP6-Aug 24): Asian Crypto Markets Meet Canadian Talent
About this episode: On this episode, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Henri Arslanian, PwC FinTech & Crypto Leader for Asia and Chairman of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong. They talk about future institutions in crypto, Why Hong Kong is a home away from home to him and to other fellows Canadians and his best practices. Enjoy!
Host: Manseeb Khan, NCFA, Fintech Fridays show host
Guest: Henri Arslanian, Chairman, Hong Kong FinTech Association and FinTech & Crypto Leader for Asia, PwC
Bio: Henri Arslanian is the PwC FinTech & Crypto Leader for Asia, the Chairman of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong where he teaches the first FinTech university course in Asia. With over 400,000 LinkedIn followers, Henri has been awarded many industry and academic awards over the years from being regularly named one of the Most Influential Individuals in FinTech in Asia to being awarded the Governor General of Canada Gold Medal for Academic Excellence. Henri was also recognized as one of the Global 2017 LinkedIn Top Voices in Economy & Finance and is regularly featured in global media including Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. Henri is also a TEDx speaker, a published author, and currently sits on several finance, academic, government, civil society, and FinTech related boards and advisory boards globally. Henri speaks five languages including English, French, Armenian, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
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Transcription of Interview
Manseeb Khan: [00:00:00] Hey everybody Manseeb Khan and you are tuning into the NCFA newest podcast series called Fintech Fridays. Today I have an absolutely incredible guest today. I have Henri Arslanian. He is the fintech and crypto head for Price Waterhouse Cooper for Asia and the chairman of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong. Henri thank you so much for making it like I am beyond beyond grateful.
Henri Arslanian: [00:00:26] Always a pleasure Manseeb. Thanks for having me.
Manseeb Khan: [00:00:28] No for sure so I guess for those audiences I don't know who you are. Could you for a quick minute give us a quick rundown of who you really are?
Henri Arslanian: [00:00:37] Absolutely Manseeb, very happy to do so. So as you mentioned my name is Henri Arslanian and really my passion is my focus and life is the future of the financial services industry. I tell people I'm just very lucky that I get paid by `PWC to be a fintech and crypto leader for Asia. So very active in the fintech and crypto scene as you mentioned Manseeb. I'm the chairman of the fintech association in Hong Kong but also many things there including, I'm a university professor I'm an adjunct associate professor at the University of Hong Kong. Each the first fintech university course in Asia. So very active in the broader scene there in the market by backround I'm actually I'm actually from Montreal, Canada not far from Toronto where you are and really started my career as a lawyer and then moved on to move to Asia and became more spend more time in investment banking before joining of the tech start up and then moving into consulting. So really really really excited about about being on the show in that great look forward to our conversation.
Manseeb Khan: [00:01:35] Yeah no I'm very excited so I guess could you talk about what made you move to Hong Kong right like you said you were based out in Montreal Canada is starting to have a very thriving financial tech and crypto community right and AI community as well what what was the poll or was one of the major polls.
Henri Arslanian: [00:01:55] Absolutely. No absolutely. I mean as I mentioned you know I had a very normal upbringing. I was a typical Armenian Canadian upbringing in Montreal and after I started working as a lawyer and you know when I was young I had to travel a lot. Now I still travel and really I was finishing my internship at my Quebec bar in the New York bar. Had I had a chance I was thinking about going back to Europe. I had the chance of studying in Paris during my university years and I was actually planning on going back to Europe to do some further graduate studies. But one day literally see I was with my dad watching the TV show on Radio Canada the French version of CBC called The Rise of a Chinese dragon. And we talked about all of you put's that is going on in China and Asia and I swear I put my application for for Europe for LSC at a time where I was I was going literally and I went instead to China. I literally googled programs in law and business in China. Bought a book next they called Chinese for Dummies and about a couple of months later I was in Beijing where I started started studying Chinese at Beijing University and it all went on to do a masters in Chinese law at the Tsinghua university and really that was the point of no return if you are for Asia you know after spending some time here I asked her after my graduate studies I'm down to Hong Kong and really Hong Kong is if you want to mix of a city where you have not only finance but also entrepreneurship and the overall energy it was it was a great mix. And frankly I've been there for 10 years now in Hong Kong and what I love about Asia is literally the fact that things move very fast. But you also have this energy and the type of people that generally end up in Asia especially in a city like Hong Kong tend to have this really alpha, go getter, entrapreneurship a hustler mentality which I really love. And that's definitely something we're seeing today when it comes to fintech and specially crypto in the region.
Manseeb Khan: [00:03:55] So essentially Asia is going to be a crypto powerhouse that many might be overlooking. Right?
Henri Arslanian: [00:04:02] Well you know it's very difficult to judge a powerhouse's but that is definitely a big edge in Asia. I'll get a couple of examples when you look at cities like Hong Kong or China. There are already financial centers. And when it comes to your cities were doing business is very easy. Not only have the existing infrastructure. These cities are voted every year as one of the easiest cities to the business from setting up companies to actually dealing with tax authorites but also there's a lot of advantages tax wise. You know the you know the personal tax rate in Hong Kong for example is 15 percent, 1 5 which plays a big role when it comes to attract business. So when you look at the broader region I mean when you look at China obviously used to be a big crypto powerhouse until the ban can talk about later if you want. But also if you look at today in markets like Japan or Korea where you still have large volumes of crypto trading taking place on a daily basis. So there's a lot of these ecosystems that are actually quite vibrant when it comes to crypto. For example what's really interesting is a lot of these cities you have a lot of these best practices are being developed where you know the community is coming together and really coming up with frameworks said they want to abide it because they know that regulations can catch up in time for example the fintech Association of Hong Kong which I chair released last December a best practice document for ICO's basically 20 page document that anybody that wants to do an ICO can read ,we will give examples of what some of the best practices are.
Henri Arslanian: [00:05:28] Another example are for crypto exchanges. SIFMA which is if you want the association of the banks and the brokers in the region has a crypto committee. which I also sit on and we published a couple of weeks ago a best practice document for crypto exchanges especially centralised exchanges on really what are some of the measures they need to focus on not only on topics like KYC AML and know your client and anti money laundering but also other topics like custody and how to actually safeguard your assets to prevent events of hacks or cyber attacks. So overall a very exciting place and a very vibrant ecosystem.
Manseeb Khan: [00:06:00] Could you share a little bit more of the global trends that you are seeing in the crypto space? right. Like you mentioned that there is going to be increasing regulatory enforement and how regulation can't really catch up and how and institutions are trying to come to the space.And could you I guess speak on out a little bit more.
Henri Arslanian: [00:06:17] Absolutely. Absolutely Manseeb. I mean when you look we look at the crypto universe at a global level. There's obviously a lot of regional particularities but at the global level there are some big macro trends are we are observing and these are relevant for people around the world including in Canada for example one of them is really the increase in regulatory enforcement case. I really expect over the next coming months to see an increasing number of enforcement cases by the regulators frankly there's so many low hanging fruit. When you look at the broader space for example a lot of the ICOs have large over the last couple of months really. I mean we're launching with complete disregard to the broader securities laws and broader regulatory frameworks. So I expect a lot of enforcement in this case. And already we've seen regulators not only in the U.S. with SEC but also in Canada and other countries around the world start enforcing on certain crypto matters. To be fair to some of the low hanging fruit that it's easy for them to actually go and instead make make some of these cases as examples. But also I think when we look at broader trends for example one of them is the arrival of institutional investors you know about a year or two years ago. Many were wondering Are banks going to get it to the space? Are traditional institutional investors going to start looking into the crypto space and actually that's been very interesting very interesting Manseeb because now we can actually see a lot of the large investors not only the VCs but also the family officers and many of the other large investor groups is term looking at investing or participating in the broader crypto ecosystem. I think we're so far away from seeing let's say a pension fund invest in ICO but I wouldn't be surprised we see more and more of them over the next coming months and invest in crypto funds for example but also then we'll look holistically as well banks. For example if we look at a lot of the financial situations there's been numerous announcements from banks from Goldman Sachs to Nomura to Fidelity over the last couple months announcing their plans in the crypto space and this is very very important because in order for the industry to be more institutionalized and for some of the institutional players to come in which will not only add to the liquidity but also make the industry more professional. You need to of these traditional players to enter the space which is very good to see from from that perspective. However that being said Manseeb there's also a lot of challenges. I think we have to be very cautious of some of the challenges that exist in the broader global crypto ecosystem for example the probably the biggest challenge right now my clients are facing in the crypto space is something very simple. It's opening a bank account. I can guarantee you can go right now to any crypto company around the world from ICO to exchanges to funds that they will probably tell you their biggest challenge is opening a boring bank account in order to be able to pay rent, do payroll and other activities that we take for granted. But that's what I mean. So that's one of the practical challenges we have. there's other practical challenges for example while regulations are slowly shaping up and we're starting to see some some regulatory clarity in certain jurisdictions. There's a lot of the basic fundamentals are not decided yet. For example accounting rules or. Right now it's a big it's a very big difficulty for a company for all its ribs for example to audit crypto companies. Why because a lot of the standards are not finalised yet and the processes and controls that we need to put in place are not there yet. We will get there. But in the interim this is why we're seeing a lot of the industry come together and actually come up with best practices that the like I just mentioned previously to regulate if you want quote unquote the industry.
Manseeb Khan: [00:09:57] Yeah which is incredible like it should be interesting see I guess the bridge being built between just traditional institutionalized money and this whole new brand new crypto world. It should be interesting to see. I guess what the new regulations are and who the new players are going to be.
Henri Arslanian: [00:10:15] Absolutely Manseeb, but you know this is a question that comes up around you know especially when I get keynotes from the world or discuss with clients or industry disciplines. If we look at let's say Bitcoin let's focus on the first main cryptocurrency. I mean it was really the whole idea of blockchain and cryptocurrency like Bitcoin was really to build this trustless environment where you didn't need intermediaries where people could actually transact with each other. There was a consensus mechanism in place and people can actually. You don't need these banks, intermediaries that does not only make the system slower but also frankly definitely more costly. And it's ironic that actually we actually not know what industry probably needs the most is some of these old solutions for example custody. You know one of the main reasons a lot of the institutional investors would tell you they are not investing right now in crypto funds is because custody solutions are not there yet for Crypto. There's number solutions coming up and we'll solve this problem over the coming months. But that's one of the issues for example that we are seeing. And you know it's so great that we can frankly operate in the crypto space. But for the ecosystem to move to the next level to become more mainstream and to become more institutionalized we need some kind of regulatory framework around that is appropriate. We shouldn't overkill but really I think that's appropriate for even simple stuff like to avoid people using crypto currencies for money laundering for example or for terrorist financing which are things that I guess nobody wants from the crypto ecosystem but also more broadly as well.
Manseeb Khan: [00:11:45] Yeah I totally agree I guess to a lot of people in the mainstream community it's the funding that like oh yeah you know like criminals are going to use bitcoin and or Ethereum and all these other alt-coins. I can see why that's a fear and I guess I can see why there's such a fast and big push for regulation. So like OK let's figure out what we can and can't do as fast as possible. so we can kind of just thrive in this amazing market.
Henri Arslanian: [00:12:15] Absolutely Manseeb. But you know the thing with be careful. I think you think a crypto currencies I mean criminals are were using crypto currency as they are and you will always be using crypto currencies for any bad things they want to do the same way they actually cash is probably still the best the best tool that is used today for anybody who wants to launder money or buy drugs or whatever. I think that's that's one of the areas in there. But what's really really interesting is that the industry kind of became more mature in dealing with these issues. I'll give you a very simple example Manseeb ICO initial coin offers. If you look at ICO's that took place more than a year ago the concept of doing KYC, know your client which is asking for a basic I.D. identification on whoever is actually giving you money or buying your tokens was really unheard of and really since I would say the last 12 months pretty much any semi decent I'm sure right now is doing a KYC and doing a email checks. And actually the tools are able to use to do KYC and moderate checks are probably better than what a lot of the banks are using because these new these new startups are able to use the latest Regtech, regulatory tech solutions the market in many ways that are in many ways more efficient better than what a lot of legacy tools a lot of banks are using. So they were definitely the industry mature topics like you mentioned which are very very important to tackle as an ecosystem.
Manseeb Khan: [00:13:38] So you did mention a couple of times best practices that you've come up with on both the boards that you're chairman of. Could you talk about your best practices and what you look into with all these new ICOs all these new crypto companies popping up. I guess what would be your best practices to keep in mind for these companies.
Henri Arslanian: [00:13:59] It's very good question Manseeb. I think definitely we need best practices because regulations cannot catch up time you know frankly regulators have done a great job and I think this is what the regulators don't get the respect and the credit they deserve frankly for how on top of the crypto ecosystem they are. I would say personally that when I have the average regulator I speak with is way more way more knowledgeable crypto that the average banker and I think this is something that a lot of people don't don't realize when it comes to the broader ecosystem. That being said coming out regulations it takes very time consuming. There's a lot of stakeholders involved. This is why a lot of best practices and really best practices depends of which vertical you're talking about. For example you mentioned ICOs in ICOs right now. You need to do KYC and for any any token sale you're doing. I think that's become quite standard right now. But there are other items for example governance right. We're seeing increasingly in number of of the ICO's actually put in place very proper governance frameworks not only for example how the board is manage how the are made but also at the very practical levels for example what kind of reporting will be given to token holders what kind of transparency will be given how trends or how much disclosures will take place on the use of proceeds. And we're seeing actually, one part of my job is I work with companies and I see also based on drafting these governments governance frameworks in order to actually make them soft know more lies. But there also a lot of other kinds of other matters we're seeing the best practices in other verticals crypto funds for example.
Henri Arslanian: [00:15:29] You know I spent many years in my banking career in the hedge fund world and it's really incredible how much there's not a focus yet on independent directors or on transparency when it comes to the board of the crypto for a lot of people are still managing crypto funds. The same people are managing the portfolio also sit on the board of the fund really so there's no checks and balances from that perspective mean these are things we expect to see over the coming months. But also there are best practices when it comes to exchanges for example how the kids is private keys are stored or you know how there's a how how cold storage is being done how hot storage has been taking place. So there's a lot of actually best practices that we are seeing across different verticals and I have to say it's very good to see some of the service providers that are entering the space as well. Often people are people you see when I tell people that I run a crypto team in Asia people are actually quite surprised. I mean only in Hong Kong. How about we have about 30 people in our crypto team that are focused solely on helping the companies literally ICOs but also crypto funds exchanges but helping banks enter the crypto space as well. And we're seeing a lot of the best practices that we use in the normal world the traditional world and now we're bringing those best practices over to the crypto space which I think is great for the long term sustainability of the ecosystem.
Manseeb Khan: [00:16:40] Yeah absolute agree with you . I think those are amazing best practices to have in mind. And it depends on what vertical. I guess companies and people decide to take too I guess closes off being fellow Canadians. What would be your advice to Canadian Crypto companies to help skyrocket our progress in this space.
Henri Arslanian: [00:17:09] Oh I think anybody that knows a bit of the crypto space you know the first thing I thought everybody is whoever tells you there are crypto experts you've got to run away and you got to run it right away very fast. So I'm never in a position to give advice. All I can do however is as a fellow Canadian and somebody that actually really cares about the ecosystem Canada at the same very proud you know over the last you know a couple of months I met a lot of Canadians are in the crypto space and actually Canada's is doing very amazing stuff like for example some of the innovation we're seeing in the startup scene in Toronto where you're based or even some of the innovations we're seeing the AI space in Montreal for example had pressed not to say the branding and image that Canada has is actually excellent when it comes to the brother in entrepreneurship innovation at the global level. The one thing I have to say that with the Canadian company generally I found is that we don't take big enough and this is one big if there's one complete I would say you know self-criticism of us Canadians is actually we don't think big enough and we actually often just focus on the Canadian market or we compare ourselves to the US market.
[00:18:12] But really we have we have to have a bigger vision of this and I should say this for many years I used to sit on the board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong And this was actually something we see a lot of Canadian companies would come over. Is this is the first time they would think about Asia for example and because the US market is so big it's next door, it's convenient , same time zone. I think that there's one piece of advice is really think big and really look at think more internationally than just the Canadian market. And we really are better than we think. You know from our universities that we have in Canada the reputation we have our ethics our culture. And really I think the way we operate not only in business circles but also in other social circles is really remarkable and we don't give them enough credit to us as Canadians which is something I think we should do more of.
Manseeb Khan: [00:18:59] But at the same time we have amazing creative leaders like yourself out there kind of showing like hey guys we can go global we can do amazing things. Look see what I'm doing. Right. So that having people like you in the space I think that helps tremendously to inspire Canadians to think a little bit more globally and to have that little bit more quote unquote world dominating mindset.
Henri Arslanian: [00:19:24] Yeah we have friends all around the world you know I remember for many years my first couple of years of when I was in Asia I actually had to fly back for a weekend and the actual teacher in Quebec in that University of Sherbrooke courses on how to do business in China and Asia for example. And there's a lot of goodwill. I mean it happens to me a lot of these are Crypto meetings or when I'm clients or in the broader fintech space that I mean other folks around the world and it just turns out there are Canadian as well. And what I find it's actually we have this kind of network around the world of Canadians are generally very eager to help. Now I'll give you a very simple example. Manseeb Hong Kong I mean you know I'm always coming back to Hong Kong because I think it's a great example but only in Hong Kong. There is more than three hundred thousand Canadian passport holders.
Henri Arslanian: [00:20:10] Let me repeat that 300000 Canadian passport holders. Hong Kong is probably one of the biggest Kinney's cities we have actually in the world. And this is great Alumi network if you want is something like I think 50 or 60 Canadian University alumni like networks all in Hong Kong.
Henri Arslanian: [00:20:26] You also there's this network that we have around the world that people don't talk a lot of Canadian companies I think don't happen. The other thing is by the way are great forward service and really had the privilege of the last couple of years to go with a lot of our embassies and consulates and trade trade missions around the world. And we really have exceptional people in these roles are their to help Canadian companies so really I think we can. That's what I'm saying. There's a lot we can do and we have to be a bit more self-confident to achieve that.
Manseeb Khan: [00:20:53] No I absolutely agree. I didn't and I don't know. There's so many Canadians in Hong Kong that's that's incredible news. Here we go.
Henri Arslanian: [00:21:00] You can even find poutine now in Hong Kong. We're in Shanghai for example.
Manseeb Khan: [00:21:04] OK.I think we're probably going to bump those numbers up, now that you said that! Oh goodness me , there are going to be so many Canadians flooding to Hong Kong just for the poutine.
Henri Arslanian: [00:21:16] I mean there's know often tell people you know I play hockey on Saturday morning still in Hong Kong. We often it's incredible the whole network of people waking up at 7:00 in the morning on Sunday mornings just to watch the Habs or the Leafs or whoever any the Jets are playing on the evening before in Canada. So yeah there's definitely a big network if you want. I always thought the Canadian never the biggest private club in the world. So it's all it's all there.
Manseeb Khan: [00:21:42] I love that. I love the biggest private club in the world. That's amazing. Henri thank you so much for sitting down with me today. This has been amazing. I think you've changed a lot of Canadians minds about Hong Kong and you're going to have a lot more Canadian neighbors for sure.
Henri Arslanian: [00:21:57] Looking forward Manseeb, always a pleasure and thanks for having me on again thank you for focusing on the broader fintech and crypto scene. I think is great to create more awareness on these topics and the exciting space that we have for your audience and the people and not only Canada but actually globally as well. So thank you very much for having me. And I look forward to staying in touch.
End of Podcast
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November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP.5-Aug 17): First Coin Capital’s M&A Story with Frans Tjallingii, MD Galaxy Digital Canada
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | Aug 17, 2018
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (ep.5/Aug 17): First Coins M&A Story: Wall street meets Crypto
About this episode: show host Manseeb Khan sits down with Frans Tjallingii, Managing Director, Galaxy Digital Canada (ex-CEO and Co-founder of First Coin Capital). They talk about their acquisition and where the future of blockchain is heading and how tokens could be used as securities and Galaxy Digital Canada's plan moving forward. Enjoy!
Host: Manseeb Khan, NCFA, Fintech Fridays show host
Guest: Frans Tjallingii, Managing Director, Galaxy Digital Canada
Frans was the Co-founder and CEO of First Coin Capital, a full service advisory and technology firm for the digital capital markets that recently integrated with Galaxy Digital (TSX.V: GLXY). Galaxy Digital is led by early bitcoin investor, and former Goldman Sachs and Fortress Partner Mike Novogratz and is a leader in the cryptocurrency space. Frans has extensive corporate strategy, turnaround and investment analysis experience and has been involved in start-ups since 2014.
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Transcription of Interview
Manseeb Khan: Hey everybody Manseeb Khan here and you are tuning in to Fintech Fridays today. I have an incredible guest. You may have heard maybe a little bit about him and his company on the news. If you haven't and hopefully this is your first scoop. So today on the show we have the CEO and co-founder of First Coin Frans Tjallingii.
Frans Tjallingii: Hi Manseeb, great too great to be here.
Manseeb Khan: Could you for a minute give us a little bit of who you are what your company is and a little bit of what and who Galaxy Digital is?
Frans Tjallingii: Yeah that sounds great. I am originally from Holland and lived in a bunch of different countries around the world and got involved in the maritime industry and oil and gas. For the longest time. So I used to work for a large Dutch international in the oil and gas and maritime services industry where I was primarily involved in business development setting up new companies doing a lot of investment assessments and then I got involved more and more into helping restructure companies and so after having been with that company for about 12 years I started getting interested in startups started getting involved with startups assisting advising and finally in 2016 I decided to try something new and get into the startup life. So, at first. My main goal was to set up a platform business in the maritime industry which I know well based on block chain. So that's how I got into the whole block chain world and I quite quickly recognized that you know I strongly believe that this is a game changing technology that's going to basically create the new version of the Internet, the new enabling technology that will create massive change in all the industries and primarily also in supply chain logistics and FinTech. So super excited and worked on B2B solutions for a while. Then partnered with Marc Van Der Chijs who is another person with Dutch heritage early Bitcoin investor, serial entrepreneur and we started working together and then abroad on board a few other people like Sean Clark, Barkai and John Ostrum and started the First Coin capital in September of 2017. So, our vision was really to be a company focused on the capital markets with sort of two aspects. So, the first one being a technology provider and provide technology solutions to the capital markets and financial industry. And the second being advisory services to companies wanting to raise money in this new digital era. So yeah that's been super interesting built the team here in Vancouver out to about 20 people and basically about 10 weeks after starting the company we came to an agreement to merge with Galaxy Digital who was in the process of taking the company public on the Toronto stock exchange. So as of first of August we're now 100 percent owned by Galaxy digital. We're still responsible for the Vancouver team.
Manseeb Khan: Could you share a little bit more of. You guys have been operating under a year and you guys already got bought up and now operating under this new umbrella. Can you share a little bit more of First Coin's journey?
Frans Tjallingii: Yeah, I think you know for us when we started the company we had a grand vision of our own about you know really helping to change this space and providing technical solutions but also obviously advisory services to entrepreneurs and people that want to raise money in this day. So, we're being very selective in the companies that we were supporting. Taking our time to learn you know walk before we can run that kind of thing and slowly building out our technology platform that we've been developing. I'd say when we started the discussions I think on the galaxy side they were interested in you know what we had to offer in terms of both the technology side as well as supporting their advisory arm and from our perspective Galaxy digital is one of the best-known brands in the space. Really you know with the heritage of a lot of people that have made their name and track record on Wall Street in a different Wall Street firms and bring a lot of institutional knowledge into this space. So, for us it was really an opportunity to be able to up our game and play at that highest level globally in the space and really be a bridge between institutional capital flowing into the space and the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. So, you know for us a super exciting opportunity to be a part of something bigger.
Manseeb Khan: Could you share a little bit more of galaxies vision and scope working together going forward?
Frans Tjallingii: Yeah of course yes, I think so Galaxy's heritage comes from Mike Novogratz. So, Mike was a former partner at Goldman Sachs and a former partner at Fortress. He got involved relatively early in bitcoin, crypto currencies and he started making some early investments into this space. As of 2017 he could see that that portion was growing quite rapidly with the rest of the market. And he decided you know this is something that I'm excited about. I wanted to me want to do something with this. So, he got a few people around the idea and then started Galaxy that results of late 2017 primarily still trading and investing. So, by now the company has grown quite substantially with sort of around four business lines. So, the first being trading. So, it's basically trading off crypto currencies both long and short sort of a macro approach to investing. Asset Management. We launched the Bloomberg Galaxy cryptocurrency index together with Bloomberg and we manage the funds for EOS. Really the idea of working with larger funds and creating investment products for high net worth family offices. Larger pools of money and being able to manage those funds as those people warrants an investment arm you know PVC type of investing really looking into the space and finding the best investment opportunities and they're creator creating strategic bets in the space. And then finally advisory where advisory is very much about working with established companies and helping them figure out how to get into block chain how to leverage this technology on their journey. On the one side and on the other side really wanting to advise companies how they can use this to raise capital and go down that journey. So, I'd say that and then underlying that we have a technology development group that helps us now leverage that technology ourselves obviously both internally as well as externally for our client.
Manseeb Khan: Could you share a little bit more about your token insurance?
Frans Tjallingii: Token issuance platform so we don't it's not insurance as issuance.
Manseeb Khan: Oh Okay, sorry there.
Frans Tjallingii: Been we've been developing a platform to basically allow people to issue tokens so we're working on that technology also together with the regulators in the car that it took to get it approved for being used. You know that we can create that as a means of doing for a new customer and know your product anti money laundering proper disclosure for our clients that they can disclose what they need to the right investors and that we can help them and you know create a workflow that that fits with security laws and whatever their offering is. So that's something that we've been working on for a while. And you know we're sort of not fully ready yet but we're taking on clients and I'm sort of working with them around specific use cases.
Manseeb Khan: Okay. So, you're now focusing on insurance yet but possibly no we're not. Okay.
Frans Tjallingii: And I'd say you know we are very interested in of the whole security token space and where that's going. Obviously with an idea that digital tokens to us are really the future and you can do so much more with a digital token where you can program any kind of if this then that rule into what it's supposed to do, and which really make it a very versatile tool much more versatile than a paper share certificate.
Manseeb Khan: Could you share a little bit more of I guess your view on the impact that it's going to have on financial markets and other industries as well.
Frans Tjallingii: Well I think block chain and digital tokens and crypto currencies are sort of for me are sort of three clouds which all intersect and interact, and it will be fascinating to see how the maximum leverage can be had by each industry by different combinations of those three sorts of areas. So maybe starting with block chain what changed for me is very much you know it's basically just a digital ledger that that that now you can collaborate on. So, it's almost like multiple companies having a shared source of truth like one database that they can jointly believe in. So, this allows you then to warn just for a statement of facts or stuff like that that you're sharing to have one set of truth. But ultimately you want to be able to build transactions on that basis. So, transactions would be digital tokens or crypto currencies. And so, I think that's sort of that will be to me a logical evolution. So, you know when we were talking about trading in tokens or tokenize digital assets or digital securities that you can now create something that has that transaction and the settlement in the same is happening at the same moment based on based on agents being recorded on a walk chain.
Frans Tjallingii: So I think that you know that's where the financial industry will be disrupted, or it will change or will be all or let's say will embrace this technology on blockchain itself will be very much where intermediaries are currently still fulfilling that settlement function or be a bridging function. Yes. So, and so those three cloud. So, first of all you know being able to have that joint letter because basically that's what allows you to do. And then secondly having the digital assets being either a crypto currency or a digital token being able to transact with that around the block chain and using smart contract so for me you know supply chain in retail like anything that's anything that's transaction based or will likely benefit from this technology and be able to evolve to a next level with that. And I also think where it was things were things like artificial intelligence and Internet of Things can and can now interact further and transact with money.
So with digital money like if we had a cryptocurrency if you have an artificial intelligence or an Internet of Things and you can have these interact with each other and do transactions or be part transactions I think that's also super exciting.
Manseeb Khan: Would be your opinion on startups using ICOs I guess as an alternative to raising cash right because I guess the best example I can think of come to mind would be kik right kick the messaging platform was big in 2010 and then WhatsApp started taking over in the space. And then they decide to launch an ICO have a phoenix effect and the company what's your take on startups using ICOs to raise money?
Frans Tjallingii: I think we know and recognize we need innovation into in the financial industries we need to continuously explore a new business model a new fundraising model to be able to do and evolve. So, for me there's a couple of very interesting things around ICO's. So the interesting thing for me is being able to explore what new business models look like for example just taking File coin as an example or storage or one of the other set of storage companies like it would be very hard for any company credibly any startup credibly on based on an equity raise to say hey listen I'm going to attack Amazon Web services like that that's a hard thing. Like or even when we're talking about attacking a WhatsApp or a very dominant position there are so many very dominant companies at the space. You know it's quite hard to have a credible story around how you do that. So, you can do that. Your business model innovation like a file going like they haven't raised you know a large amount of money or storage or some of the others. I mean they all have a similar idea or in terms of OK we're going to raise a larger amount of money and we're going to basically also crowdsource our storage space and we're going to in that way based on already sunk costs because people have this infrastructure we're going to now try and leapfrog or at least have a credible story about competing against the larger established companies by just doing a different thing. So, I think I shows have given companies as sort of a more credible approach into some of these areas. The other thing is obviously it's super fascinating to think about as a token being transacted within an ecosystem and now it gives people a stake in that ecosystem in one-way shape or form. So, this is obviously when we get into much more of a discussion around token economics. But ultimately you know I believe in I believe in the model of having a token economic model that is valuable within an ecosystem and it's no different than having you know reward within Starbucks or things like that. But it is different in terms of how it's comes to be how it evolves and things like that. So, we get into the sort of more as you know I think we've seen a lot of market exuberance people investing in projects without there being due diligence. You know I think you know regulators are getting more and more involved in terms of figuring out how do we balance the innovation in this space with protecting investors and making sure that people don't run the risk that they should be should be running and how does how should that all be going. I think you know many regulators are saying listen if you're buying a token as an investment then it might be a security or at least we have to look at that in a case by case basis. So that's obviously also something that interests us a lot. And we spent a lot of time thinking about.
Manseeb Khan: Could you do a little bit more in detail about business models exploring the innovation by using assets like digital tokens?
Frans Tjallingii: So I think the innovation comes from a rewarding people in an ecosystem to do the right behaviors this disincentivizing them from doing the wrong behaviors and basically giving people a stake in the business side of it. You know the analogy to that was brought on early on was OK if you go to Fair and you know where you can to go on rides you can buy at the entrance you buy tokens to be able to go on the rides and within that ecosystem of the fair. You can use that token to do certain rides and certain things. Now within token economics you can make it much more complex and you can add things that you gain more tokens if you ask nicely and pick up rubbish and do other things that would be valuable for that fair and you get you lose tokens automatically if you litter because that's been spotted and now you lose some tokens. Or as a valued customer coming back every day. We just give you good tokens to be paid because you're basically spending more money on average and out you bring your friends. We can give you more tokens or things like that. So, I think it's that's where the business model innovation for me comes from in terms of basically having people that’s. And because of the deflationary economics built into the system so there is a cap generally on that number of tokens. So, as the ecosystem grows people feel that they must have something that that gains in value. Although a lot of that still must be proven. Like you know it’s very early days in the industry so it's more about you know knowing that knowing that the company will execute on what their promises are that they do what they say and say what they do to create these valuable ecosystems. But it's still early days but you know I'm very positive about this site. We also see the whole security tokens space now evolving even also there it's very early days, but I think that the difference being that there are more and more companies saying some are going to create a regulated security we're not going to try and make it like something in a fairground. We're just going to say it is investment products and this is also different on a per jurisdiction basis but you know more and more companies are saying listen let's do a digital security because we can probably do some more things that we couldn't do with the way the paper share certificate that we can now do with a security token. More and more exchanges are opening alternative trading systems in the U.S. and more of the current exchanges are exploring how to launch security tokens and basically do away with a paper share certificate to have a digital token representing the underlying share. So, I think that that's a super interesting development that we are a part of. We look forward to seeing how it goes. We strongly believe that a lot of work is going to happen there. I think focus shifting on the ICO side from ICOs that are utility tokens will see way more security token offerings and things that are done under normal security law or regular regulations and finding ways to do that.
Manseeb Khan: Yeah, I totally agree there should be very interesting to see. It was really a look back at this point a couple of years from now. While so much has changed so much more regulations into place. Now it's a little bit more wild, wild west. We're not like the nice little utopia that we aim to be.
Frans Tjallingii: Yeah, I think that's just the constant discussion and the battle is between you know seeing a utopia where we can all be owners of a lot of the ecosystems that we are part of. To knowing that there's also people out there that are just trying to defraud investors, or you know not delivering or things like that. And you know I think it's very much about being on that interplay between investor protection innovation and also allowing people access to being able to invest and being inclusive in that way and providing proper information proper education to make it something where we have some you know a dynamic which is which is which is healthy which is going in the right direction.
Manseeb Khan: What be the piece of advice that you've carried with you to help you become successful. It could be something that Mike's told you, could be something that you carried. What was what does that one piece of advice or that one golden nugget that's proven to be true. Time and time again.
Frans Tjallingii: I think for me the main thing in my own life has been about persistence. And I think when you have a good idea, or you must stick with it and keep eye out for just that bit longer I think you know it's often about you know it is basically coupling persistence with a bit of flexibility in terms of thoughts but not giving up too easily. What I've learned from Mike and through this process is the sort of thinking bigger. I think you know when you're in Canada you're you know I at least am more inclined to think Canadian or to think more local or do things sort of in the country. And galaxy is really aiming to build something that is not only global but also industry changing and maybe changing the whole global landscape and I think that's thinking in that way is truly inspirational and something that I know I'm learning more and more about working with the Galaxy team.
Manseeb Khan: Awesome. That's incredible advice. Well Frans thank you so much for taking time out of your super busy day to sit down with me. This has been an amazing convesation. I am very excited to have you back on the show.
Frans Tjallingii: I'll be happy to. Thank you so much Manseeb.
End of Podcast
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Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP.4-Aug 10): Importance of Smart Contract Safety Net with Amy Wan, CEO & Founder at Sagewise
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | Aug 10, 2018
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (ep.4-Aug 10): Importance of Smart Contract Safety Nets
Host: Manseeb Khan, NCFA, Fintech Fridays show host
Guest: Amy Wan, Founder & CEO, Sagewise
About this episode: On this episode, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with LA legal tech entrepreneur Amy Wan, the CEO/Founder of Sagewise, a smart contracts dispute resolution startup. They talk about why smart contact safety nets are important, the bridge between legal tech and fintech and how Amy closed out her seed round while being pregnant. Enjoy!
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Transcription of Interview
Manseeb Khan: Hey Everybody Manseeb Khan and you are tuning in to NCFA newest show Fintech Fridays. Today we have an amazing guest. She's a rock star in the industry. Ladies and gentlemen. Amy Wan is with us today. She's the CEO of Sagewise Amy thanks so much for making it.
Amy Wan: Thanks for having me.
Manseeb Khan: I just want to let you just closed out your seed rounds. I know you're super busy. I just want to thank you again for taking time out of your super busy day to make time for us.
Amy Wan: Of course of course. Anything for you guys. And honestly you know we were grateful for the exposure.
Manseeb Khan: So I guess for the listeners. Could you give us this like a minute of who you are, what you are and a little bit more of what Sagewise was.
Amy Wan: Sure I'll explain a little bit about myself and the company. So, I am a legal tech entrepreneur. I'm based in Los Angeles California. You know start off my career working for the federal government in international regulatory affairs and then was general counsel at a real estate crowdfunding platform. Then a fintech lawyer and law partner at a law firm that basically I'm rules. I'm a securities transactional attorney by training and started seeing that there was a huge issue in the block chain and smart contract industry. You know in early 2017 there were lots of ICO's that you know every other week were getting hacked and losing several millions of dollars. And I thought wow this is a huge gap in the ecosystem. Someone really needs to build dispute resolution infrastructure to handle these gaps otherwise there's no transactional competence or certainty. And so that's you know what we do now we build a safety net for smart contracts. The name of the company is called Sagewise and you know we just closed our seed round and are looking forward to launching the full platform later this year.
Manseeb Khan: I work with startup and I know how stressful it could be closing out a seed round I guess. Could you talk about the feeling or like the immense joy or the most just sigh of relief that you felt finally closing at.
Amy Wan: Well we are very relieved to finally close it. But at the same time this just means there's more break right now. Now we must sit-down concentrate building out the product and getting traction. The seed round I will say though was it was not easy right. And for a couple of different reasons one is because you know at the very beginning we had to decide to do we want to go out there and tokenized right away or do we want to do it more or more traditional equity round. And we decided to do the latter because in late 2017 when we were making this decision I went out and talked to couple crypto whales and they were really looking for you know instant liquidity and massive discounts. And I thought to myself. Man, I don't think these people are investors they're not true believers. They're not going to be great partners. They are speculators who want a quick flip and we really didn't want that kind of capital infusion into our company. The second thing is just that you know block chain is a technology. But for some reason this industry the space comes with a lot of philosophy. You know there's a lot of people in the crypto community who are like oh you know decentralized everything and immutable everything. There's a lot of philosophical dogma behind what blocking technology should be which I think clouds not only the industry but also the investment thesis within the industry. And so, we've found that when we went out to investors we needed to quickly determine what their philosophy if any was. Before we pitched them because there were certain people who were just not going to like you know what we were doing. And the third thing was just you know personally I was pregnant slash had a baby in the middle of raising around. And so that was that was you know a great personal challenge.
Manseeb Khan: Wow that's incredible. So, I just talk a little bit more about what is the life transition like from being a lawyer to an entrepreneur like those are in a sense to different wheel houses what they do have similarities. Would you say being a lawyer and now a new mom has a helped in your entrepreneur career.
Amy Wan: Oh absolutely. I mean so being a lawyer you know especially having a bit of a background in capital markets and structured finance I think that helped me to make the determination of what kind of capital we wanted. Right. We weren't just trying to go out and raise several millions of dollars. And sell away the entire company or get investment that weren't necessarily strategic in our seed round. We've vetted every entrepreneur that invested every investor that put capital in and we took money. Always is for a very specific reason and then you know in terms of being a mom man it's made me become super-efficient rights because I you know I'm where a lot of hats nowadays great but also it's liberating in some sense because you know when we first came up with the concept I thought my God we have a huge thing here. It's a very inspirational. But it could be potentially very lucrative. But it's also very hard, very difficult. And I think when I found out I was pregnant I think kind of be the chains came off a day. I felt a bit liberated because I was like Now I'm a pregnant female minority founder. There's not much of a worse position to be in. And so, I feel like I've got nothing to lose. Let me just like go for as opposed to why you should try and tone this down a bit and have a more realistic goal.
Manseeb Khan:] Yeah that’s great way to look at it because I guess a not a lot of people would see that because it's like oh wow. I'm now going to be a mom on top of everything else. Fantastic that's the best the odds are out against me. That's wow.
Amy Wan: I couldn't even imagine. Oh, it's been. It's been very interesting although I'm very lucky.
Manseeb Khan: I'm I bet.
Manseeb Khan: Sooner or later you can have your little one just running around handing out t-shirts and giving out business cards.
Amy Wan: Oh totally, free labor.
Manseeb Khan: Exactly. You touched a little bit on smart contracts and why they're important. Could you I guess get a little bit more in depth of I guess letting the audience understand the limitations of when it calls smart contracts. If there's a dark side to smart contracts and how everyone should have like you a realistic view when it comes to this.
Amy Wan: Absolutely so. So, you know there's a lot of hype around smart contracts today biting to effectively reward them and use them. You must always understand the tool that you're using. And so, you must really understand limitations behind smart contracts as well. And so those limitations are just as if you're working with a traditional attorney right. The smart contract that your smart contractor opera creates for you. It's only as good as the code just as when you're using an attorney to contract that they draft for you. It's only as good as a lawyer who has drafted it right. And so, your smart contract you know it may have coding errors it may have a security vulnerability you may need to amend, modify, or terminate smart contract these on changing situations, right? because code is static that human beings’ human situations are not. And finally, you may have genuine disputes or how smart contract executed. And so those who were kind of the gaps that we saw going into this space in late 2017. And so, we're really trying to solve for those gaps because even if you have a great smart contract developer that's your first level of defense then you may have a great summer contract security auditing company. That would be your second level defense. But those two are not good enough were really your third level of defense were the safety net. Right. And what we're really doing is building dispute resolution infrastructure. So that you can freeze execution of the smart contract and have the luxury of time to resolve those coding errors or those amendments or to resolve those disputes before it gets written onto the boxing forever and make up may cause more problems in the future. We're on our mission really is to go after basically a transactional confidence and certainty problem today because basically today cryptocurrency investors apparently seem fine with randomly losing value. Right. And that's just not good enough for the mainstream audience to really get this technology to go mainstream. People need to feel confident that to the extent that they're using tech the technology they will be able to get out of it what they really intended. Just like you know how in the early 90s you know people were afraid of buying things online because they weren't sure if they'd get the widget. But once eBay, PayPal and Ali Baba and Amazon put into place reputation systems dispute resolution mechanisms than people are like OK I'm not going to get it, so I don't mind buying it online.
Manseeb Khan: Yeah, totally agree I think it kind of goes back to what we talked about moments ago when I was a crypto wale right. Like they really want this super liquid pump and dump kind of system because they're not really worried about losing or they're oddly okay with losing all the money because they know there's 15 businesses lined up that can do the exact same process and make up the margins or whatever. And for that to go mainstream it's really hard to build an economy based on the right if everybody's just super willing to lose money and not really going to make money on it.
Amy Wan: Yeah absolutely. I mean transactional cost and certainty is I think a key thing in any sort of ecosystem you're trying to build. Right. If you're trying to build a new economy that people can't transact or they don't have confidence that the transaction will go through or that they'll get what they intended to get. You know what good is that system.
Manseeb Khan: Why is it important for Fintech entrepreneurs to understand the bridge between legal tech and Fintech?
Amy Wan: Yeah sure. You look legal infrastructure power. You know I think maybe unbeknownst to a lot of people really power is so much of how financial transactions and economy works. Right. If you don't have good legal infrastructure people don't. There's just no confidence there in the entire ecosystem. And so, I think that's just crucial in general. You know the beautiful thing about smart contracts is in some aspects they can act as usual escrow. And in other aspects because they do execute automatically you know your kind of alleviating some of the trust issues there. So, for example if we look at a real-world example cross-border trade today or even cross-border finance right oftentimes you may be dealing with a party that you've never met. You don't know. You're never going to be able to track down. And so, if you do this transaction via a smart contract it can alleviate a lot of trust issues. I talked to you know a guy at the State Department a couple of months ago and he was telling me that upwards of you know 35 percent of international you know cross-border transactions end up in dispute but are never resolved because of the cost of resolving those disputes is just not feasible. Often you are you might be agreeing to jurisdictional law in New York or China and who knows what that law is right. That's a that's a huge concern and it eats up a lot of transactional costs and a lot of you know brainpower when you're trying to do business internationally. So, I really think that smart contracts offer a great potential solution here.
Amy Wan: But at the same time for everything that goes wrong because you know late in life lots of things go wrong you still really need a safety net and you know the STK that we are creating that it's part of the infrastructure that we're creating that is basically like an arbitration clause in code form. We take it you plop it into your smart contract and it anything is going wrong. Hey, you still have a backup solution because there's no way that your smart contract developer or our auditing firm is going to be able to code out everything that might possibly happen. You know human beings are just far too imaginative far too creative. Right. And things just happened that you never would have thought about. And so, you know for everything that you can't code into the smart contract you know we're there to basically provide a catchall almost insurance type solution.
Manseeb Khan: Aside from arbitration what how else do you see smart contracts being further implicated in both spaces?
Amy Wan: Sure as far as the legal profession and legal tech. I indeed think smart contracts will become increasingly used and get more adoption. But you know the funny thing is less than 2 percent the population can read code and smart contracts are basically there are agreements to perform written in code. And so, I think lawyers are going to have to start getting a lot wiser in how they're going to deal with this. Right. Even if they can't read code they have to find some way to facilitate understanding what is said in a smart contract and how it can execute. Otherwise there are going to be doing a big disservice to their clients on the tax side. There's already a lot of applications out there today that are trying to block Shane and Smart contract technology. And you know if I were to give any sort of advice for your listeners it is you know make sure you really understand the limitations of the technology because you know if you're just going out and using this technology willy nilly without really understanding it can cause more problems for you. Future.
Manseeb Khan: That makes total sense it's like a little kid with a handgun. Absolutely yes. I go for full disclosure I'm part of the 98 percent can't read code, the minute I see on screen. I walk the other way I'm like no that's fine because you're in the majority.
Manseeb Khan: Yeah super intimidated. It's OK. While the lines moving so fast? Why is there words and numbers were going on?
Amy Wan: But that's a problem right because if not she goes mainstream. But it is right now it's largely the domain of you know computer science geeks and basically you know the less than 2 percent of the world population. That's a problem. And I think one big issue in this space is creating a user-friendly interface like no one goes around saying Oh I use TCAP IP technology. No, they just they use the Internet. Right. They use. There's been a lot in the past few decades` have been done around creating user friendly interfaces. When you are using blocking or smart contracts had that technology you should not know that you're using blocking or smart contract technology. It should be that simple.
Manseeb Khan: Companies like you and other companies that are making block chain making crypto and making all these new markets a little bit more understandable and a lot more I guess user friendly when it comes to understand and code understanding what it is how is implemented and what they're really trying to build.
Amy Wan: Completely agree. You know I've heard stories where you know there is an ICAO launching that has a smart contract and the way a smart contract is coded. It is not reflective at all of what the company has said publicly it's not reflective of the white paper because the developer is developing it had not talked to the business team. Right. And so, deficit that's a big disconnect there. And it's a problem that needs to be solved.
Manseeb Khan: That I totally agree with, what you're saying or what you're doing is not matching up. That's not. Not a good way to run a business. What would be your advice and golden nuggets that you would know you'd love to share to our listeners
Amy Wan:] Yeah, I mean I think all this technology present certainly presents a lot of potential. But you know the pace at which the stuff is evolving is literally it's on a day to day. Right. And so, for those who were interested I would say follow the conversation closely please. Engage as well because I think right now this space is dominated by a lot of technologists who come with a lot of philosophical dogma about how the space should be, but I don't necessarily think everything has to be decentralized. Everything must be immutable. And I think if we get input from more business people, more people from the real world more people with real experience in things like financial services and FinTech. I think that will had very richly to come to the conversation to make this technology usable by real people.
Manseeb Khan: Yeah, I totally agree. I don't it’s kind of scary that a lot of people have the burn the world mentality and let's rebuild a new one that's oh boy.
Amy Wan: And we'll see what happens.
Manseeb Khan: Yeah exactly. We'll see what happens. All right. Amy thank you so much for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule. It means so much for me for you to sit down with us and talk to us and to share your vast legal knowledge when it comes to Block chain.
Amy Wan: Yeah. Thanks so much for having me.
Manseeb Khan: All right take care. I can't wait to have you again when you close out Series A and when your kids start handing out t shirts and business cards.
Amy Wan: Awesome I'll let you know when that happens.
End of Podcast
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with fintech, alternative finance, blockchain, cryptocurrency, crowdfunding and online investing stakeholders globally. NCFA Canada provides education, research, industry stewardship, services, and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding and fintech industry. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: ncfacanada.org
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Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
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FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP.3-Aug 3): Investing in Canadian Diversity with Peggy Van De Plassche, Founding Partner at Roar Ventures
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | Aug 3, 2018
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (ep.3-Aug 3): Investing in Canadian Diversity - Interview with Peggy Van De Plassche of Roar Ventures
Host: Manseeb Khan, NCFA, Fintech Fridays show host
Guest: Peggy Van De Plassche, Founding Partner, Roar Ventures
About this episode: On this episode of the Fintech Friday Podcast, host Manseeb Khan interviews the incredible Peggy Van De Plassche about doubling down on investing in diversity and launching her new fund, Roar Ventures!
Join NCFA's weekly Podcast series 'FINTECH FRIDAY$' where we sit down with the incredible people in the Fintech community and talk about leading fintech products innovations developments and challenges!
Subscribe and tune in each Friday to check out the latest movers and shakers in fintech.
Listen to more Fintech Fridays podcasts here
Transcription of Interview
Manseeb Khan (MK): Hi everybody Manseeb Khan here and you are tuning in to the NCFA's newest podcast series finito Fridays. And today I have an amazing amazing guest super talented she's odd She's a board member of probably every investment venture you can think of any amazing startup organization you can think of. She is actually a board member of the NCFA. Believe it or not I'm sitting down with the incredibly Peggy Van De Plassche. Peggy thank you so much for making it here. Thank you very much. To give you a little more context both me and Peggy are sick so if we do sound a little distorted please please bear with us. We both have teas both have our waters and tissue boxes so should be okay. So Peggy could you for just a minute give a brief introduction of who you are we're backgrounds from and your role in the financial tech community.
Peggy Van De Plassche (PV): OK well thank you so much Manseeb. I hope my accent and my cold will be will be still easy for people to understand me so as I'm sure you can hear my accent I am from France originally. I moved to Canada 15 years ago. I live in Toronto was in Montreal for many years before that and well I'm a finance person by trade I fell in technology 12 years ago. So I became fintech even before fintech really existed and was cool and I've been unbelievably lucky with my carrier because I've been (I am actually) an investor an entrepreneur incorporated as well so it really allowed me to see how we'll see the the interesting challenges coming in fintech from every seat at the table and right now actually and raising my first fund for world ventures and we are investing in early stage data and AI startups as focus for our financial services industry and there is a little twist to that is that we have a gender diversity overly and we are looking at companies that the needs that have c0-founders, management team, board members that are female. I would see a Funder's male founders who were very supportive and active in the change of diversity so I think I did my minute and I hope that it was clear enough Manseeb.
MK: Yeah no it was amazing. So you do come from as as you mentioned you do come from the banking space. Could you just talk a little bit more about that transition from being a part of CIBC being a part of BMO and then transitioning and starting your own venture.
PV: Yes yes definitely. Well I have done that twice actually. So I went from being like maybe six-seven years ago now to a more entrepreneurial background. I was working for were entrepreneurs and I was started companies for him and managing his media office so that was really my first real brush with entrepreneurship and the thing that I felt extremely funny at the time is that oh my god I have no meetings because they are coming from the moon in the large banks you know always doing meetings. That was definitely a feeling of freedom that I could manage my time the way I wanted. But at the same time you know like obviously you have the perks up where you are. And also it's you don't have the support of a large organization. And in one and you move a little annoyance from an large organization. But on the other end you don't have the processes you know have the rigor. That comes with a large organization as well. So actually leaving a large organization is also what made me the first time really appreciate some of the things that were that were coming with large organizations but also the opportunity to write my own story is something that you know besides being an entrepreneur is you cannot really do that that. I would say ever in a large corporation banking on venture
MK: Yeah no I totally agree. It's very difficult to say but especially being in a part of a huge organization just like the banking system it's very hard to I guess be a little bit more entrepreneurial and just have a little bit more freedom to be a little bit more creative when it comes to your ideas and your ambitions and your goals right.
PV: Yeah and you know it it comes back to diversity its diversity of diversity of backgrounds you know like if you look at the banking industry it's still a very very homogenous in Canada. And it makes obviously things way more difficult when they shouldn't be by having a system that is not very prone to thinking and doing things differently.
MK: What made you want to start Roar ventures and I guess what makes in your eyes what makes Roar ventures stand out compared to the other I guess VC funds.
PV: Yeah well I guess it's it's probably the same answer to both of your questions I started Roar because I first obviously had this entrepreneurial bug in me so that's definitely something but also I'm still a bit of a whitespace in the way most VC operate. So we start seeing a challenge I have is that we're actually not really data driven. So I'm not sure we're always optimizing our returns financially but also the fact that we're very very prudent seats and our science vis LOFAR not a lot of bias in the way you're funding your entrepreneurs. So as you know you know women are diverse people with a dress cultural backgrounds are way less funded and are traditional I would say male type entrepreneurs that we are in North America. So so for me again one of the things that was very important which with my venture was the opportunity to use data not only to be better in my returns but actually to remove a lot of PR in the industry and I would say the last thing is really linked with my profile and the fact that not only am I an investor but I'm also an operator. But they also understand collaborate and you really need that to be able to help young entrepreneurs grow and be successful. The international NGOs is very important to me so that's also something as I'm speaking with LP really making sure for Elfi mix of international LP that we'll be able to help my portfolio company grow. So I would say I didn't really look at me when I decided to to start Roar. I looked at OK what are the whitespace I see in the industry that I will be able to hopefully fill in with new ventures.
MK: That's incredible because I think that's the one important thing but I guess a lot of entrepreneurs or people are drawn to entrepreneurship right they see a wide space they see a problem that needs to be solved. And I guess in your case would be the lack of diversity the lack of just underrepresentation in certain sectors and you just Hey I have the experience I have the talent I have the drive and I have the operational know how to build something that helps build these amazing white spaces with the incredibly talented people that are under I guess Roar ventures right.
PV: Yeah you know it's it's very this idea of doing good work and doing well. So it's a bit of super super tough. So I do I do sincerely believe that the VC industry and the investment industry in general are not just VC but PE is the same as we usual to play but also in Canada. Now to really make our country grow and are like you know we're still very much resource base when I speak with international investor lot of them don't know Canada. They don't know what we're doing in AI. I we are great with startups. And and I mean this years as a crutch to create to make sure that. We're building a future for all Canadians which I mean and sustainable jobs.
MK: What would be your thesis to be great. So when you have entrepreneurs that are either trying to become a part but that you are either vetting for your ventures or be it any of the other organizations be part of I guess would be your thesis or what are you looking for in an entrepreneur to take them on.
PV: Yeah. So so you know we spoke about diversity that's something that for me it's very very important someone who really understand and value diversity not because it's fashionable but because it brings value you know like it out feel good and it's a rational thing to do. That's say the first thing. The second thing is obviously an approach that is very collaborative. And. Again the goal for me when I invest in an entrepreneur is to let him do his job. This is the one was the best position to lead his organization that if I can help I'll be happy to do that. And that's really something that is important is set in a two way conversation where you can have someone bouncing back. The Good The Bad and The Ugly were you and being able to help. In order for them to be very successful and you know sometimes unfortunately people every bit of securities which don't always make them you know welcoming help and I think that's that's unfortunate here not good for the growth of the company. So. Collaboration very important for me and I would say the third thing is really ambition and ambition global ambition very very important for me I really want people to look at that and you know I do believe Canada should become what is east to cyber security for AI. So for me being entrepreneurs who really believe that they can go above and beyond North America is very very key.
MK: So everybody you heard it here first Canada is going to become the Israel of AI. So I'm excited for the other for that. You absolutely will we have amazing people like you and just incredibly talented people in this space to make that make a reality. Right so it's it's a matter of time in my in my perspective really well.
PV: Yes it is. But at the same time there is also a bit of an urgency here you know like we've been in Canada extremely extremely well positioned with the AI obviously the U.S. China. You know they are not really standing still either. And and as I speak with a lot of international and potential investors in China Europe's of America even in the U.S. people don't know enough or great we are. And you know like it's it's it's it's nice to be nice but you know I think now is the time to really be a bit more assertive on our amazing we.
MK: Yeah I told you either the world have a I guess misunderstanding of how incredible Canadians are because we are just seen as just very nice very polite people that live in igloos and drink maple syrup right.
PV: Exactly.
MK: Aside from gender diversity being open to I guess advice and having a willing to change and looking globally what else is a part of. guess your vetting process when it when it when it comes to our founder.
PV: Yeah well you know I would say that the vetting process is probably very similar to what you see with a lot of VCs obviously really like serial entrepreneurs. That's of use because these are people who know what you're doing. You want to. I would say technology Edge where you have a special factor where you have a special set of data a special algorithm that guides are going to give you that is going to give you an edge. Very important. What is your value prop as you know with data in AI. We are just scratching the face of the use cases. So very important to know OK what other use cases you're you're starting with in the financial services industry. The fact that I and some of my advisor from our ex of the corporate where we can definitely vent a of these cases because I've seen in the past many times the great idea is that when you're willing to corporate world you know that you're never going to be able to sell because it might be definity a white space or a bank or an insurance but that might be also so risky for them and they will never touch that with a ten foot pole. So and so it's it's it's very important to see what are the use cases that by the organization is going for and I would say that the last thing which is very important for me in terms of due diligence is the fact that once again I really really want to bring not only data but also of standardization. So I really want to make sure that when we do our due diligence is the same regardless of the people we are speaking with. And what I mean is that sometimes we get very excited by a good salesperson and great salesperson doesn't mean that he or she is going to be the best operator but at the same time the challenge is that if you tend to look at people who might be seen in our venue which is by default what we all do you're not irrationally. Increase the number of points you might give someone who will look like you or think like you. And that's something I really really want to make sure I'm winning as much as possible for an hour from my vetting process.
MK: So I guess the standardization the founder themselves. And I guess the VC ploy a little bit more self-awareness and understanding. Ok hey I'm an amazing salesperson and want to focus on sales. I'm good at the tag on a co-founder that can be a little bit more on the operational side of it right.
PV: Yeah. And what I mean by that is that when when an entrepreneur comes here we see he or she is an incredible salesperson and meaning don't show Manisha woman as sometimes for an investor it's difficult to stick to a script. They fall in love with a song before you know so. So what I mean by standardization is making sure that you're not skipping 12 questions that might be a bit harder because oh my god you love that guy so much and really want to be close to her.
MK: Yes it's a lot like a first date. You don't want to like the one I'm the one to make sure you vet them and want to make sure they're on the same page and everything. Okay perfect. Got it.
PV: You know what's interesting is that so HVA did a study maybe 6-9 months ago and they were showing why many women entrepreneurs get less funding by men and did lot a lot of analysis done on interviews from VCs to entrepreneurs and what they noticed is that when entrepreneurs is a female. Two thirds of the questions asked by the VCs are actually prevention focused. So all can you do all. Are you going to mitigate the risk in that type of question when it's a male. Two thirds of the questions are promotion focused. So can you be all or fast are you going to be able to do in another geography. So that was actually really the base of why woman gets with less funding than men. It wasn't anything else. So I think a script removes that tendency that we all have due to social conditioning. I'm not saying anyone is mean or whatever to ask settled certain types of questions of certain type of people.
MK: That's why we have programs like the female founders like are the DMZ and these accelerators are starting to have a little bit better of a diverse diverse programs to have a little bit more inclusion and I guess to make these female founders or more I guess bulletproof when it comes to when it comes to pitching VCs and to help you stigmatize the entire I guess scope when it comes to when when the season investors think of entrepreneurship.
PV: Yeah you know I think it's a type of process that needs to change at every level because I hear you in the concept of saying OK you want your female founders to be bullet proof. Why would they have to be more bulletproof vest and men because they know that if you have them get a seat. So you really need to work at every really big bet. You're totally right because things won't change overnight. You still need to to a female expecting that type of question. So some advice that was given recently to two female founders was OK. Act like a politician. You know if you asked another prevention type question answer your own version of that question but is it going to be promotion based. It's a way to deal with that.
MK: Programs like female founders and she and SHEOo are. I mean hopefully we can have more programs like this to help make diversity a little bit more you know some palatable.
PV: And you know I've been very fortunate because I've been working on collaborating in the gender diversity space for the last 10 to 12 years and before it was two people or so I've seen now what works what doesn't work so in a big corporation the most impactful change you can make is through your hiring process. You know it has been does business still a lot of organizations. When I was at CIBC. I was leading the diversity diversity committee that. It is shown by organizing events organizing things that might be a bit softer don't really make any change. So I'm very bottom line focused personally so I always go for it was going to be the best ROI. So for example again I took upbraids going to be hiring. If I look at programs to your point that that will be impactful in the in the gender diversity space. Alonzo Bodden this amazing non-profit that was launched by Shalamar from extreme venture. And what I call Geldart is he's organized a catalyst for middle school girls just before selling their elective so get more comfortable with technology and they get more comfortable with speaking computer science when they are very young because everything we're doing right now in gender diversity space for adults women is great. But we also need to work at the root of a problem so adding more women in STEM for example is a very good way to add to make these changes. And I like to I would say on shorter term and longer term initiatives to really make make an impact.
MK: Anywhere I could get my little sister more computers more learn more than welcome really.
PV: Lets you know at the end of the day you want it's 50 percent of the population. It's good for everyone to have more educated people. Woman women are not navigator's and going to go in fields that's going to create value for themselves for their family but also for the country. So it is just a win win win it's just something to do.
MK: And just to wrap this up will be your advice. If not golden nuggets that's that you've held very close.
PV: Yeah I think that there are maybe two. One is really. We might be cliche I'm sorry but one is dream big you know unfortunately we are constantly approaching a situation where people are trying to make us play small because it scares everyone when we're playing big bets you really really want to make sure you're dreaming big and you know for me it's very much. I have this litmus test which is OK when I die which hopefully is going to be a long time when I die. Will I regret doing this on and doing it. And usually I can tell you it's a very good indication of what what you should do. And that was a very good indication for me to start ventures and the second thing which also is quite well-known is to have great resilience because things are always way more complicated. Difficult. We're more costly at many levels than what you think they would be. So you need to dream big but you need to also have a great resilience to make it happen.
MK: But that immediately click. That's that's the vice my founder and CEO Jonathan at Curexe at first two things. When I when I first got on board it's like we have this incredible world map of like okay we took over Canada next is this. Now we're going to do this and I guess they're resilient right.
PV: They just need to remind yourself that every day of everything the way that you just need to remember every day. Ok. Well tomorrow is another day and we're going to fight another day.
MK: Peggy thank you. Thank you so so much for today. I know today is definitely not the best for both of us though did. I think we did incredible. Thank you so much. I can't wait to have you again.
PV: Thank you so much Manseeb have a fanastic day.
MK: You too take care.
End of Podcast
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November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
FINTECH FRIDAYS Podcast Season 1
JOIN US ON A STORYTELLING JOURNEY: SEASON 1
Welcome to the first season of NCFA Canada's Fintech Fridays podcast, where we delve into the fascinating world of financial technology. This season, we sit down with the movers and shakers of the fintech and funding community, discussing trends, product innovations, developments, and challenges that are shaping the future of finance. In Season 1, we've had the privilege of engaging with a diverse range of industry leaders, each bringing their unique insights and perspectives to the table. Our conversations have spanned a wide array of topics, from the mainstream adoption of new financial technologies to the impact of these innovations on financial services today.
Ep1-Jul 20: Facilitating Global Crypto Payments and the Future of Digital Assets
To kickoff the first episode of our Fintech Fridays weekly podcast, our host Manseeb Khan is joined by Samir Bandli, Director of Strategic Partnerships of CoinPayments, to talk about the future of crypto from its role today and its role in the future. CoinPayments offers merchants an option to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment and currently works with over 700+ altcoins. (more...)
Ep2-Jul 27: Canada's Role in the Global Fintech Ecosystem
On this episode of the Fintech Friday Podcast, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with the legendary Sue Britton, CEO & Founder of the Fintech Growth Syndicate, and talk about what Canada has to do to stay competitive in the fintech space, Canada being super hot to outside investors, and why diversty is going to revolutionize finance. (more...)
Ep3-Aug 3: Doubling Down on Women Founders and Backing Diversity
In this episode of the Fintech Friday Podcast, host Manseeb Khan interviews the incredible Peggy Van De Plassche, General Partner Roar Ventures, about doubling down on investing in diversity and launching her new Data/AI investment fund! (more...)
Ep4-Aug 10: Importance of a Smart Contract Safety Net
On this episode, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with LA legal tech entrepreneur Amy Wan, CEO/Founder of Sagewise. They talk about why smart contact safety nets are important, the bridge between legal tech and fintech and how Amy closed out her seed round while being pregnant. Enjoy! (more...)
Ep5-Aug 17: First Coin's M&A Story - Wall street meets Crypto
Guest: Frans Tjallingii, Managing Director, Galaxy Digital Canada
About this episode: show host Manseeb Khan sits down with Frans Tjallingii, Managing Director, Galaxy Digital Canada (ex-CEO and Co-founder of First Coin Capital). They talk about their acquisition and where the future of blockchain is heading and how tokens could be used as securities and Galaxy Digital Canada's plan moving forward. Enjoy! (more...)
Ep6-Aug 24: Asian Crypto Market Opportunities for Canadian Talent
About this episode: On this episode, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Henri Arslanian, PwC FinTech & Crypto Leader for Asia and Chairman of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong. They talk about future institutions in crypto, Why Hong Kong is a home away from home to him and to other fellows Canadians and his best practices. Enjoy! (more...)
Guest: Henri Arslanian, Chairman, Hong Kong FinTech Association and FinTech & Crypto Leader for Asia, PwC
Ep7-Aug 31: Structuring ICOs and the Mind of a Fintech-preneur
About this episode: This week our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Gary Schwartz the Managing Director of Pegasus Fintech Inc.. They covered how to structure an ICO, to surgary donuts , and impacting investing. Enjoy! (more...)
Guest: Gary Schwartz, Managing Director, Pegasus Fintech Inc.
Ep8-Sep 7: Institutionalization of Crypto, China's Ban and the Potential of Blockchain Decentralization
About this episode: On this episode, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Juwan Lee the founder and CEO of NexChange. They talked about institutions investing in crypto, some the up and coming players in the market and China being pro blockchain. Enjoy! (more...)
Guest: Juwan Lee, Founder and CEO, NexChange
Ep9-Sep 14: Curexe's New SmartPay Product & Front-line of Global Digital Payments
About this episode: On this episode our host Manseeb Khan sits down with the CEO And founder of Curexe, so chat about their new product called SmartPay! They also talked about how A.I is going to touch the payments and every other industry, regulations that could be in place when accepting crypto and many more. Enjoy! (more...)
Guest: Johnathan Holland, Founder and CEO, Curexe
Ep10-Sep 21: A Regtech-based Blockchain KYC Solution for Document Custody
About this episode: On this episode, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with the CEO of Commercial Passport Brice Penaud. They chat about what KYC looks like in blockchain, how fintech and regtech can work alongside with governments, and the benefits of creating a digital identity. Enjoy! (see Transcript)
Guest: Brice Penaud, CEO, Commercial Passport
Ep11-Sep 28: How Amazon Bank is Dominating and Risks of a Digital Bifurcated World
About this episode: On this weeks episode our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Paul Schulte Founder & Editor of Schulte Research, whose insights have reshaped the finance world for the past 30 years. They talk about how Amazon is the biggest bank in the world, China being 2 generations ahead compared to the West, and what his next book could be about it. Enjoy! (transcript)
Guest: PAUL SCHULTE, Founder and Managing Editor, Schulte Research (LinkedIn)
Ep12-Oct 5: Building Blockchain Products & Decentralized Solutions for Enterprise and Startups
About this episode: On this week's episode of the Fintech Friday$ podcast our host Manseeb Khan sits down with Mathieu Glaude the CEO and president of Northern Block. They talk about having a sovereign digital identity, the excitement behind stable coins and why supply chain in blockchain shouldn't be overlooked. Enjoy! (see Transcript)
Guest: MATHIEU GLAUDE, President and CEO, Northern Block (LinkedIn)
Ep13-Oct 13: Road to Fintech IPO: Capital Networks, Scalable Solutions, Putting People First
About this episode: On this episode, NCFA show host Manseeb Khan sits down with Ali Pourdad the CEO of Progressa who recently closed out an $84 million dollar round. They talk about P2P loans, loan services operating within the blockchain and why being people first business matters. Enjoy! (see Transcript)
Guest: ALI POURDAD, Co-founder and CEO, Progressa (LinkedIn)
Ep14-Oct 19: The Convergence of Data Intelligence and Money Algorithms
About this episode: On this episode, NCFA show host Manseeb Khan sits down Saroop Bharwani. Founder of Senso, a data intelligence platform for the financial services industry. They chat about regulations in the AI space, fears of AI taking over the world and how screens and machines are as important as the birds and the bees. Enjoy! (see Transcript)
Guest: SAROOP BHARWANI, Founder and CEO, Senso.ai (LinkedIn)
Ep15-Oct 26: Gearing up Hyperion Exchange, Hybrid Models and Security Tokens
About this episode: On this episode, our NCFA Fintech Fridays host Manseeb Khan sit's down with Michael Zavet the CEO of Hyperion Exchange a crypto securities exchange. They talked about the importance of security token offerings( STO), how to regulate STOs, and the potential marriage of cannabis and crypto. Enjoy! (see Transcript) Guest: MICHAEL ZAVET, Founder and CEO, Hyperion Technologies Inc. (LinkedIn)
Ep16-Nov 2: Envisioning the Future of Open Banking for Consumers and Businesses
About this episode: On this episode NCFA Fintech Friday's host Manseeb Khan sits down with the CEO of Lending Loop Cato Pastoll. They chat about what opening banking is, how it might look like an app store, and how it gives power back to consumers. Enjoy! (see Transcript)
Guest: CATO PASTOLL, Co-founder and CEO, Lending Loop (view Linkedin)
Ep17-Nov 9: How Artificial Intelligence is Optimizing Sales and the Future of Business AI
About this episode: On this episode NCFA Fintech Friday's our host Manseeb Khan sits down with the co-founder and president of Fortuna Asad Naeem. They chat about how AI can supplement salespeople, the excitement behind computer vision and the future of business AI. Enjoy!(see Transcript)
Guest: ASAD NAEEM, Co-founder and President, Fortuna.ai (view Linkedin)
Ep18-Nov 16: Bridging the AML/ATF Gap with Financial Institutions and the New Economy
About this episode: On this episode, NCFA Fintech Fridays host Manseeb Khan sits down with Charlene Cieslik the Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer at Coinsquare. They talk about not everyone using crypto is a terrorist, cape shopping and guidance in the crypto space. Enjoy! (see Transcript)
Guest: CHARLENE CIESLIK, Chief AML Officer, Coinsquare (view Linkedin)
Ep19-Nov 23: Future of Business Tokenization and How Blockchain Challenges Concept of Money
About this episode: On this episode, NCFA Fintech Friday's host Manseeb Khan sits down with Alan Wunsche the CEO of TokenFunder. They chat about ICO's funding startups, tokenization of businesses and buying real estate through tokens. Enjoy! (see Transcript)
Guest: ALAN WUNSCHE, Founder and CEO, TokenFunder (view Linkedin)
SEASON 1 EPISODES:
EP1-Jul 20: Global Crypto Payments and the Future of Digital Assets (CoinPayments)
EP2-Jul 27: Canada's Role in the Global Fintech Ecosystem (Fintech Growth Syndicate)
EP3-Aug 3: Doubling Down on Female Founders (Roar Ventures)
EP4-Aug 10: Importance of a Smart Contract Safety Net (Sagewise)
EP5-Aug 17: First Coin's M&A Story - Wall street meets Crypto (Galaxy Digital Canada)
EP6-Aug 24: Asian Crypto Markets meet Canadian talent (Fintech Association of Hong Kong)
EP7-Aug 31: Structuring an ICO and the Mind of a Fintech-preneur (Pegasus Fintech)
EP8-Sep 7: Institutionalization of Crypto, China’s Ban and the Potential of Blockchain Decentralization (NexChange)
EP9-Sep 14: New SmartPay Product & Front-line of Global Digital Payments (Curexe)
EP10-Sep21: A Regtech-based Blockchain KYC Solution for Document Custody (Commercial Passport)
EP11-Sep 28: How Amazon Bank is Dominating and Risks of a Digital Bifurcated World (Schulte Research)
EP12-Oct 5: Building Blockchain Products & Decentralizd Solutions for Enterprise and Start-ups (Northern Block)
EP13-Oct 12: Road to Fintech IPO: Capital Networks, Scalable Solutions, Putting People First (Progressa)
Ep14-Oct 19: The Convergence of Data Intelligence and Money Algorithms (Senso.ai)
Ep15-Oct 26: Gearing up Hyperion Exchange, Hybrid Models and Security Tokens (Hyperion Technologies)
EP16-Nov 2: Envisioning the Future of Open Banking for Consumers and Businesses (Lending Loop)
Ep17-Nov 9: How Artificial Intelligence is Optimizing Sales and the Future of Business AI (Fortuna.ai)
Ep18-Nov 16: Bridging the AML/ATF Gap with Financial Institutions and the New Economy (Coinsquare)
Ep19-Nov 23: Future of Business Tokenization and How Blockchain Challenges Concept of Money (TokenFunder)
SEASON 2 EPISODES:
Ep20-Jan 11: Bitcoin Backed Loans and 2x Credit - Putting Your Crypto to Work (Mauricio Di Bartolomeo)
Ep21-Jan 18: Meritocracy, Decentralized Innovation and the Power of Collaboration (Hussein Hallak)
Ep22-Jan 25: Reducing Regulatory Burden by 25% in Ontario (Amar Nijjar)
Ep23-Feb 1: Getting Smart About Crypto and Insurtech Snapchat Models (Justin Hartzman)
Ep24-Feb 8: Re-imagining Philanthropy (Daryl Hatton)
Ep25-Feb 15: Unlock the World (Kate Guimbellot and Jason Sosnowski)
Ep26-Feb 22: Investing in Private Canadian Companies (Peter-Paul Van Hoeken)
Ep27-Mar 1: Blockchain Gaming and esports (Shidan Gouran)
Ep28-Mar 8: Rethinking Brokers (Muhammad Rashid)
Ep29-Mar 22: The Future of Securities (Richard Carleton)
Ep30-Apr 12: The Future of Canadian Crypto (Andrei Poliakov)
Ep31-May 14: Blockchain Law (Jason Saltzman)
Ep32-May 24: Rallying behind Bitcoin (Frederick T. Pye)
Ep33-May 31: Indexing Consumer Loans and Financial Literacy (Phillip Postrehovsky)
Ep34-Jul 6: Accelerating Fintech Growth (Brendan Holt Dunn)
Ep35-Aug 9: Autonomous Alternative Lending (Vit Arnautov)
Ep36-Aug 22: Techfins (Michael King)
Ep37-Sep13: Funding is Female (Jill Earthy)
Ep38-Mar25: Why Identity Matters in an Evolving Online Environment (David Lucatch)
Ep39-Apr23: The Power of Digitization and How to Get Exponential (James Wallace)
Ep40-May22: Why Bitcoin Exists and Education for the Masses (Austin Hubbell)
SEASON 3 EPISODES:
EP41: 40% pandemic growth, taking risks and innovating Insurtech in Canada (Danish Yusuf, Zensurance)
EP42: Insights into the Teen Banking Sector and Improving the Financial Well-being of Families (Rim Charkani, WALO)
EP43: Taking the Mortgage Process From 40 Days to Minutes (Chris Gries, FundMore.ai)
EP44: The Vanguard of Digital Innovation and Ecosystems in Canada (Various NCFA Advisors)
EP45: Mission-driven and Consumer-centric Financial Services (Keith Taylor, DUCA Impact Lab)
EP46: Making Business Borderless: International Payments and Partnerships (Alastair Thompson, TransferWise)
EP47: How to Change the World: Risk Culture and Work-life Balance (Michelle Beyo, Finavator)
EP48: How to Connect and Resonate with Customers Through Podcasting (Fatima Zaidi, Quill Inc.)
EP49: Managing Private Placements Has Never Been Easier (Brock Murray and Karan Khiani, Katipult)
EP50: Compliance to the moon (Mark Binns, Digital Assets Inc.)
EP51: Bacon and Eggs (Julien Brault, Hard Bacon)
EP52: Technology Due Diligence Process and Cyber Security Risks (Forward Security, CIBC, RiskAware Group)
EP53: Staying True to Bitcoin (Chris Naprawa, TAAL)
EP54: How Digital Identity will Transform Human Potential (David Lucatch, Liquid Avatar Technologies)
SEASON 4 EPISODES:
EP55: Global hiring trends: How Gen Z Talent Thrives (Anne-Marie Fannon, Work-Learn Institute, University of Waterloo)
EP56: How We Raised $426 million Using Rewards Crowdfunding (Zach Smith, Funded Today)
EP57: 10 Years of Investment Crowdfunding: Past, Present, and Future Since the Act (Expert Advisors)
EP58: Using Risk Management to Improve Your Business and Life (Alex Sidorenko)
EP59: Master Entrepreneurship with YEDI! (Maria Konikov)
EP60: Revolutionizing Small Business Lending and Empowering Entrepreneurs (David Souaid)
EP61: Making Markets and Investing in Crypto with the Phoenix App (Kay Khemani)
EP62: The Future of Investment Crowdfunding: Innovations, Data, and Opportunities (Sherwood 'Woodie' Neiss)
EP63: From Angel Investor to Change-Maker: Investing with Impact (Marcia Dawood)
EP64: House Rich Cash Poor And The New Home Equity Playbook (Shael Weinreb)
EP65: Personal Guarantees: The Most Expensive Autograph an Entrepreneur Can Sign (Craig Arnatt)
Interested in getting involved in FINTECH FRIDAYS? info@ncfacanada.org
FINTECH FRIDAY$ is a weekly podcast brought to you by NCFA and partners, where we sit down with the incredible people in the Fintech and Funding community and talk about trends, product innovations, developments and challenges!
Fintech Fridays is an evolving and innovative educational platform focused on delivering authentic personalities, content and story telling on the journey of mainstream adoption of new financial technologies and their impact on the future of finance.
Subscribe and tune in each Friday to check out the latest movers and shakers with hosts Manseeb Khan and others coming soon.
Want to get involved? Contact us about partnerships opportunities, hosting and more: info@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, 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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Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
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FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP.2-Jul 27): Canada’s Role in the Global Fintech Industry with Sue Britton, CEO & Founder of FGS
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | July 27, 2018
FINTECH FRIDAY$ (ep.2-Jul 27): Canada's Role in the Global Fintech Industry - Interview with Sue Britton of FGS
Host: Manseeb Khan, NCFA, Fintech Fridays show host
Guest: Sue Britton, CEO & Founder, FinTech Growth Syndicate
As CEO & Founder, Sue brings a depth and breadth of experience and passion in corporate innovation, partnering, B2B sales as well as overall market expansion to her clients. The FinTech Growth Syndicate provides FinTech innovators and start-up company leaders the tools and expertise they need to grow their businesses and accelerate their response to the changing needs of their clients. We are a different advisory firm. Our model is designed to provide you with agile, on the ground experts – talent that has deep experience in corporate innovation, design thinking, commercialization, market expansion and partnering. We are truly deep in all things “FinTech” and are plugged into every corner of the ecosystem, and can leverage relationships and knowledge of the global FinTech ecosystem to accelerate innovation. Prior to starting the company, Sue was Vice President & Head of Global Innovation for D+H. the 21st largest FinTech globally.
About this episode: On this episode of the Fintech Friday Podcast, our host Manseeb Khan sits down with the legendary Sue Britton and talk about what Canada has to do to stay competitive in the fintech space, Canada being super hot to outside investors, and why diversty is going to revolutionize finance.
Join NCFA's weekly Podcast series 'FINTECH FRIDAY$' where we sit down with the incredible people in the Fintech community and talk about leading fintech products innovations developments and challenges!
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Transcription of Interview
Manseeb Khan (MK): Hey everybody Manseeb Khan here and you are tuning in to the NCFA's newest podcast series Fintech Friday. I'm going be honest with you I'm a little nervous and my guest today our guest today is an absolute juggernaut in the industry. She’s been a veteran for 25 years in the space. Today I have Sue Britton and Sue. Thank you so much for making like this is incredible.
Sue Britton (SB): Thank you so much for being here as well like I totally flattered and here your way overdoing it, but I am thrilled to be here to chat with you.
[00:00:31] MK: I don't think so. I think I think you deserve everything that is said to be completely honest with you. You're the founder and CEO of the Fintech Growth Syndicate. Also known as I've just the FGS. Could you talk a little bit more of what it is, and I guess what made you launch it?
SB: Yes sure. The story of launching it has. You know I left the company I had a 25-year career working with some amazing Canadian companies that. Honestly, they are often tech companies. But we didn't. Twenty-five years ago, we didn't think of them as Fintech. They were technology companies providing solutions to financial institutions. And my last gig I ran innovation for one of the biggest tech companies in the world it's now called an Finastra. Love what I was doing and when the company decided they wanted to go in a different direction I just thought you know I'm going to start my own thing and keep doing what we were doing which is FGS is here to. Help accelerate innovation and we do that with big companies and help grow startups particularly fintech and play a role in the industry. Being a connector and someone who helps promote collaboration. So. It's been exciting. Last three years have been kind of crazy and exciting. That's incredible.
[00:01:59] MK: So, from your amazing resume you've also worked with the Canadian government. Right. So, my next question is the Canadian government doing everything they can to be globally competitive in the Fintech industry so it's a tough question although I'll answer it directly with no. Because
SB: I mean in the early days of FGS I got involved with global affairs and I am the fintech adviser to global affairs as part of their what they call their ICT advisory committee and basically what that means is. You know I'm giving them feedback about how their global affairs program is working which. I don't know if you know much about that space, but they are you know there's something like 1600 people around the world that are paid by the Canadian government to help companies like you know Curexe or Wealthsimple or you know you name one of the thousand fintech companies with. You know support them to do business in other countries. And so that to me is fundamental to what we need from the government. And there are other pockets that are also I think doing well and government is kind of this big label for policymakers and regulators. And the problem we have in Canada and I think this is a general comment about Canada. We have such a big geography that we set up our regulatory framework to be you know provincial based in some cases and. Across the board. You know there's no one. There's no one regulator there's no one policy maker and so like I think of it like it's this patchwork quilt. And so. Until we figure that out the government. Has a really hard time themselves trying to figure out how to make change happen. So
00:04:02 MK: So, I guess what type of fintech models do you think that Canadian fintech’s are I guess internationally acclaimed for and what sectors do you see up and coming. Canadian for their companies could leave a stamp on.
SB: Yes well, I don't mean to answer it like all of them, but I do think like when you think about the companies that have been successful inside and outside of Canada.
Wealthsimple as an easy company that comes to mind because you know they're so well-funded and they've got great partners in power financial and are a group of companies like investors group but there's also a lot of other companies that are still there in the wealth space. Artificial intelligence. You know I would probably be. Remised if I didn't say you know we are we are becoming in are very much a leader in that space element AI couple of years ago received over 100 million dollars in funding and the funding came from mostly international organizations or U.S. based. VCs that there are the power houses of VC investment and so that kind of started that I think what was already building it started a very much a you know. A wave of a focused startup. So, AI for sure generally but also within fintech. Companies like Fin AI I from Vancouver who you know are in the conversational banking space. So, there's been a lot of success stories. I think the challenge we have though is you know everyone that starts the company needs revenue to survive, cash is oxygen, yes exactly. And even if you are getting money seed money you know series A funding or whatever you know in the end those investors want to see a return on them on their investment. And so, you need to be able to demonstrate that you can sell quickly, and Canada hasn't been very good to Canadian startups to support that right. So, I think most of the techs are heading south of the border or especially to Europe and other places where it's just easier to get your foot in the door. There's more support and those. You know maybe except for the. U.S. know competition is. Wanted. In these other countries. Right. So sure, but we have we have some amazing fintech companies that have done well here in and outside of Canada and we don't do enough to brag about them. I think because I think that would probably make everybody feel a bit more optimistic.
[00:07:10] MK: Yes, for sure. Yes. Yes, you don't want you don't want any you don't want too many braggadocios us CEO especially I guess the fintech space being so hard to fund because we're not as willing to open our wallets as say the Americans or European countries are.
SB: You know it's funny you say that. So, I was at the Empire's fintech startups event a couple of weeks ago and Empire this is their second time they've had it there too. So, there was two of them and then on almost every panel they tried to match sort of us. People with Canadian people but it wasn't over. It was just more to get different perspectives. And one of the panels was about you know kind of the modern VC. And. The. Anyway, I had a follow up call from this gentleman and he's with a VC called reciprocal ventures. And they're based out of New York and they want to invest in Canadian fintech. I probably shouldn't but I could go on to give you 10 other examples of companies that want to invest in Canadian fintech growth. Like Canada's super-hot. From an investing standpoint. There is a lot of interest in our tech and our people are. Us. Companies and I would say like very much significantly in FinTech for sure.
[00:08:41] MK: I guess would be one of the advantages that Canada has. Would you say that our diversity plays a factor? Why does Canada have an edge in this space.
SB: Yes well, I mean I think Canada has this amazing concentration of talent. We have. You know Kitchener Waterloo Toronto. You know basically coast to coast we have amazing universities and master's programs. Now we have master's programs intact. Like who would have thought you know. And that's producing a lot of really great talent and talent and new technology. You know like Creative Destruction Lab is producing some amazing. Startups from talent and like across the country I think we like 500 different accelerators. So amazing. So, you know and we're not a big country like in terms of number of people. And so, you know I think what makes Canada so great is we've got we've got great talent that wants to you know. Get. A break. You know. Leading edge technology to the market and there's people that are willing to help them. Right. I guess
[00:10:03] MK: How do you see programs I guess like the Female Founders. That's part of the DMZ. How do you see these? Diverse programs within the startup accelerators. Playing a huge factor in the fintech space in general.
SB: Yeah, I'm glad you kind of brought me back to that. I know you asked me the diversity question. So being a female and I'm a founder of a FinTech accelerator as opposed to a tech product company but you know kind of regardless like. Diversity whether it's in you know gender or you know you know where you were born or what language you speak or your sexual orientation like that you know. It's a huge issue. Let's just say that right. Like where there isn't enough that you can do to continue to kind of try to drive diversity. And equality. You know. Challenge right for me as a female I can say I have had. You know I often actually wear my T-shirt. Because I have had several horrible experiences in my career that and when I look at some of the people even on our own team who are you know in their early 20s it's still shocking to me that there's still stuff going on. With you know people coming out of university who probably have. You know not any real sense of how to necessarily hand themselves in a. In a tough environment and it's I think it's a big. Problem. So. Programs like. The ones at the DMZ and move the dial and Shio and all these different great programs that are trying to, and I know I'm mentioning ones that are female. But yes, that's kind of my passion. But there are so meta. And yet there are still only scratching the surface of the problem. So how many fintech. Companies are founded and led by use by female CEOs. And I unfortunately because I get asked this question all the time. You know can we can you help us find female speakers because we don't want to have less than 50 percent females worse you know are speaking at our events and it's you know it there are lots of females out there don't get me wrong there's lots of great speaking opportunities for senior executives and so on. But try to find tell me how many CEOs and founders many are not that. And that's a that's a real shame. So, a female founders program. Like awesome. We need a hundred of them
[00:12:51] MK: I agree with you. I think the upside would be that like I guess that's kind of what makes fintech such an amazing emerging space because it's because traditionally finance has been a very much an old boys club. Yes right. Old Men's Club we're just like. It's the creme de la creme your youth like my dad to run the bank for 30 years I'm going to run that kind of mentality. Yes, but thankfully with fintech. You're seeing a little bit more a shift where it's a little bit more like the market is the market and the market decides the market doesn't care if you do X Y and Z for transgendered, black whatever it doesn't matter. They don't really care if you're making amazing product and. You are providing an amazing service. That's all that really matters.
SB: And it's something that's kind of like that is such a great insight that. You know and again, a knock against the incumbents who. Have you know maybe gotten fat and happy because they were needed at a certain point in time but then they get so big that now you've got this all these things that are kind of working against you know meeting the changes in the in the in the world. Right. Whether it's changes in technology or you know demographics or whatever. And yet startups don't have any of those issues. And so, you know a startup can be much more diverse a startup can and will attract many more females or otherwise. That's a great point. And so, I think so interestingly that maybe you know some of the things we need to do is focus our efforts more at trying to build more. Diversity within our technology community because at the end of the day you know well I think there's great stuff happening as a female. I'm still often less than a third less than a quarter or sometimes even less than. 5 percent of the audience said. Many of these. You know fintech related meet ups and events and whatever. And so, we're doing we're doing better than before we were before, but we keep the foot on the gas.
[00:15:05] MK: I think it comes down to we have mediums like podcasts that we're doing right now. We have blogs. We have live events. I think. With everything with all those. I think that's going to help greatly accelerate that change. And you're going to see like whoa like programs like the female founders or like SheEO like we follow that's a kickass female CEO and like her insight there's just so much more unique than everything else and I'm yes, I can relate. I can resonate with that right. Yes, and or this certain transgendered CEO or the. CEO of X Nationality like they have such an interesting viewpoint you just like. I don't know it's like I guess people are slowly realizing that the pie is a lot bigger. Yes. And like hey everybody kind of a piece of this and. It's helping, mediums like this helped shedding light on people that you never would have thought about before. Kind of like oh crap that's how female CEOs feel. I never knew that. I never understood that. Now I can be a little more empathetic towards it because not more aware of it and we can navigate this way right.
SB: And you know one of our, at FGS has as You know and a new company. You know we're entrepreneurs we're not trying to you know kind of. Fit the norms that have been you know that are more often found in the corporate world. I don't care if my opinion isn't appropriate for you know, I mean I'm always going to be a professional. But we have to say what we think and course you know because. Because. That's that is another challenge with this whole diversity question. Like in the end I can say what I think but often you know the men in the room. Will you know do things to make us feel like we shouldn't course. And so, we need more outspoken people. On this topic. To continue to walk the streets. And. You know the reality is we do have mostly men making the decisions. Right. And mostly we put the poor white man has just been beat because it's like everybody's immediate you know scapegoat right. Oh, they're all you know wait. Old white men. And they're not. But the men male versus female. You know we're not going to really change things until we get men to say it's not OK to be complacent about the fact that you're you know your team is 95 percent. Male. It's just not right because we can give you all sorts of proof that females are just as capable just as smart just and you don't need to lift heavy boxes. Don't tell me that my physical strength isn't you know is part of the issue. It's more it's more the fact that you know men must agree and then make it and make it. A policy that. You know everyone's equal we're going to treat the people we're going to we're going to demonstrate equal you know division of opportunity just all different. Categories. Anyway. I feel like I said too much on Friday and we like this.
[00:18:23] MK: This is great because like I guess we're having to talk like how the whole talk started with like not enough people are talking about it. So, we started talking about it and now it's like oh there was that other guy if we can cover enough. So, you did talk about how it's important for entrepreneurs to speak their mind and see like issues and provoke change and be as provocative as they can to help change the tide this way or that way you do deem myself as an intrapreneur as an entrepreneur. So, I just yes. Could you explain why that is it's just important to have intrapreneurs in your organization. Yes, as it is to have entrepreneurs and organization.
SB: Yeah and I we’ll just take that completely away from the diversity question because I think. That's about you know so innovation is something that has gotten a bad rap as a way of characterizing trying to do something different in an established organization. But when you see innovation become a thing in a company it means that the company saying OK wait a second the where what got us to where we are today was great wasn't that it wasn't it wasn't you know it was great it was great. Do we've been very successful but what's going to get us from today to survive in the next 20 years is likely something different and we need to bring in people that. Are. 100 percent focused on. Thinking differently and move it because you know when you work in a corporate job for 25 years all the new stuff is in that far corner of your desk and you never get to it. And so, innovation these are entrepreneurs these corporate intrapreneurs are there to try and support the company knowing that. Technology is changing their customers’ needs are changing. You know what OK in the past was isn't ok and, in the future, and we want to work towards the future. Right. So, an entrepreneur is also like a startup entrepreneur. Right. And the entrepreneurs have to say wait a second we need to think differently, or you know start thinking about your biases or your barriers and think about how we can do this or how might we do this. So, I think that you know we do this naturally as entrepreneurs because we must survive. Right. But as entrepreneurs we need to give them more credit for they do a tough job that gets a lot of. And I don't know if I can say this but a lot of shit and a lot of kicks in the head on that you're right.
[00:21:07] MK: You know it comes down to as long as people inside companies are. Challenging I guess their CEOs or the heads of the heads of departments. I was like as long as people are understanding. What got us here is not going to take us so much stuff. Yes, because it's either you will evolve, or he dies sort of like how the right. It's like it's always it's always changing always getting better. It's like you know I could do I could do better.
SB: Things at once in a meeting like I should be change or retire. Yeah, I think that actually speaks to because you talked to a lot of fintech’s and they would say certainly the CEOs some of them will be very vocal and investors and other folks will be very vocal about the fact that you know our big banks are full of this huge layer of executives who really don't have any incentive to change course and maybe have an incentive not to change right. Because you know they're so huge and there's so many layers of them that they really can't challenge the CEO and they don't want to they're going to retire in five years. They've got big stock options on the table. They get paid you know 100 percent bonuses if they hit their financial targets which mean taking funding away from innovation and change or retire. I think you know as much as I don't necessarily support you know mass. Firings or changes I think you do. For any CEO to really be affected with innovation they need to realize that it's not just the other thing that they're trying to do. That one person is going to make somehow magically happen. It needs to be across the board across their executive team across their executive team’s executive teams you know like the 18 different layers horse and die. That is something that can only be CEO and board driven.
[00:23:04] MK: I agree with you, I love the change or retire. That's yes that's going to be a T-shirt at the end of this. I love that So. OK so what. Aside from everything we talk about what other big changes do you hope to see in the fintech space other levers other than Canadians community investors and Canadian Financial situations being a little bit looser with our wallets. Yes. What changes do you hope to see this space?
SB: seeing people take risks right. I think that is one of the things like if you look at RBC. And we don't work with them that we know their partner like beta they do very similar stuff to what we do and there's lots of that out there. So, it's great but I see them launching like RBC ventures. Now they're plunged which obviously ventures are about creating new ventures within not within. I take that back outside because they're physically outside of RBC but there are also. Products that they could probably launch inside of RBC but, yet you know kind of strangely not their products that will lead to more PC customers being able to do business. With RBC right. So, it's all in support of their goal. Now they're doing obviously reach which is an accelerator program. Those are those are risks. But. But that's the kind of stuff that we need to see happening and I don't see it necessarily as much with the other. The other big five you look at Desert and National Bank and some of the other. Smaller financial institutions and credit unions and they're doing some amazing things. But out are you know Canada is held back by the fact that the banks can still change because they are you know like collectively the ones that are you know 90 percent of the. Market. Have the power to slow some of these changes like open banking. Right. Right. I mean open banking is there are companies in Canada that can already facilitate open banking open making is already in the U.S. it's already in the U.K. you know it's it is going to make the fintech space explode. Because in theory what it does is it gives. The customer of the bank the ability to use a product that today they probably can't use or may not. Know may not be able to get access to for whatever reason. So, I mean those kinds of things I think going to see a ton more artificial intelligence-based solution. And again, to see a ton more. You know new product offerings. Outside the existing bank product offerings.
[00:25:00] MK: What advice would you give founders to help better foster positive relationships with these financial institutions
SB: Good question. I mean I think you know. I could probably talk for an hour about that because we work with a lot of founders or companies that are scaling to help them try and get you know their message clear to be able to sell to a financial institution so if you're. You know if your B2B obviously because this is probably more of a B2B conversation like you need to understand who that person is that you should be calling. You know it's funny I did a panel of you know kind of private event and I don't even remember when it was. Sometime it was called the north winds fintech blah blah something or other. Anyway, it was really great event. But. The panel was. Intact. Head of. Investments and partnerships and national banks. Had. Investments and partnerships. And both would say. Not a ton of. Canadian techs calling them. So shocking number wow. Yeah, I know I was like What the hell. Like that's not. That's. Because you hear more. Oh well you know I can't get my foot in the door. So, first. Anyone running a you know an investment fund that is looking to invest in FinTech companies or you know the partnership guys spent some time with them. Going to be careful that you're you know each organization is of a different maturity level when it comes to being able to work with a startup and unfortunately some. Some get off on the wrong foot right. Some do it. Proof of concept in their innovation lab and unfortunately their innovation isn't properly supported. Their CEO remember that like big middle and executive problem and so that PEOC never goes anywhere. But I think I think it's about just trying to understand what your product does that will help. That Financial Institution make sure that that's what you lead with instead of you. We're going to take you out of business this his or her approach whatever your product right. Because not you know. I had a boss like 20 years ago. That you know you have those bosses right in your career the ones that tell you things that you're a member. And. You said soon like they're not that smart. And I was like What are you talking about. He's like. Yeah, I mean you're presented to whatever another executive you know team the parent company and you're so perplexed why they're not getting it. And what he was saying was sometimes they just don't understand what you're telling them. So, you didn't mean like they're stupid, but he meant you know don't expect that just because you're meeting with an F SVP or the year and EVP that they have any clue what you're talking about. Right. Like you know like the need to you need to help them understand. I've built this product that will help you. You know reduce your costs or sell more or whatever it is their product does. And then go from there. That will create a much better conversation.
[00:29:28] MK: It's a lot like when if anybody has sales you learn if you can pitch to a nine-year-old and she or he or she gets it. You nailed it same mentality is that what you are telling me?
SB: I think so, but I mean I also think that You know plain language plain language but that the nine-year-old you know I think it has a master's in finance OK. No just like we're selling to your customer. Who is your target customer? How do you find them and get to them and then make yes get off on the right foot?
[00:30:01] MK: OK. So. Sue what would be I guess your golden nugget that helped you with the massive success you so far in your career. What's the one, two things that stuck out like the true stood the test of time. That helped navigate through your success through your success.
SB: mean I think one is. You know I think instincts are important right now in this fast, fast moving world we live in. So, I would I would be you know I would say follow your instincts and when you're in your corporate career or whatever like you've been working for a while and people keep telling you that they don't think your ideas are right. But you do. You're probably right. And maybe it is time for you to go find another you know another place to do your stuff. When I left my last job which I didn't necessarily feel was as. Fulfilling as it should have been after 25 years. You know this is. Like what we're doing now is exactly what I was trying to do before and it's very successful. So that takes a lot. I mean it's going to take a lot of hard work. All right. Like it's not. It is a seven day a week thing. And. In FinTech in Canada. You must be on the ground. Right. You're not going to read a report, or you know check linked in feed or whatever and really truly understand how be successful you must get out and talk to people and you know put a face to a name and spend time understanding like there's pockets there's that I call them little subcultures. There's all these little pockets of you know groups of people who have relationships have done business together before having started companies before and they're all helping each other out. And if you can. Add some value to that conversation they'll help you out of course. Like we are a very collaborative group in FinTech. And so, I'd say like you know. Commit some time and do you. Community. Service. And. Be out there trying to. Learn. And., I think that will take you much further. Than. Anything Else.
[00:32:37] MK: So, what you're saying is stop listening to podcasts like this called the set of financial institutions that help fund your dream right. More or less. Where are you. OK. Thank you so much for Taking time out your busy schedule to be a guest. This is super insightful and fun.
SB: I love the national crowdfunding and fintech association I think Craig is awesome he's done some really great things. That is a community champion if there isn't. A good model for that everybody should. He asked you to do something. Do it like it's a you guys you and Craig and others like that. We need more of these so that's why I do this because I think it's important.
MK: Ok awesome shout out to Craig Asano. Thanks so much. Some fun I hope to have you around
SB: Yes, we do. Yes. All right. Thank you so much Oprah appreciate it.
End of Podcast
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with cryptocurrency, blockchain, crowdfunding, alternative finance, fintech, P2P, ICO, STO, and online investing stakeholders globally. NCFA Canada provides education, research, industry stewardship, services, and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding and fintech industry. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: ncfacanada.org
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Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
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Nov 12, 2026 Buying a Canadian money services business starts with identifying what the buyer will acquire: a legal entity, a registration history, contracts, records and possibly an active operation. The value of that package depends on whether it supports the services the new owner intends to provide. A FINTRAC registration entry is an important starting point. It does not establish the company’s financial condition, the quality of its compliance programme or the availability of banking relationships after an acquisition. A payment business may also need a separate assessment under the Retail Payment Activities Act, or RPAA. For investors evaluating a Canadian MSB company for sale, due diligence should connect registration status, actual activities, transaction structure and financial evidence before the parties agree a completion timetable. Verify the Canadian MSB registration and legal entity Begin with the target’s exact legal name, incorporation details, registration number and current status. Match the entity in the corporate documents to the entity in FINTRAC’s Money Services Business Registry. FINTRAC explicitly states that registration does not mean it endorses or licenses a business. It also states that it does not issue licences or certificates of registration. A sales presentation using the phrase “FINTRAC licence” should ...
November 12, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Wealthtech Investing And Trading Strategy still runs a software business, but Bitcoin now dominates its assets and capital raising. MSCI no longer treats that balance as an index eligible operating company. November 11, 2026, MSCI confirmed Strategy’s removal from the MSCI USA and MSCI World indexes after the November 30 close under its new methodology for non operating companies. MSCI is one of the world’s largest index providers, and its benchmarks are followed by funds investing across global equity markets. Japan’s Metaplanet is also being removed from an MSCI index. MSCI has decided that Strategy no longer qualifies for its equity indexes because Bitcoin now dominates its assets and much of its capital raising. Strategy still sells software and reports operating revenue, but MSCI is drawing a line between a business that holds investment assets and one where those assets have become the main financial story. Why Is MSCI Removing Strategy From Its Indexes? MSCI first looked at a rule aimed specifically at digital asset treasury companies. It later dropped that proposal and change it's methodology to cover companies whose finances ...
Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
FINTECH FRIDAY$ Podcast (EP.1-Jul 20): with Samir Bandali of CoinPayments
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | July 20, 2018
Fintech Fridays Podcast ep1-Jul 20: Interview with Samir Bandali of CoinPayments
Host: Manseeb Khan, NCFA
Guest: Samir Bandali, Director of Strategic Partnerships, CoinPayments
To kickoff the first episode of our Fintech Fridays weekly podcast, our host Manseeb Khan is joined by Samir Bandli, Director of Strategic Partnerships of CoinPayments, to talk about the future of crypto from its role today and its role in the future. CoinPayments offers merchants an option to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment and currently works with over 700+ altcoins.
Join NCFA's weekly Podcast series 'FINTECH FRIDAY$' where we sit down with the incredible people in the Fintech community and talk about leading fintech products innovations developments and challenges!
Subscribe and tune in each Friday to check out the latest movers and shakers in fintech.
Listen to more Fintech Fridays podcasts here
Transcription of Interview
NCFA: Hey everyone Manseeb Khan and you are tuning into the NCFA Canada's newest podcast series called Fintech Fridays where we sit down with the incredible people in the Fin-tech community and talk about leading fintech products innovations developments and challenges. Today I'm here with Samir Bandali from CoinPayments. Samir thanks so much for being here.
CoinPayments: Thanks for having me Manseeb, I'm very excited share what we do in the world.
NCFA: Yeah before I even started I did a lot of research. Can you tell us what CoinPayments is about? The problem is trying to solve, and I guess the achievements it’s trying to make?
CoinPayments: Sure thing. CoinPayments primarily a multi-currency online wallet allowing users to store and transact with crypto currencies and allowing merchants to accept those crypto currencies for goods services CoinPayments was established in about 2013. As the first alt coin payment processor in the world is in a time when most cryptocurrency companies were focused primarily on bitcoin and our founder and CEO Alex came up with this idea to create a company that's focused on all of the tokens that were available to the market. So CoinPayments solved the problem of utility tokens not having a real-world use case. And over the past five years we've grown into one of the largest. Cryptocurrency payment processors. In the whole world. Today we support over. 535. Different digital currencies. Aligned merchants and users to store hold and use these currencies in one stop. One log international online. At this time, we have one point five million vendors worldwide. We're really starting to see that cryptocurrency is making that next move. Into a mainstream merchant adoption. And real-world utility cases. CoinPayments prides ourselves on being a coin agnostic system. Where we really focus on being.
A support platform for the entire cryptocurrency industry. Yeah 2017 was a huge year for us. We. Experienced exponential growth. Process almost 1 billion dollars in transactions a crypto currency. Things are just picking up. We created a plug in for Shopify recently. Fellow Canadian company there and we also have other plugins. WOOCommerce, OS commerce, Magento. Basically, every major e-commerce platform. In the world.
NCFA: Okay. Damn that's incredible. I'm glad you guys are providing an amazing service, so my next question would be why should merchants consider offering a Crypto payment solution?
CoinPayments: So, I think the big thing to remember here is cryptocurrency is still in the very early infancy stages. Even though bitcoin started out in 2011 we're still innovating technology every day and finding a way to maximize efficiency and really allow people to transact an international scale. So, I think what merchants have to realize when you select crypto currency as a payment option you're tapping into this entirely new market of people all around the world that are holding these coins and basically gaining this value off of this massive increase in markets and don't know what to do with or how to spend it. So if you're running a business and let's say you're making a million dollars in a year of sales realistically if you add cryptos to that maybe one or two percent well we'll start out in crypto so a majority of your business your operations will still be run with traditional fiat currency but you're just giving your users an additional option and tapping into new market so it's really just extra money and a little bit of fun because it gives you the option to speculate maybe hold on to some crypto and learn about where the future of fintech is going and inevitably one day this is going to be worth a lot more market share.
NCFA: So how many wallets do you guys currently connect to?
CoinPayments: So, as I mentioned before CoinPayments currently supports our 535 different currencies. Now a lot of those currencies are just a wallet solution for somewhere to store and for users to be able to send and receive with other like peer to peer. Our merchant API connects to just about a hundred of those currencies. So those wallets basically enable merchants to accept any of the 100 currencies support with the API. And additionally, we have a really cool feature called Pay by name. And what that does is it allows a store or a person to set up a quick nickname we call it a cash tags sign let's say Samir for myself. That immediately opens up the gateway to access all the currencies that are available in a shopping cart. So rather than providing a defense hash or wallet ID all you have to do is a dollar sign and CFA and someone can send you any of the currencies that we close for them.
NCFA: Damn, I love the sound of that and that's awesome. So, what would be the hottest crypto currencies that you are currently seeing and like the type of volumes that you're seeing.
CoinPayments: So I mean we were in a highly volatile market here so there's a flavor of the month… every day sometimes you know me recently we're part of the integration between Verge and Pornhub which were his largest porn site in the world to accept our Verge currency which is a privacy coin. We've been trying to build relationships with different communities and very close with the decred community Token pay a couple couple coins that are focusing on merchant adoption but I think we're still in a BTC dominated world in my opinion the hottest cryptocurrency will always be bitcoin because it's the only one with the true liquidity at this point I guess. And and I'd say 60 to 70 percent of our overall volume still comes in bitcoin even though we focus on all these markets so instead of us.
So how do you see Coinpayments play a role into like things like cannabis right because cannabis is just starting to get legal in Canada. It's been getting legal in a couple of states. There's definitely a being online merchants for cannabis like hemp products and all that so I guess how do you see crypto playing a role in that? So that one's actually a little bit tricky. The reason being both cannabis and cryptocurrency are very new emerging markets as far as regulatory jurisdiction. And really how authorities are going to be looking at the legalities and how it all fits in and cannabis has been obviously illegal for a long time and even that I think yesterday the government passed that bill making it legal but it's still very much a gray area. A lot of people it's it's kind of like a stigma around it. The crypocurrency is very much the same way basically your regulatory authorities haven't found a clear path as to how they want to treat cryptocurrency whether it's a currency or commodity security whatever you want to call it. So, I mean the big thing with cannabis becoming legal is tax right? and government is going to make access of this a big problem with cops right now as direction as to how taxes and cryptocurrency relate. So, I think it's probably going to be a little bit of time before we really see a true marriage between cryptocurrency and cannabis although it is inevitable down the line. I think both markets need to find clear direction and a clear path to regulatory authority before we can really merge them because at this time if you're taking one gray area into another gray area and just gets a lot darker gray. Yeah yeah.
NCFA: Very, very true as we heard the CoinPayments is currently running a airdrop campaign. You talk a little bit more about that?
CoinPayments: For sure. So, as I said that we've been around for about five years now and we have 1.5 million users worldwide and a lot of merchants who've been with us from the start and stop with us over the times as we develop all these new exciting features like pay by name and a few that I can't even name right now but are rolling out in the next few months here. We decided it will be a cool opportunity to give a little bit back to our customers who've been loyal to us for a long time and at the same time create some sort of incentive to be able to compete with all these new emerging companies trying to do the same thing that we're doing. So, we decided to do an airdrop to create our own basically native platform token and it will allow all of our users to save 50 percent on transaction fees and conversion fees. Wow. I'm transacting with that coin as well as upcoming allocations and ICOs that are using CoinPayments as the payment gateway for the platform. So, our users will now be able to participate in these projects using the CPS coin that we're dropping the airdrop is officially happening on July 1st. So, there's still time if anybody wants to get involved. You can check out more information at W W W dot CoinPayments coin dot com or just sign up for an account add. WWW.Coinpayments.net. And. You're eligible for free tokens right off the bat. Giving 100 free coins each user. Which equates to about twelve dollars in value.
NCFA: So, I guess what are future opportunities that you guys are seeing a CoinPayments like can you give me like a rough roadmap and I guess some of the challenges ahead.
CoinPayments: I know you definitely thought of it like there's some tokens you can't talk about yet although I do have a couple of things I can release to the public so I find it kind of a natural evolution in our company to start to morph towards. Not only just a wallet provider and a payment processor but it's also kind of build out an exchange and allow users to really have a one stop shop to use crypto currency in any way that they want. So are our long-term plan here is to be able to basically create an environment that allows users to converge freely between the coins that we host on our system as much as you want on a regular exchange. And also following that would be. To allow merchants. And easy fiat. Settlements option or even users an easy fiat on-boarding. So, for CoinPayments Is to truly be that place where. You can log into the site. Deposit. Some money buy some crypto. Change or for whatever other crypto you want to use. Use that crypto in the real world to buy tangible products and services and potentially cash that back out to your bank account if you're if you're wanting to do that. So, we're really working towards becoming full service one stop shop. And I think over the next three or four months we're going to roll out some features that are going to surprise a lot of people and really make us competitive with the large players in this industry like the Coinbases. What would be your top two to three golden nuggets when it comes fintech and investors and FinTech founders that are trying to build something with in Canada.
I am a huge advocate on education right now. I believe the next big jump for crypto to really start to make a dent in FinTech is truly educating people on what's cryptocurrency as how to use cryptocurrency. Like I've been involved in this space for a few years now and I can still say that well over 90 percent of my friends don't even understand what bitcoin is or the fact that you can divide a bitcoin into 100 million pieces or you can actually buy a car or a watch or a T-shirt with that question on the Internet right now. People are still in this weird phase where you're seeing mainstream media outlets extremely uneducated sharing useless facts with people and guys like Rebel CEO being like we're going to be bigger than Bitcoin. There's all this weird fud in the market and I just think that the big thing for all of us and a responsibility we have by being in this industry is to educate people and walk them through how they can be a part of this emerging cryptocurrency phenomenon.
NCFA: Yeah now that makes sense because if we want everybody to use it helps that everybody knows how to use it and when to use and where to use right and that comes with like all working together like I think the overall market share of crypto towards money is like zero point one percent on a global scale.
CoinPayments: Now as we grow there is enough room for everyone and it's definitely going to be about working together building communities. And you see that a lot of crypto each of these different projects have very active communities. People who are involved in the early days are engaged and they want to learn, and they want to spread that learning and education everybody so in any couple of years coming up a bench.
NCFA: Yeah, I think so too because like from what I'm taking away your I guess your golden nugget would be just like make sure you not only share within the community that you've built around your company but share within the complete world still community in general right. So as long as everybody kind of knows what to expect or they get they get everyone get kind of navigate within the huge crypto ship together. Right. Definitely. Awesome. Okay cool. So, wrapping up would be the best way to contact you if anybody has any questions. Would it be through Twitter, do I WhatsApp, do I Snapchat you how I would be the best way to contact you.
CoinPayments: think that I have a couple different forms of communication with the community. But the best way I get in touch with us is either through Twitter on which our handle is @Coinpayments.net. Through my email directly. PR@coinpayments.net. I'm always open for any sort of opportunities and collaboration to find synergy with other companies that have similar interests.
NCFA: Thank you so much for sitting down with me today. I mean like I'm super excited, everything that company is about to do. Becoming a full service one stop shop that should be really exciting. And yeah, I can't wait to buy socks with bitcoin that would be really awesome. That's like I'm really excited for. Oh my gosh.
CoinPayments: We've had about 300 Shopify stores sign up in the last two months since we went live with that integration. And I can tell you right I thought my I'd like at least a dozen stores where you can buy stocks right now. Actually, it runs www.alwayshodl.com. Oh good He's got some real cool crypto on merchandise and allows you to buy crypto swag with the type of crypto that it's representing. So pretty good.
NCFA: That's really it that's a really cool concept. All right well Samir thanks so much for sitting down with me. This has been super enlightening, super educational and best of luck on everything. All right thanks alot man.
CoinPayments: All right thanks alot man.
End of Podcast
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with cryptocurrency, blockchain, crowdfunding, alternative finance, fintech, P2P, ICO, STO, and online investing stakeholders globally. NCFA Canada provides education, research, industry stewardship, services, and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a strong and vibrant crowdfunding and fintech industry. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: ncfacanada.org
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Nov 12, 2026 Crypto market cap is calculated by multiplying an asset's reference price by its circulating supply. A token priced at $2 with 50 million units circulating has a market cap of $100 million. The calculation estimates the value of that supply at the reference price; it does not total the money investors deposited. To understand a change in the ranking, examine both inputs and the provider's definitions. A larger number can result from price changes, supply changes, or revised reporting. Establish what the two inputs represent The arithmetic is simple, but neither input is self-explanatory. “Price” may be a reference assembled from selected trading pairs and venues, rather than the last transaction on the exchange you use. A provider may exclude observations or convert quote currencies. Two services can publish different estimates because their source selection and methods differ. Circulating supply is an estimate of units treated as available in the market under a provider's rules. It may differ from the number minted, the total recorded by a contract, or the maximum permitted under a protocol's current design. Locked balances, treasury allocations, burns, and scheduled releases require interpretation. A transparent methodology matters because identical arithmetic can still use ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Risk Compliance And Regtech Financial firms are putting AI agents into production well before giving them broad financial authority. That creates time to set identity, permissions and transaction controls before autonomous execution becomes common. On November 11, 2026, Bank of England Financial Policy Committee external member Jonathan Hall used his final FPC speech to examine what happens when AI agents get more authority inside financial firms. A Bank of England and FCA survey of 196 firms found that 80% already deploy AI agents and another 14% plan to within 12 months. Only 2% reported agents with broad autonomy, and none of those were in trading and payments. Finance is adopting agents quickly, but firms are still keeping people and hard limits around the decisions that can change money, positions or customer outcomes. AI Agents Are In Finance But They Are Not Trading Alone The 2026 Bank of England and FCA survey separates four levels of authority: Decision support lets an agent recommend an action while a person decides and executes it. Constrained execution lets the agent act inside preset rules. Conditional autonomy ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Entrepreneurs Startups Small Businesses, Equity Crowdfunding And Alternative Funding A small group of large rounds is carrying Canadian venture totals while deal count and growth stage financing remain well below recent norms. On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association published its Q3 2026 venture capital report. Canadian companies raised $4.3 billion across 397 deals through September, only 1% less capital than a year earlier. But 23 rounds of $50 million or more represented just 6% of disclosed deals and absorbed 58% of all venture capital invested. Deal count has also fallen every year since 2021. The national total is holding up far better than the number of companies getting financed. Six Big Rounds Carried 59% Of Q3 Venture Capital Q3 produced $1.35 billion across 129 deals. Capital was 1% higher than Q2, but deal count fell 15%. Six rounds above $50 million accounted for $793 million, or 59% of the quarter’s capital. That's a decent quarter for the companies that closed those rounds, but a weak quarter for everyone else. Mega rounds above $50 million totalled $2.5 billion across 23 transactions ...
November 11, 2026 | NCFA Story Intelligence | Competition And Market Structure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy Canada is cutting bank fees and switching barriers after years of weak competition, high concentration and poor productivity. On November 7, 2026, the federal government proposed something Canadian investors have complained about for years. Banks would no longer be allowed to charge most investment account transfer fees, which typically cost about $150 per account. Ottawa also wants clearer transfer information and tighter timelines for moving investments to another financial institution. The fee matters because leaving can already be slow and frustrating. Receiving firms often reimburse the outgoing charge to win the account. That means a fee collected by the institution losing the customer can become part of the acquisition cost for the institution trying to win that customer. Canada's six largest banks hold roughly 93% of banking assets. The Competition Bureau was warning about barriers facing fintech competitors in 2017. Ottawa began reviewing open banking in 2018. A federal advisory committee later recommended an operating system by January 2023 and warned that government should not delay. January 2023 came and went. Real Time Rail also slipped years beyond its first expected ...
November 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Regulation And Policy Funds, Collateral And Settlement Lead Canada’s Near Term Tokenization Opportunity On November 10, 2026, the Canadian Securities Administrators published its Project Tokenization Phase 1 findings, setting out where Canadian market participants see the strongest commercial opportunities for tokenization and what regulators plan to test next. The report draws on 233 organizations, 21 bilateral meetings and 80 survey responses, along with workshops attended by 281 people in Calgary and 491 in Toronto. Participants put investment funds, private assets, collateral, treasury and settlement infrastructure ahead of public stocks as the strongest near term opportunities. The report also cuts through one of tokenization’s biggest sales pitches. Blockchain can change how an asset is recorded, transferred or settled, but it doesn't automatically create liquidity, investor demand, broader eligibility or stronger ownership rights. Those outcomes still depend on the product, market, legal structure and infrastructure around it. The CSA now plans to take specific projects into Phase 2 through a 120 day public call for proposals. Firms may be able to use existing regulatory processes, tailored regulatory treatment or bounded testing in a ...
Nov 11, 2026 A positive work environment is key for any team that wants to succeed. Team morale is crucial for productivity, motivation, and job satisfaction. Engaging in activities that lift spirits and strengthen connections can lead to great results. Creating a positive team environment requires creativity, engagement, and some fun. Each activity can strengthen connections, boost motivation, and improve workplace dynamics. When teams focus on strategies to boost morale, they work toward shared success. These activities can lead to lasting memories and help build a stronger team culture. Here are some fun strategies to help improve your team's morale and make the workplace livelier. Fun at the Arcade Visiting an arcade spot is a great way to enjoy time together and build teamwork. Imagine your team facing challenges with various games. Whether it's racing or playing team games, the arcade encourages friendly competition and bonding. These fun experiences can help reduce stress and improve relationships among coworkers. Arcades offer many options to suit diverse interests and skill levels. The lively atmosphere invites everyone to relax and take a break from their daily tasks. Shared laughter and enjoyment can lead to better communication and teamwork when you return to the ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Fundraising, Investing, Trading, Leadership, Competition, Human Capital, Health A Brokerage Race Beyond $0 Commissions On November 10, 2026, Webull Canada added Nasdaq Basic Canada, giving clients free real time Level 1 quote and trade data across Canadian listed equities. The feed provides best bid, best offer and last sale information for stocks listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, CSE and Cboe Canada. Nasdaq says its consolidated feed can reduce Level 1 market data costs by more than 60% compared with traditional Canadian data packages. Webull isn't first to give Canadian investors free real time information. The more interesting story is how quickly another paid feature is becoming part of the basic brokerage account. Wealthsimple helped normalize $0 trading in 2019, Questrade followed in 2025 and Webull dropped its own commissions in April 2026. With the headline trading fee largely gone, brokers now need other reasons for investors to move money and keep it on the platform. Who Led Canada’s Race To $0 Trading And Free Market Data Wealthsimple Trade launched nationally on March 13, 2019 with $0 commissions on Canadian and U.S. stocks and ETFs. Questrade removed commissions on listed stocks and ETFs ...
November 10, 2026 | Market Activity | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding A Toronto Fintech Riskfuel Analytics Brings AI Pricing Into BBVA’s Global Markets Workflow On November 10, 2026, BBVA deployed Riskfuel Analytics' neural pricing technology inside the pre-trade structuring workflow for autocallable products on its ePricer platform. Riskfuel is a Toronto fintech founded in 2019 that builds AI models for derivatives pricing. BBVA is a global bank with a large corporate and investment banking business. The deployment puts Canadian built AI directly into the calculations used to design complex structured products at a major global bank. Riskfuel's model is trained on BBVA's own pricing engine and uses more than 4,000 market and product inputs. The company says the surrogate was tested against more than 100,000 trades and can evaluate thousands of candidate structures in under a minute. BBVA had already added AI generated investment ideas to ePricer in September. Riskfuel goes further into the workflow by speeding up the numerical pricing work while BBVA's own model remains the reference. How Riskfuel Speeds Up BBVA's Autocallable Pricing Autocallables can depend on volatility, interest rates, dividends, maturity, coupon levels and several barrier conditions. Autocallables are structured investments ...
