Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Fundraising, Investing, Trading
OpenAI Revenue Surpasses US $20B, Raising Fintech Stakes
AI | January 20, 2026
Image: Freepik
Scale, Pricing Power, and Control Over AI Costs Are Tightening for Fintech Firms
On January 19, 2026 via Reuters, OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar confirmed that its annualized revenue exceeded US $20B in 2025. Reported figures show revenue was $6B in 2024 and about $2B in 2023, meaning revenue more than tripled this past year alone, mirroring the scale of paid demand for OpenAI services.
See: OpenAI And Intuit Add AI Tools To Tax And Business Apps
Annualized revenue describes what a company would generate over twelve months if current sales levels stayed constant, and is a widely measure to assess momentum in subscription and usage-based businesses. For OpenAI, the number reflects sustained growth in paid ChatGPT subscriptions, enterprise contracts, and API usage across multiple industries.
Scale Now Sets The Rules
OpenAI’s revenue growth closely follows its infrastructure expansion. Reuters reports that the company increased its computing capacity from roughly 0.6 gigawatts in 2024 to about 1.9 gigawatts in 2025, nearly tripling in one year. That level of scale requires access to capital, power, chips, and long-term supplier agreements that only a handful of firms can sustain.
As scale increases, it begins to set the rules of the market.
Infrastructure capacity now determines who can offer AI services at competitive prices, who can guarantee availability during peak demand, and who can absorb cost volatility without disrupting customers. Performance expectations increasingly reflect what the largest providers can deliver, not what smaller firms can economically support.
Where Pressure is Felt First
This trajectory does not mean startups disappear overnight, but it raises the survival bar.
Startups that rely on thin margins face the earliest pressure. This includes companies that resell model access, wrap generic AI features into existing products, or compete primarily on convenience rather than control over data or distribution. As OpenAI captures more value directly through subscriptions, enterprise contracts, and advertising, profit margins for intermediaries narrows.
See: OpenAI Launches AI Jobs Platform to Rival LinkedIn
The pressure shows up first in functions that scale with usage rather than revenue, such as customer support automation, fraud monitoring, transaction screening, onboarding workflows, and real time decisioning. In these areas, AI costs rise with activity even when revenue does not.
By contrast, startups with proprietary data, embedded customer relationships, or regulated market access retain leverage. The dividing line is no longer access to AI. It is control over economics, customers, and accountability.
Implications For Canadian Fintechs
AI pricing is typically usage based. As fintech products scale, AI expenses scale with them, often faster and with less predictability than revenue. This creates margin pressure, particularly in Canada where fintechs operate with smaller domestic scale, tighter capital markets, and higher regulatory expectations. What appears manageable during early deployment can become material at scale.
In regulated financial services, vendor dependency becomes operational risk, and operational risk becomes regulatory exposure.
There is also a governance reality. When AI influences credit decisions, disclosures, complaints, or customer outcomes, fintechs remain fully accountable even when they do not control model behaviour, pricing changes, or service limits.
See: OpenAI Secures $40B – What It Means for Canada
Pricing power in AI is concentrating upstream. Intelligence is becoming a metered utility controlled by a small number of providers with the capital and infrastructure to set terms. Large global firms can absorb cost swings, negotiate volume discounts, and manage vendor risk across portfolios. Many Canadian fintechs cannot.
The strategic question is not whether to use AI, but how tightly to bind core operations to any single supplier. Fintechs that preserve provider flexibility, constrain AI use to high impact functions, and tie spending directly to measurable outcomes retain an advantage (for now). Those that treat AI as an invisible background feature risk discovering too late that it has become a fixed dependency with variable costs.
Closing Perspective
OpenAI’s $20B annualized revenue growth is about market structure limits. Scale now determines who sets prices, who absorbs volatility, and who carries risk. For Canadian fintech, AI decisions now belong alongside cloud infrastructure, payments rails, and core systems as board level considerations.The firms that stay competitive will be the ones that manage AI like any other core cost, with clear oversight and control.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Davos 2026 In A More Competitive and Risky World
Davos | Jan 19, 2026
Image: Current Global Risk Landscape (WEF 2026 Global Risks Report)
What Global Risk, Trade Tension, and Capital Uncertainty Mean for Canada
From January 19 to 23, 2026, global leaders are gathering in Davos, Klosters for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, one of the few global forums where heads of government, central bankers, investors, and business leaders meet in the same place to discuss economic risk, trade, and long term stability. This year’s theme is "A Spirit of Dialogue", to address growing concerns that cooperation is weakening as global risks are becoming harder to manage.
Ahead of Davos, the World Economic Forum released its Global Risks Report 2026 (102 page PDF) based on its Global Risks Perception Survey of more than 1,300 experts across government, business, academia, and civil society worldwide. Participants were asked to rank the risks most likely to trigger a global crisis in the short term, as well as the most severe risks over longer time horizons.
What The Global Risks Report 2026 Shows Clearly
The report identifies "geoeconomic confrontation" as the top risk most likely to trigger a material global crisis in 2026. 18% of survey respondents ranked it first, moving it ahead of state based armed conflict for the first time. The report defines geoeconomic confrontation as the deliberate use of tariffs, sanctions, export controls, investment screening, subsidies, capital restrictions, and technology controls to advance national interests, rather than as temporary trade friction.
See: How Competition Powers Canada’s Economic Growth
The report frames the current period as an age of competition, where economic tools increasingly replace diplomacy. It also shows that confidence in multilateral systems is weakening.
68% of respondents expecting a more fragmented global order, where countries manage multiple regional relationships instead of relying on a single rules based framework.
Economic risks remain elevated. An economic downturn ranks 6th among global risks for 2026, reflecting concerns tied to trade fragmentation, high debt levels, and asset price vulnerability. The report doesn't predict a specific recession size, but it highlights how shocks can spread faster in a highly interconnected financial system.
The report also quantifies risks tied to trust and technology. Misinformation and disinformation rank 5th, driven by faster and more scalable digital amplification. Cyber insecurity ranks 9th, while adverse outcomes of AI technologies enter the top ten for the first time, reflecting concerns around misuse, governance gaps, and longer term economic and security effects. Importantly, the report shows AI related risks increasing significantly over the ten year horizon, as leaders view AI as a structural risk that compounds other pressures rather than a short term crisis trigger.
Why Global Risks Matters For Canada At Davos
Canada doesn't set global rules on its own, but it is deeply affected by how those rules evolve. The Global Risks Report makes clear that mid sized, trade dependent economies face higher exposure when economic pressure becomes a primary policy tool.
Market behaviour already price this sensitivity. Canadian equity markets have shown quick reactions to renewed tariff threats and trade policy signals, reinforcing how closely capital pricing tracks global risk narratives. This volatility isn't driven by domestic structural gaps alone, but by uncertainty in the global trade environment.
See: Global Rules Now Count Intangibles. So Can Canada
In Canada, business leaders are already feeling the pressures Davos is wrestling with. In the Bank of Canada Business Outlook Survey for the fourth quarter of 2025, firms report subdued sentiment and weak recent sales growth, and many point to trade tension and uncertainty as key reasons they stay cautious on hiring and investment. Some exporters also report that they are working harder to sell into markets outside the United States, which fits a broader push toward diversification as global risk rises.
For Canada, the forum offers a place to engage with partners, investors, and institutions that are reassessing risk, diversification, and resilience at the same time. In a world where geoeconomic confrontation leads the risk rankings, visibility and credibility matter.
Fintech Implications
The risks highlighted in the Global Risks Report translate into practical considerations for Canada’s fintech and innovation ecosystem.
First, trade concentration is a measurable risk.
When tariffs, sanctions, and investment controls rise, companies with narrow market exposure face greater volatility. Diversifying customers, partners, and capital sources becomes a defensive strategy, not just a growth choice.
Second, capital follows predictability. The report links economic downturn risk to policy uncertainty and fragmented governance. Investors respond by adjusting risk premiums, which affects valuations, fundraising timelines, and exit options, particularly for scale ups.
See: AI Immerses Youth Today And The Real Question Of Protection
Third, technology risk is contextual, meaning technology itself isn't the main risk. The risk comes from how it is used, governed, and trusted, especially when economic and political tensions are already high. The report doesn't treat AI or digital systems as isolated threats. Instead, it positions them as amplifiers that can worsen misinformation, cyber exposure, and economic disruption if governance and trust break down. For Canadian firms competing globally, credibility around security, governance, and responsible deployment increasingly affects whether they win customers and attract capital.
Outlook
Trade, finance, and technology are now at the center of geopolitical strategy, with direct consequences for businesses and investors. Canada’s fintech ecosystem should plan for sustained volatility. Growth strategies built on stable trade assumptions face higher risk. Founders and investors who understand these quantified global risks will be better positioned to manage exposure, attract capital, and compete responsibly in a more uncertain global economy.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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NCFA Weekly Fintech Intelligence Jan 10-16, 2026
January 16, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer Weekly Intelligence | Regulation And Policy, Payments And Market Infrastructure, Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization
Image: Freepik
This live weekly NCFA intelligence page tracks financial technology developments that significantly affect how fintechs build, sell, raise capital, and operate under scrutiny. Coverage prioritizes Canada and includes global events that directly influence competitive conditions, market access, and execution realities across fintech sectors. This page will be updated throughout the week with market movers in a live format and then each week we'll close the prior week's contents in prep for the upcoming week, and continue on a rolling basis. (Missed prior week's Fintech Whisperer? (December 6-12, 2025, December 13-19, 2025, January 1-9, 2026)
Weekly Fintech Market Intelligence Jan 10-16, 2026
Regulatory, Policy And Market Structure
Top Central Banks Step Up Cross Border Payments Testing Under BIS Project Agora
Jan 14, Global
- The Bank for International Settlements leads Project Agora and moves into a new user testing phase with more than 40 major commercial banks involved.
- Participating central banks include the United States, Europe, Korea, Mexico, and Japan, with a focus on fixing slow and costly cross border payments built on correspondent banking.
- The work targets wholesale interbank payments and explores tokenized deposits alongside central bank money, with testing outcomes set to inform next steps.
Cross border payments still break down in the same places. Too many handoffs, too much reconciliation, and too much time and cost hiding in the middle. When central banks and major banks test a shared settlement model together, they start setting expectations for speed, data standards, and risk controls. Fintechs that sell treasury, compliance, and payment operations tooling should prepare for buyers that demand cleaner audit trails and tighter settlement logic as the new baseline.
Competition Bureau Launches Study On SME Financing Competition
Jan 13, Canada
- The Competition Bureau launches a market study into competition in financing for small and medium sized enterprises.
- The study examines lending costs, market concentration, switching barriers, and the role of banks and alternative lenders.
- Final terms of reference confirm the Bureau will assess structural market dynamics rather than firm specific conduct.
This places SME lending market structure under direct policy scrutiny rather than access narratives alone. For fintech lenders, the signal favours models that reduce switching friction, improve transparency, or introduce credible competitive pressure. For incumbents, the risk sits in policy driven changes that reshape pricing power and distribution over time.
Digital Assets, Blockchain And Tokenization
US Senate Delays Digital Asset Market Clarity Act After Industry Pushback
Jan 15, United States
- The US Senate Banking Committee delays markup of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act after Coinbase withdraws support over provisions affecting stablecoin interest and incentives.
- The delay pushes committee action into February and reopens negotiations around oversight boundaries and permissible product structures.
- The episode highlights continued uncertainty for exchanges, stablecoin issuers, and custody providers planning regulated digital asset offerings.
Crypto and stablecoin distribution is tied to unresolved legislative design choices rather than settled rules. Platforms planning to scale under supervision must design operating models that handle changes in incentive treatment, oversight jurisdiction, and compliance expectations without disrupting delivery. Capital and distribution advantage increasingly favour teams that can adapt quickly as market structure rules evolve. US Crypto Week to Impact Global Policy
FCA Runs Stablecoin Sprint On Retail Payments And Remittances
Jan 15, United Kingdom
- The FCA opens applications for a Stablecoin Sprint and sets an application close date of Feb 4, 2026.
- The sprint runs Mar 4 to Mar 5, 2026 in person at FCA offices and focuses on stablecoin use cases in retail payments and remittances.
- The FCA also schedules a separate trade payments roundtable for May 2026.
The UK is putting stablecoin payments into hands on market design, not only policy debate. Builders that want UK distribution should treat this as a signal to get practical fast on consumer protection, complaint handling, safeguarding, and settlement controls. The teams that show working flows, clean reporting, and clear accountability win mindshare early and they tend to shape what becomes normal later.
US Lawmakers Advance Digital Asset Market Clarity Act
Jan 13, United States
- US lawmakers move forward legislation aimed at defining regulatory boundaries across crypto markets under the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act.
- The bill focuses on clarifying oversight responsibilities and market conduct expectations for digital asset platforms, intermediaries, and issuers.
- Legislative activity in early 2026 keeps execution risk active for exchanges, custody providers, and financial institutions planning regulated digital asset products.
Clear rules increasingly define who can scale in crypto and stablecoin markets. Platforms that rely on regulatory ambiguity face shrinking room to operate, while firms built for supervision gain an advantage. Founders should plan for explicit role separation, auditable controls, and regulator ready operating models across exchanges, custody, and wallets. Investors should expect value to concentrate in businesses that can grow inside defined rules without slowing product execution.
Supporting links:
Congressional Research Service overview
France AMF Warns Some Crypto Firms Stay Silent On MiCA Authorisation
Jan 13, France
- Reuters reports AMF officials say roughly 90 crypto firms operate in France without an EU MiCA authorisation and about a third have not told the regulator whether they plan to apply.
- AMF explains the MiCA framework and the transition timeline, including that firms need MiCA authorisation to continue offering services after the transition period ends. Read the AMF MiCA framework overview
- AMF states that from July 1, 2026, service providers must obtain MiCA authorisation to keep offering their services, including to investors in France. Read the AMF MiCA timetable note
MiCA turns EU market access into a deadline with real exit risk. Crypto firms that sell into Europe now need licensing readiness and an orderly wind down plan partners can accept, because regulators are already mapping who intends to comply and who intends to leave.
Bakkt Agrees To Acquire Distributed Technologies Research
Jan 12, United States
- Bakkt announces an agreement to acquire Distributed Technologies Research, a firm focused on stablecoin and digital asset settlement technology.
- The acquisition brings key settlement and ledger capabilities inside Bakkt’s operating stack as it prepares to expand regulated banking and payments offerings.
- Bakkt positions the deal as supporting near term execution across treasury, payments, and digital asset services.
Stablecoin settlement is turning into a control point, not a feature. When a platform owns more of the settlement stack, it can ship faster, price tighter, and negotiate from strength with banks and distribution partners. Founders should treat integration readiness, reconciliation, and audit grade controls as table stakes. Investors should expect the best outcomes to cluster around teams that control settlement plus compliance plus distribution.
Conclusion
Legislative work in the United States and platform moves to control settlement and compliance show where the market is heading, and growth will favour firms that can run clean operations, manage risk inside regulated environments, and still move fast. Investors should focus on teams that can scale without relying on regulatory gaps or temporary structures. NCFA offers various curated resources to help founders and investors stay current on developments that impact fintech markets, subscribe to NCFA’s weekly newsletter, view a rundown of current fintech news and insights, or dive into the latest fintech industry research.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Portage Takes Point72 Fintech Portfolio Secondary Deal
Fintech in Canada | January 15, 2026
A $280M Continuation Fund Supports Fintechs Staying Private Longer
In January 2026, Portage confirmed it will manage select Point72 Ventures fintech assets through a US$280 million continuation vehicle and will become the general partner of the fund. This is Portage’s first large scale move into secondaries and supports how private fintech ownership increasingly changes hands without relying on IPOs or acquisitions.
The vehicle holds stakes in roughly 40 private fintech companies, many of which are described as relatively mature and closer to potential exits. The fund is backed by Goldman Sachs Asset Management alongside Portage and additional investors, and includes a separate services arrangement under which Portage will oversee other Point72 fintech assets not transferred into the continuation vehicle.
See: Tokenized Infrastructure Is Changing How Markets Operate
As part of the deal, Tripp Shriner (previously a partner at Point72 Ventures) joins Portage as a general partner to help lead portfolio oversight and integration, while Point72 retains a 40% ownership stake in the continuation vehicle. The retained stake signals that the deal is about portfolio rebalancing and not an exit from fintech exposure.
Adam Felesky, Portage Chief Executive said:
“This transaction underscores our confidence in the strength of this fintech portfolio and the potential synergies with Portage’s existing investments. Moreover, we think our value creation expertise will be a huge asset to these fintech companies as they continue to grow.”
Portage Scale as Major Canadian Fintech Investor
Portage operates as a global fintech focused investment platform with more than US$5.7 billion in assets under management across over 115 portfolio companies, investing across venture, growth, and later stage financial services businesses spanning Canada, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
One of Portage’s most prominent Canadian fintech investments is Wealthsimple, which reached a US$10 billion valuation following a US$750 million equity and secondary financing round, detailed in NCFA’s coverage of Wealthsimple’s recent growth financing. That round reinforced how large private fintechs increasingly use secondary liquidity instead of rushing toward public listings. Portage has backed several other Canadian fintechs such as KOHO, extending its involvement beyond wealth management into consumer focused financial services.
Why Secondaries Matter In Fintech
Secondaries allow existing ownership stakes in private companies or funds to change hands without new shares being issued (see overview of private equity secondary markets). They typically take two forms. LP led secondaries involve investors selling their fund interests to manage exposure or free capital. GP led transactions, often structured as continuation vehicles, involve moving specific portfolio assets into a new fund so they can be held longer under revised terms.
See: How Fintechs Are Unlocking Value in Private Markets 2024
Continuation vehicles have become more common as fintech companies stay private longer and early investors seek liquidity without forcing exits. In a GP led structure, the portfolio remains intact, management continuity is preserved, and new investors can enter at a later stage while existing investors choose whether to roll their stakes forward or sell.
In this case, the continuation vehicle allows Point72 to rebalance capital toward other sectors while retaining a 40% economic stake in the fintech portfolio, and gives Portage responsibility for managing the assets through their next phase of ownership rather than pushing for near term public listings.
Outlook
This deal shows that liquidity in fintech no longer depends on IPO timing alone and reflects how fintech financing in Canada is moving beyond early stage venture cycles. Ownership can change while companies stay private and focused. Portage managing a global continuation vehicle shows that Canadian investment platforms can handle complex private market deals and support growth and ownership staying anchored at home.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Ontario Court Orders Binance To Pay Investor Legal Costs
Crypto | Jan 15, 2026
Image: Freepik/fabrikasimf
Ontario Court Orders Binance to Pay $261,900 For Abusive Offshore Arbitration Bid Against Class Action Plaintiffs
On January 9, 2026, the Ontario Superior Court ordered Binance to pay $261,900 in legal costs after finding that its attempt to force a Hong Kong arbitration was abusive and aimed at intimidating Canadian investors. The ruling issued in Lochan v. Binance Holdings Limited, 2026 ONSC 194 didn't decide whether Binance ultimately violated securities law, but it delivered a clear rebuke of litigation tactics designed to undermine a certified Canadian class action.
Background on the Case
The case was brought by Christopher Lochan and Jeremy Leeder, two Canadian investors acting as representative plaintiffs on behalf of other Canadians who used Binance’s platform. They allege that Binance allowed Canadians to trade crypto products that fall under Ontario securities law without registering or providing a compliant prospectus, contrary to the Ontario Securities Act.
NCFA first covered the lawsuit when Canadian investors led a class action against Binance Canada, highlighting why the case raised broader questions about how crypto platforms operate in Canada. The Ontario court later certified the case as a class action in 2024, allowing it to proceed on behalf of affected users rather than as individual claims.
Binance attempted to block the lawsuit by relying on an arbitration clause in its standard user agreement that required disputes to be resolved in Hong Kong. Ontario courts rejected that strategy. In 2023, the court found the clause unenforceable, concluding that the cost and structure of the arbitration process would make it unrealistic for ordinary Canadians to pursue claims and would place Binance beyond the reach of Canadian courts.
NCFA later examined this turning point in Ontario court blocks Binance’s costly arbitration clause. Those findings were upheld on appeal, confirming that the arbitration clause was void as contrary to public policy.
Why The Hong Kong Arbitration Crossed A Line
Despite those rulings, Binance later began arbitration proceedings in Hong Kong through a related offshore entity. That arbitration targeted Lochan and Leeder personally and claimed they breached their contract simply by starting the Ontario lawsuit.
The court found that the offshore entity was an alter ego of Binance and that the arbitration was a direct attempt to sidestep earlier Ontario decisions. In 2025, Justice Morgan issued an anti-suit injunction restricting Binance and its affiliates from continuing the Hong Kong arbitration.
As Justice Morgan put it,
“That approach by the Defendants appeared to me to have been aimed not at building a meritorious argument, but at, frankly, scaring the Plaintiffs away from their claim.”
Why The Court Imposed Substantial Costs
In January 2026, the court said Binance’s conduct crossed a line. The judge found that the company used litigation tactics that were abusive and unfair, and that they exposed the representative plaintiffs to personal financial risk simply for bringing a certified class action on behalf of other Canadians.
See: Trump Issues Binance Founder CZ Full Unconditional Pardon
Although the court hearing itself was brief, the judge made clear that the work behind it was not. The plaintiffs had to respond quickly to a complicated cross-border legal move that threatened to derail a case the court had already approved to proceed. Because of that effort, the court ordered Binance to pay $261,900 to cover the plaintiffs’ legal costs.
Conclusion
The Ontario court's decision draws a clear line for global fintech and crypto platforms operating in Canada. Once a Canadian court takes jurisdiction, companies are expected to deal with the case directly and in good faith. Contract clauses and offshore tactics cannot be used to pressure individual plaintiffs or shut down class actions.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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[TCS Webinar Jan 28, 2026]: How Canadian Companies Can Choose New Export Markets
Exporting | Webinar | January 14, 2026
Image: Freepik/Rawpixel.com
A Practical Webinar On Reducing Risk and Selecting Markets With Confidence
Many Canadian companies still operate only in their domestic market or to a narrow set of export markets. That limited exposure becomes a problem when trade rules change, demand softens, or geopolitical risk rises like the current trade environment Canada finds itself in.
See: Canadian export resources
On January 28, 2026, Canada's Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) is hosting a webinar for founders and operators called 'Trade diversification: how to select a new market" to better understand the key decisions they must face to determine where to export their business internationally. The session aligns closely with NCFA's community and the hope is that founders will approach choices with more discipline than pure instinct.
Event Overview
Host: Trade Commissioner Service in partnership with the Forum for International Trade Training
Date/Time: January 28, 2026 at 1:00 PM EDT (60 minutes)
Format: Online via Webex
Description: The session introduces a structured approach to evaluating and selecting new international markets based on opportunity, fit, and risk. The webinar also features insights from Chief Trade Commissioner Sara Wilshaw on how Canadian companies can use Trade Commissioner Service support when entering or scaling in foreign markets. The webinar is designed for Canadian companies of all sizes and across all sectors that want to expand internationally, explore new export markets, or strengthen their global growth strategy through diversification. It is relevant for first time exporters as well as firms already active abroad that are reassessing their market mix.
What To Expect
The discussion explains why diversification matters now and how it helps reduce long term business risk.
A certified FITT expert walks through a clear step by step method for choosing the right market.
Canadian exporters share lessons from real expansion efforts including what worked and what they would change.
See: Canada Expanding Economic Ties With UAE India And Africa
The session also explains how the Trade Commissioner Service supports companies with market intelligence, local connections, and on the ground insight.
A live Q and A allows participants to ask questions tied directly to their export plans.
Free Registration
Registration closes January 27, 2026. REGISTER HERE before registration closes on Jan 27, 2026. For questions, participants should contact the Trade Commissioner Service directly at tcs-sdc@international.gc.ca.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Slate Raises $1.3M for Embedded Lending in Canada
Financing | January 14, 2026
Image: Unsplash/Ivan Shilov
Embedded Lending Moves Into Business Software Platforms
In the first week of January 2026, Toronto based fintech Slate announced a $1.3M CAD pre-seed funding round to accelerate the rollout of its embedded lending infrastructure for Canadian platforms. Slate co-founder and CEO Scott Elliot confirmed the round in a public post on LinkedIn.
Slate says its platform is designed to address a recurring problem facing small-and-medium-sized businesses across Canada. Access to capital often fails to align with how businesses operate day to day, especially when they rely on vertical software platforms, marketplaces, or payment providers to run core operations. Instead of launching another standalone lender, Slate is taking an embedded finance approach by integrating lending products inside the platforms businesses already use.
See: Embedded Finance: Banking Meets the Customer
Slate handles the full lending stack behind the scenes, including underwriting, AI-powered risk analysis, compliance, servicing, and capital markets operations so platforms can launch financing programs without building or managing lending infrastructure themselves.
Why Embedded Lending Fits Canadian Platforms
This infrastructure first approach reflects is a wide trend already visible across Canada’s fintech ecosystem. NCFA tracks similar models where financial services move directly into operational software, such as VoPay launches VoPay360 to deliver API first embedded financial tech solutlions across industries and Nmbr raises $7.6M to embed payroll directly inside Canadian business platforms to name just a couple. In each case, finance integrates into existing workflows rather than forcing businesses to adopt separate tools.
Slate positions its infrastructure for marketplaces, vertical SaaS platforms, and payment providers that want to offer financing but do not want to build lending operations internally. Slate says it aims to make financing available quickly and transparently while reducing friction for platforms and end users.
The company names N49P and North Exit Ventures as backers. Elliot also thanks Wealthsimple chief compliance officer Hanna Zaidi for early support in an advisory role, as stated in the founder announcement.
Slate positions its security and compliance to meet Canadian expectations, and says it protects data while it moves and while it's stored, and follows Canadian privacy and anti-money laundering rules.
See: Walnut Insurance Raises $4.6M for Embedded Tech Expansion
The embedded finance model also puts attention on a core question for founders, platforms, and policymakers. Who holds responsibility for compliance, risk, and customer outcomes when platforms deliver capital inside their software experiences? Put differently,who's responsible when regulated activity happens inside a non-regulated platform.
Also worth noting, Square launched an embedded lending product in Canada via Square Loans in April 2022, which offers financing directly inside its payments and commerce platform. While Square hasn't published Canada specific performance data, its presence shows how embedded lending can scale when capital is delivered through software businesses already rely on. Slate is taking a different path by building lending infrastructure for platforms rather than offering financing through a single ecosystem.
Why It Matters
Embedded finance continues to progress from concept to infrastructure. Slate represents a growing class of infrastructure companies that focus on enabling platforms rather than building end consumer brands. Embedded lending, when delivered through the software businesses already rely on.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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