Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Innovation and Resources
Flinks Expands Banking Development and Managed Services
October 15, 2026 | Market Activity | Banking Infrastructure, Embedded Finance, Open Banking and Consumer-Driven Finance
Flinks Launches Banking Development and Managed Services to Expand Embedded Finance
On October 15, 2026, Toronto fintech Flinks launched Professional Services and Managed Services to help banks and fintechs develop financial products and operate the technology supporting them. The expansion takes Flinks beyond financial data connectivity into building and maintaining banking capabilities, including payment integrations, account switching and embedded financial services.
Majority owned by National Bank of Canada, Flinks reports connectivity to more than 15,000 financial institutions and serves clients including EQ Bank, National Bank and Wealthsimple. The new offerings formalize work Flinks has already performed for institutional customers, combining project development with ongoing responsibility for integrations, technical support and service operations.
How Payment APIs Could Help a Canadian Bank Win Deposits
In an October 15 company article, Flinks Chief Revenue Officer Eddie Beqaj describes a project involving an unnamed Canadian bank and one of its business customers. The bank already supports account transfers, bill payments and Interac e-Transfer through its APIs. Its customer operates a software platform that collects payments from many organizations, but the money arrives through different channels, making it difficult to match payments with invoices.
The bank wants to connect those payment services directly to the customer's software so collections can flow through one banking relationship. That would simplify reconciliation for the customer while giving the bank an opportunity to attract and retain substantial commercial deposits. The payment technology already exists. Flinks' role is to make it work inside software the bank doesn't control.
Flinks says it completed a paid discovery phase and assigned a team to develop the integration. Its commercial value will depend on whether the software customer directs meaningful payment activity and balances through the bank.
There is a useful Canadian comparison. Dream Payments embedded payment capabilities into business software using J.P. Morgan's banking infrastructure. Dream provides payment execution and related controls within software applications. Flinks is helping a bank connect its existing payment services to a commercial customer's platform. Both approaches bring banking functions into applications businesses already use, although they serve different objectives.
Flinks Wants the Development Contract and the Operating Relationship
Professional Services covers the work required to turn a banking capability into a product customers can use. Flinks helps define the business case, designs the integration and supplies developers to build it. The company incorporates security and regulatory requirements during development rather than leaving them until implementation.
See: Canada Open Banking Commercialization Roadmap
Managed Services covers the work that follows launch, including partner onboarding, accreditation, consent management, technical support and service commitments. Flinks has brought its existing Flinks Outbound infrastructure into this offering. Institutions sharing financial data with external providers can use Flinks to manage those connections instead of maintaining separate integrations and operating relationships with every recipient.
Client requests helped drive the decision to formalize the services. Eddie Beqaj, Chief Revenue Officer, Flinks:
"Our clients kept bringing us ideas that weren't on anyone's roadmap, including ours."
Beqaj also cites work with a major Canadian bank to transfer customers' Interac e-Transfer contacts and bill payees when they switch accounts. Preserving those payment arrangements removes a practical obstacle to changing banks, particularly for customers with recurring payments and established recipients. The example connects to a larger question explored in NCFA's open banking intelligence hub. How can financial data portability lead to easier account switching and greater competition when customers still have to move their payment relationships?
Talking Point
Flinks is moving beyond banking connectivity to build and operate financial services for its clients. The opportunity is to turn custom bank projects into lasting customer relationships, but the real measure will be whether Flinks can reuse its technology across clients without repeatedly rebuilding the same integrations.
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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Ramp Hits US$60B as Canadian Fintech Competition Grows
October 15, 2026 | Insight | Fintech Funding, Embedded Finance, Payments Infrastructure
Ramp Raises US$1.85 Billion at a US$60 Billion Valuation, Intensifying Competition With Float and Venn in Canada's Business Finance Market
On October 15, 2026, New York fintech Ramp announced US$1.85 billion in financing at a US$60 billion valuation, less than three months after expanding its corporate cards and financial operations platform into Canada. Ramp now serves more than 85,000 businesses and reports over US$2 billion in annualized revenue. Its growing financial resources raise the stakes for Canadian competitors Float, Venn and others, particularly as corporate cards, payments and expense software increasingly compete for the same business customers.
Ramp already sells more than corporate cards. Its platform combines spending controls, supplier payments, accounting automation and financial software, with new AI services extending its reach. The financing gives Ramp substantial resources to expand those products and compete for larger accounts, while Canadian fintechs face decisions about pricing, customer acquisition and which financial services they can profitably provide.
Ramp's Revenue and Customer Growth Support a US$60 Billion Valuation
Dragoneer Investment Group led the primary financing round, with Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, Sands Capital and Avenir Growth as co-leads. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan also participated. Ramp's valuation has risen from US$44 billion in June, when it raised US$750 million, bringing total equity financing to approximately US$5 billion.
Ramp reports more than US$275 billion in annualized purchase volume, up 175% year over year. Its enterprise customers generating over US$100,000 in revenue for Ramp increased 113%, indicating greater adoption among larger businesses. Ramp earns revenue through interchange, software subscriptions, interest and other services.
Ramp's US$60 billion valuation implies a valuation-to-annualized-revenue multiple below 30x, based on its reported revenue run rate of more than US$2 billion. That reflects substantial investor expectations for continued growth. Ramp also reports positive cash flow, although it hasn't disclosed sufficient financial results to establish sustained profitability.
See: KPMG H1 2026 Shows Canadian Fintech Capital Concentrating
More than half of Ramp's customers use at least two products, and one quarter use three or more. That gives Ramp opportunities to increase revenue from existing accounts while making its platform more useful to finance teams managing several functions. The company has also expanded into accounts receivable automation, AI spending controls and model cost management.
Its Router.com service selects AI models based on cost and performance, while AI Token Spend Management tracks spending across providers, teams and models. Eric Glyman, Ramp's co-founder and co-CEO, described the company's ambition in the financing announcement:
"AI opens up much more of the work it takes to run a company."
Greater product adoption may improve revenue per customer and retention, but investors will ultimately need evidence that those gains justify the company's development costs and valuation.
Ramp Challenges Float and Venn on Pricing and Customer Retention
Ramp expanded its Canadian platform in July 2026, offering corporate cards, expense management, reimbursements, bill payments and accounting integrations. Peoples Trust Company issues its Canadian Visa cards. The platform supports CAD spending and virtual USD cards, giving eligible businesses another option for managing domestic and international expenses.
Ramp's Canadian eligibility requirements include a minimum C$25,000 across connected bank accounts. Businesses registered in Quebec and the territories aren't supported, nor are sole proprietorships and unregistered businesses. The restrictions narrow Ramp's initial addressable market and leave opportunities for providers serving those customers.
Toronto based Float competes directly in corporate cards, expense management, bill payments and business accounts. In June, it raised C$85 million in Series C financing to expand its AI finance capabilities and Canadian distribution. Float reports more than 7,500 business customers. Venn competes through corporate cards, multicurrency accounts, foreign exchange and international payments, targeting businesses that need banking and spending tools across currencies.
Ramp's reported customer adoption across multiple products points to a competitive challenge beyond fundraising. When one provider manages cards, expense controls and supplier payments, customers have more reasons to stay. A Canadian fintech offering only one of those services may need to demonstrate stronger functionality, better pricing or savings large enough to justify using another provider.
Ramp's capital could also give it more flexibility to bundle products or invest in customer acquisition. If that leads to lower software prices or more aggressive sales offers in Canada, competitors could face pressure on margins and acquisition costs.
See: CIX Names 14 Canadian Startup Award Winners for 2026
Float and Venn's opportunities lie in the customers and financial requirements they can serve better, including Canadian banking services, domestic payment needs and businesses outside Ramp's current eligibility rules. Local presence has commercial value only when it delivers something customers will pay for or gives them a compelling reason to stay.
For Canadian fintech founders, the choices are increasingly specific. Expand into more financial services, concentrate on a profitable customer segment, or supply payments, integrations and risk controls to larger platforms.
Talking Point
Ramp's US$1.85 billion financing gives an established Canadian market entrant greater resources to compete for corporate spending and financial operations customers. Can Canadian fintechs earn and retain more revenue from each business customer without matching the capital demands of a US$60 billion competitor?
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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Important Safety Policies for Manufacturing Companies
Oct 15, 2026 | Manufacturing, Workplace Safety, Business Operations
Safety in manufacturing is not just a box to check; it is key to daily operations and affects both employees and profits. Where machines, heavy materials, and complex processes meet, strong safety policies create a secure work environment. A solid safety strategy not only reduces accidents but also boosts productivity and employee morale. Investing time and resources in these policies is essential. Doing so not only meets responsibilities but also promotes a culture of safety throughout the organization.
Effective safety policies cover many areas, from using machinery to wearing personal protective equipment, ensuring a thriving manufacturing environment. Here’s how to implement essential safety measures to make your workplace safer and more efficient.
Personal Protective Equipment
Every safety program starts with personal protective equipment (PPE). The right gear protects employees from hazards. Helmets, goggles, gloves, and hearing protection help prevent injuries on the job. Clear guidelines on when to use specific PPE help build a safety culture. Training employees to recognize hazards and use PPE correctly encourages a proactive approach and makes safety a natural part of their routine.
Regular inspections of PPE are crucial. Checking that equipment works properly and is in good condition allows employees to work confidently. Also, providing easy access to PPE shows that the company supports employee safety.
Machine Safety Protocols
Using heavy machinery in manufacturing requires clear safety protocols. These procedures help everyone operate machines correctly and respond to emergencies. Lockout/tagout procedures are important to prevent machines from running during service.
Regular machine-safety training reduces the risk of accidents. Employees who can recognize risks and handle machines carefully are less likely to get hurt. Routine safety checks help us identify weaknesses in our protocols, allowing us to improve machine safety continuously.
Welding Supplies
Welding supplies are essential for many manufacturing tasks, as they provide the tools needed to join materials. High-quality welding supplies are crucial because they ensure accurate and efficient work. Using the right welding rods, wires, and shielding gases produces strong, safe welds and boosts productivity. A variety of welding supplies makes it easier to work with different materials and complete projects effectively.
It’s also vital to have proper tools for each job, including safety gear like welding helmets and protective clothing. When workers understand the different welding supplies available, they can work more effectively and safely.
Welding Machines
Choosing the right welding machines greatly affects production. Investing in good welding machines improves efficiency and enhances safety. Modern machines come with user-friendly features that reduce errors and save energy. This reduces downtime and keeps operations running smoothly, so workers can focus on their tasks without worrying about problems.
Regular maintenance and inspections of welding machines are key to safety. Well-maintained equipment helps prevent accidents. Training staff on proper use and troubleshooting of welding machines encourages responsible work and a safety-focused workplace.
Emergency Response Planning
A solid safety policy includes an effective emergency response plan. Preparing employees for emergencies helps them react correctly, reducing confusion and risk. Regular drills for fires, evacuations, or hazardous material incidents teach employees how to respond safely.
Clear communication during emergencies is critical. A well-defined alert system helps employees respond quickly and in a coordinated manner. With practice and preparation, manufacturing companies can handle crises better and keep workers safe.
Hazard Communication
Clear hazard communication is essential in manufacturing to keep employees aware of potential job risks. This means labelling hazardous materials clearly, using safety data sheets (SDS), and providing regular training on chemical safety. When companies give employees information about the hazards they may face, it helps them make informed decisions and take the right precautions.
Regular meetings and updates about new materials or procedures keep everyone informed and reinforce a safety culture. Encouraging workers to speak up or ask questions about dangerous substances fosters a proactive safety approach, ensuring that the workforce prioritizes their health and well-being.
Workplace Ergonomics
Using ergonomic practices in manufacturing can reduce injuries and improve employee comfort. Proper workstation design, tool choices, and lifting techniques help reduce the risk of muscle and joint injuries. Ergonomic assessments help companies identify areas for improvement, such as adjusting workstation heights or providing better seating. Training employees on proper body mechanics for tasks like lifting or repetitive motions creates a safer workplace.
Encouraging regular breaks and stretching can also prevent fatigue and boost productivity. By focusing on ergonomics, manufacturing companies show they care about employee health and well-being, leading to fewer injuries and higher morale, which ultimately benefits the organization.
Training and Continuous Improvement
Ongoing training is essential for a strong safety policy. Regularly updating training keeps employees informed about safety protocols and new processes. A culture that values learning ensures safety remains a priority.
See: How AI is Modernizing Canadian Manufacturing
Reviewing safety policies based on feedback and incidents helps us improve continuously. By staying open to changes, manufacturing companies can adapt their safety measures and show their commitment to employee well-being.
In manufacturing, strong safety policies are vital to a safe, productive workplace. A culture of safety empowers employees and supports efficient operations. Prioritizing safety benefits both the company and its workers, creating an environment where everyone feels valued and protected.
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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Top Crypto Exchanges by Volume: Crypto Market Prices and the Web3 Social Networks Behind the Trading Crowd
Oct 15, 2026 | Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Crypto Exchanges, Market Analysis
Searching for top crypto exchanges by volume is a sensible way to find active venues, but it is a poor way to finish an exchange comparison. A volume number describes recorded turnover during a chosen interval. It does not tell a reader whether the pair they need is deep, whether the displayed price is executable, or whether the venue's terms fit their country and use case. This article looks at the gap between a busy platform and a usable market. It is not a platform ranking or a recommendation to deposit funds.
A Volume Table Is a Map, Not a Verdict
Volume counts transactions over a specified period, commonly in a quote currency. Activity can improve price discovery and provide more observations, but the number is affected by pair mix, spot or derivatives coverage, fee incentives, and the data provider's method. Two valid rankings can disagree simply because they count different things.
The top crypto exchanges by volume page is useful for making a shortlist. Before reading an order as a recommendation, check the interval, products included, quote currency, and venue coverage. A venue's total may include markets that a reader cannot access, or a product that is irrelevant to the intended task.
Execution lives at the pair level. A venue can be busy overall while a smaller asset has a wide spread and a thin book. The reverse is possible too: a modest venue may be the active place for a particular local-currency pair. Daily turnover is a record of past activity; depth and spread describe what is available near a price now.
The timing gap matters. A 24-hour volume figure and a spread observed this minute are different snapshots. A listing, service interruption, or regional session change can alter the relevant market between them. Record access times, and treat the lack of pair-level timestamps as a real limitation rather than filling it with an assumption.
A city analogy is useful here. A crowded city does not mean every street is open or easy to reach. Aggregate volume describes the city. The route that matters is the actual pair, product, order size, and time of day.
Consider a reader who wants to exchange a less widely traded asset for a local currency. A venue can sit near the top of an aggregate table because its major pairs and derivatives markets are active, yet the relevant local pair may have only occasional trades. The displayed total has not become false; it simply answers a different question. The reader needs to see the current bid and ask, the amount available close to each, the fee schedule, and any transfer or account restrictions that apply before treating the ranking as useful evidence.
This is where a small test order is sometimes discussed, but it is not a universal answer. Fees, withdrawal conditions, eligibility rules, and asset-transfer risks may make a test impractical or expensive. The broader point holds without one: a platform-wide figure should lead to pair-level research, and the details that determine execution should be current when the decision is made.
Why Prices Do Not Share One Clock
When a market moves, one venue may print a new trade before an aggregate page catches up. Market makers and arbitrage can narrow the gap, but they do not remove delays, fees, transfer constraints, or regional frictions. Differences can become more visible during fast conditions.
Comparing crypto market prices with a venue quote starts with matching the asset and quote currency. Then identify each number: last trade, bid, ask, midpoint, index, or derivatives mark. A $100 last trade beside a $99.60 bid and a $100.40 ask is not the same observation as a $100 midpoint.
Consider an illustrative snapshot. An aggregate index reads $99.80, while a venue's last trade is $100.30. The venue currently bids $99.90 and asks $100.40. That gap may simply be a trade near the upper edge of a spread. It deserves more scrutiny when it persists across several liquid venues, widens as the market moves, or prevents execution near the displayed quote. Even then, the observation is stronger than any untested accusation about its cause.
Price differences also change how a volume figure should be read. A large total in a pair that repeatedly trades away from other references may call for questions about methodology, concentration, and extraordinary-condition handling. It does not justify declaring that a venue is manipulating prices.
What the Online Trading Crowd Adds
Trading communities influence attention long before an analyst writes a conclusion. A useful discussion may locate an outage notice, explain a technical change, or point to a user report that can be checked. The same social momentum can turn a ranking into proof by repetition: people choose a venue because it appears popular, and the popularity then becomes part of the story.
The phrase web3 social networks covers posts, group chats, live conversations, and creator-led communities. Their strongest use is often discovery and debate. A good contribution names its source, separates fact from opinion, and makes room for correction. A repeated referral code, screenshot, or confident price target does not become independent evidence simply because more accounts repeat it.
Online chatter can improve research when it leads to a service notice, a documentation update, or a detailed report with reproducible steps. It becomes harder to assess when incentives are hidden. Affiliates, project teams, market makers, and ordinary users can all emphasize a venue for different reasons. The answer is not to dismiss every comment; it is to make the incentive part of the reading.
Use sentiment to find questions. If many users mention withdrawal problems, check the venue's status page, terms, incident notices, and whether the disruption is regional or platform-wide. If a community celebrates volume, ask which pairs produced it and whether those pairs are relevant to the reader's task.
Crowd activity can be especially misleading when people share the same screenshot. A volume badge, a single trade print, or a price chart can spread quickly through a group, making one observation look like many independent reports. Look for different kinds of evidence instead: a timestamped status notice, a pair-level order book, a record from another venue, or documentation that explains a product change. Agreement becomes more meaningful when the sources are not all repeating the same original image.
A Pair-First Review Before Relying on a Ranking
For preliminary research, work through the following order. It keeps a single market metric from doing the work of an entire due-diligence process.
- Name the activity. Spot purchase, derivatives hedging, fiat conversion, custody, and simple market observation have different requirements.
- Read the ranking rule. Note the interval, products counted, reporting currency, and data coverage.
- Open the relevant pair. Inspect spread, visible depth, trade frequency, and the order size that actually matters.
- Match price labels. Compare like with like: last trade to last trade, midpoint to midpoint, or index to index.
- Review operations separately. Fees, deposits, withdrawals, custody, verification, service status, and support are not contained in a volume total.
- Check access conditions. Eligibility varies by country, entity, account type, and product. Use current official terms.
- Write down the unknowns. Public data may not reveal internal controls or the conditions that will exist during a stressed market.
The highest total may be useful for observing a busy market. Another venue may offer the relevant pair, local access, or clearer operating terms. The right conclusion depends on the use case and evidence, not on the position of a row in a table.
For comparison writing, it also helps to keep an awkward result in the note rather than smoothing it away. A high-ranked venue may have the pair but a spread that is wider than a reader expected. A lower-ranked venue may show better visible depth at the moment, yet have conditions that require additional verification. Reporting both observations is more useful than forcing them into a single winner. Markets change by the minute; an honest comparison identifies the measured conditions and leaves room for them to change.
What Volume Leaves Outside the Frame
Volume says little about custody, account security, legal protections, tax treatment, or operational continuity. A venue can report substantial activity while its policies change, a product becomes unavailable, or access differs by region. Public rankings also update on their own schedule.
See: The Rise of the Web3 Nomad: Women Thriving in Decentralized Workspaces
Liquidity is conditional. A tight spread in calm conditions may widen during news, and an order book that looks deep can thin as a larger order consumes visible levels. Compare the depth near the relevant price with the intended order size and urgency. Visible orders can also be cancelled, so a screen is not a promise of execution.
The careful takeaway is modest: use volume to locate research targets, then inspect the pair, the price definition, the operating terms, and the applicable rules. An aggregate ranking cannot establish that a venue is appropriate for a particular person or transaction.
FAQ
Does the exchange with the most volume always offer the best price?
No. The relevant price depends on the pair, quote currency, side of the market, order size, fees, and execution time. A high-volume venue can be competitive in one market and less useful in another.
Can reported volume show whether an exchange is safe?
No. It describes market activity, not custody arrangements, cybersecurity, legal compliance, solvency, or customer protections. Those questions need separate evidence and can vary across entities and jurisdictions.
Why might an exchange and an aggregate market page show different prices?
They may use different venues, intervals, currency conversions, and price definitions. A last trade can also sit away from a current bid or ask. Compare methodology before calling the difference an error.
How should I treat a social-media claim about an exchange outage?
Treat it as a lead. Check the venue's official status page, timestamps, independent reports, and which product or region is affected. Do not share credentials, keys, or urgent instructions based on an unverified post.
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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Dext Payments Launches in Canada for Small Businesses
October 14, 2026 | Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure, Embedded Finance, SME Finance
Dext Launches Supplier EFT Payments in Canada, Connecting Accounting Workflows With Payment Execution
On October 5, 2026, Dext launched Dext Payments in Canada, allowing small businesses and accounting firms to approve and pay supplier invoices and employee expenses directly within its bookkeeping software. The service connects invoice processing, approvals and payments for eligible QuickBooks Online and Xero customers across Canada, including Quebec. Dext reports that Canadian users processed more than $2 million in payments during beta testing.
The launch extends Dext's role from preparing financial records to executing supplier payments. It's an opportunity to earn additional revenue from existing customers, but the business case isn't automatic. QuickBooks and Xero already manage outstanding bills, and many businesses have established banking arrangements. Dext must demonstrate why bringing payment execution into its software is worth the additional cost.
Why Pay Suppliers Through Dext Instead of QuickBooks or Xero?
Dext already captures invoices and receipts, extracts financial information and sends records to accounting software. With Payments, users bring outstanding bills back from QuickBooks Online or Xero, organize them into payment runs, obtain approvals and submit payments within Dext. The service also tracks payment status and connects payment information with the accounting records businesses use to manage their finances.
QuickBooks Online and Xero already manage supplier bills, but managing a bill isn't the same as sending money to a supplier. QuickBooks Canada's standard bill payment workflow focuses on recording payments, while Xero supports payment file exports for submission through online banking. Dext Payments adds the ability to initiate Canadian EFT payments, manage approvals and track payment status within its existing bookkeeping platform. For accounting firms handling payments across multiple clients, that can reduce reliance on separate banking processes.
Canadian customers can pay suppliers using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Interac and Bill Pay. The service also supports eligible international payments and employee expense reimbursements, although Canadian payroll payments aren't included. Dext provides the software interface, while its partnership with Airwallex supports the underlying payment infrastructure. This arrangement allows Dext to offer supplier payments without building its own payment network, demonstrating how fintechs can add financial services to existing business software.
The strongest use case may be accounting firms managing payments for several business clients. Instead of coordinating approvals through email and separate banking systems, accountants can administer payment runs alongside the records they already process in Dext. For a business that's satisfied with its existing accounting and banking arrangements, however, the additional software step needs to deliver measurable time savings or better payment controls.
Melissa Jackson, an accountant at Oxford Milkway in Woodstock, Ontario, describes the firm's experience:
"We've now processed more than 178 successful payments, covering 660 distinct bills."
The experience points to Dext's opportunity among firms with substantial invoice volumes, although wider adoption will depend on how the service compares with existing payment processes.
Dext Payments Pricing and the Cost of Switching
According to Dext's Canadian pricing, Payments costs C$20 per client monthly on an annual subscription, in addition to the required Dext software subscription. The price includes 20 Canadian EFT supplier payments each month. Additional EFT payments cost C$0.90 each, while Interac and Bill Pay transactions cost C$1.50 from the first payment. Taxes and applicable international payment charges are extra.
For a business making 50 Canadian EFT supplier payments monthly, the Payments add-on would cost C$47, including 30 additional transfers at C$0.90 each. Grouping multiple invoices into one supplier payment could reduce transaction charges, particularly for businesses making frequent payments to the same suppliers.
Businesses should compare their existing payment fees, approval process and reconciliation workload before adding another service. The QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations also have different reconciliation requirements, so payment execution within Dext doesn't mean every accounting step is automatic.
Accounting Firms Give Dext an Established Payment Channel
Dext says more than 12,000 accounting and bookkeeping firms and 700,000 businesses worldwide use its software. Part of IRIS Software Group since 2024, Dext has an established customer base for introducing payment services. Accounting firms that already process client invoices through Dext can add payment management without moving those client relationships to a separate financial operations platform.
See: Float Raises $85M to Build AI Business Finance Stack
Toronto based Plooto already combines accounts payable automation with supplier payments, while Float offers bill payments alongside business spending controls. Dext's opportunity lies in reaching customers through its existing bookkeeping software and accounting firm relationships. Whether that distribution advantage converts into payment volume will depend on pricing, controls and the amount of work businesses actually save.
The Canadian market offers plenty of room to improve payment administration. Payments Canada's 2026 research found that 37% of surveyed SMEs identify payment delays as a significant challenge. 2026 Canadian payments analysis also documents the growing use of electronic transfers and the rollout of Canada's Real-Time Rail. For businesses managing suppliers, better payment visibility and approval processes can be as valuable as faster settlement.
Talking Point
Can Dext win meaningful SME payment volume by serving accounting firms, or will businesses prefer to keep payment execution within their existing accounting and banking services?
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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Visa Cuts Credit Card Fees for More Canadian SMEs
October 14, 2026 | Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, SME Finance And Business Banking, Regulation And Policy
Visa Expands Small Business Interchange Discounts as New Card Network Charges Approach
On October 14, 2026, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) confirms expanded Visa interchange fee reductions for Canadian small businesses starting October 24. Visa is raising the annual Visa sales threshold for its discounted merchant program from C$300,000 to C$750,000 and lowering several interchange rates. Tens of thousands of additional businesses could qualify, creating potential savings for merchants and new opportunities for payment processors to compete on price.
Interchange is the fee paid by a merchant's acquiring institution to the customer's card issuer. It's one component of what businesses pay to accept credit cards. CFIB welcomes the Visa changes but warns that separate network charges could reduce the savings merchants ultimately receive.
Visa Raises Merchant Eligibility to C$750,000
Visa measures eligibility using annual Visa sales volume rather than a business's total revenue. Merchants processing less than C$300,000 annually can continue to qualify for discounted interchange rates, while those processing between C$300,000 and C$750,000 become eligible for the discounts for the first time. Existing participants also benefit from lower rates on several types of domestic consumer credit transactions starting October 24.
Visa is reducing interchange rates for several consumer credit card categories, including in-store, online and tokenized online transactions. The table below compares the previous and new rates for eligible small merchants, based on Visa's October rate schedule.
Visa Small Business Interchange Rates Effective October 24, 2026
| Eligible Visa credit transactions | Previous rate | New rate |
|---|---|---|
| Classic, Gold, Platinum — in store | 0.77% | 0.70% |
| Classic, Gold, Platinum — online | 1.30% | 1.20% |
| Classic, Gold, Platinum — tokenized online | 1.25% | 1.15% |
| Visa Infinite — in store | 0.99% | 0.89% |
| Visa Infinite — online | 1.55% | 1.45% |
Rates apply to eligible Visa consumer credit transactions. Network fees and payment processing charges are additional.
The biggest savings could go to businesses qualifying for the discounted program for the first time. Consider a merchant processing C$500,000 annually in eligible in-store Visa Classic, Gold and Platinum credit transactions. Previously above Visa's C$300,000 eligibility ceiling, the business could move from the standard 1.25% electronic interchange rate to the new 0.70% small merchant rate. That would reduce annual interchange costs by C$2,750, assuming all those transactions qualify and the savings are passed through by its processor.
Canada's Card Fee Reductions Have Taken a Decade
Canada's credit card fee reductions began with voluntary Visa and Mastercard commitments targeting a national weighted average interchange rate of 1.50% in 2015. The target fell to 1.40% in 2020. In 2023, the federal government reached new agreements with Visa and Mastercard to reduce interchange fees for qualifying small businesses. The lower rates took effect in October 2024, covering eligible in-store and online credit card transactions.
See: Canada's SMBs Deserve Better Banking
The October 2026 change expands that program for Visa merchants and cuts several individual rates further. Mastercard's small business threshold remains C$175,000 in annual Mastercard sales, compared with Visa's new C$750,000 ceiling. Visa's higher threshold allows businesses with greater card sales to continue to qualify for discounted interchange rates, although the actual savings depend on each network's rates and the merchant's transaction mix.
Canadian credit card payments reached 11.6 billion transactions worth C$1.02 trillion in 2025, according to the figures covered NCFA's 2026 payments analysis.
Will Lower Visa Interchange Reach Merchants?
How Credit Card Payments and Fees Flow
Interchange is only one part of what Canadian businesses pay to accept credit cards.
Customer
Pays C$100
→
Merchant
Accepts card
→
Acquirer
Processes payment
→
Card Network
Routes transaction
→
Card Issuer
Authorizes payment
Simplified authorization flow. Settlement and merchant funding follow separate processes.
Where Merchant Payment Fees Go
Interchange
Paid to the card issuer through the acquiring system.
0.70%
C$0.70 on C$100
Network Fees
Charged by the card network to acquiring institutions.
Varies
Separate from interchange
Acquiring Fees
Charges for processing, payment acceptance and related services.
Varies
Depends on provider and plan
What the merchant pays: Interchange + network fees + acquiring and processing charges. Lower interchange reduces one cost component, but the final savings depend on the merchant's pricing agreement.
Illustration uses the 0.70% Visa small merchant interchange rate for eligible domestic Classic, Gold and Platinum in-store credit transactions effective October 24, 2026. Actual merchant fees vary.
For merchants: Ask your processor for a breakdown of interchange, network fees and processing charges. Your effective processing rate is the total fees paid divided by your card sales.
A reduction in interchange doesn't automatically reduce every merchant's payment processing bill. Network assessments, acquiring services and processor margins also contribute to the total cost. Under interchange plus pricing, merchants can generally identify underlying interchange charges separately. Flat rate and bundled arrangements may require a pricing review before merchants benefit.
CFIB also warns that Visa and Mastercard are expanding separate network fees charged to payment processors. According to Moneris's network fee schedule, Mastercard's revised charges take effect in October 2026, while Visa plans a comparable US$0.018 per transaction fee beginning in April 2027, as reported by CFIB. Processors may pass these costs to merchants, potentially offsetting some interchange savings. The net impact will depend on transaction volume, existing fees and each merchant's processing agreement.
For business owners, the practical next step is to review annual Visa sales volume and confirm eligibility with their payment provider. Comparing processing statements before and after October 24 can reveal whether lower interchange rates are being reflected in actual charges. Merchants should also review network fee notices and the terms of their acquiring agreements.
Payment Fintechs Can Compete on Pricing Transparency
The rate changes also affect the economics of merchant acquiring. Payment processors and facilitators must update their pricing systems, account for different card categories and explain the results to customers. Providers that make those charges easier to understand have an opportunity to build trust and retain merchants who are comparing payment services.
See: Stripe vs PayPal vs Adyen in Canada: 2026 Guide
Canadian fintechs serving small businesses can go further by combining payment acceptance with fee analysis, accounting and reconciliation. Competition is already expanding through providers such as SumUp's Canadian merchant offering. The opportunity for established processors and newer entrants is to show businesses what they're paying, where savings are available and how their services compare.
There are consequences for the other side of the transaction as well. Interchange is revenue for card issuers, including banks and fintechs offering credit card programs. Lower rates on qualifying transactions affect those economics, while acquirers and processors must decide how to compete for merchants without weakening their own margins.
Talking Point
Visa's expanded program gives more Canadian small businesses access to lower credit card interchange fees, while payment providers face renewed pressure to demonstrate value. Will greater pricing transparency and competition among payment fintechs help merchants capture more of the savings?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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How AI Is Changing YouTube Video Creation in Canada
Oct 14, 2026 | Fintech AI/ML, Data-driven, Automation, Generative AI, Digital Media and Content Creation
Canadian content makers have never struggled for fame on YouTube. Ranging from vloggers in Vancouver to tech reviewers in Toronto to gaming news stations in Montreal, this nation has given rise to some truly international voices. However, the techniques used to generate the voices are changing rapidly, and one of the great contributions is the AI.
Over the past few days, I've been observing the Canadian YouTube content creator community, especially big and small, adapting AI tools into their workflows, and it's not like the sci-fi takeover that people thought would happen a couple of years ago. It's not like that. It's making an appearance in the mundane, tedious elements of the task - and that's where it lives!
Scripting and ‘ideating’ got much faster
Several years ago, a block of one creator's week was dedicated to a blank document and a blank mind, wondering what to put and how to put it. Today, many Canadian creators use AI writing tools to start with an outline and/or hook, and even complete scripts that are later reworked by them. We should all know that no one is honest with his or her audience when promoting raw AI-generated text and referring to it as a "day's work.The audience can smell laser-propulsion from a mile away these days. However, as an initial draft generator, an argument to challenge and enhance, it has reduced the time it takes to research and write for countless Toronto, Calgary and elsewhere sites.
Creating a website that style is no easy task
This is most probably the most significant change. It used to be that I was spending one WHOLE weekend editing! Currently, tools are able to automatically detect filler words, silences and jump cuts. They can make recommendations about B-roll selection, auto-caption in English and French (which is extremely important for a bilingual nation such as Canada) and even identify pacing concerns before a human can even beadle, as that is incredibly valuable.
For individuals using a solitary resource, this has been enormous. There are people now out there that can create a polished video that can be broadcast in a matter of hours, as opposed to the vast amounts of hours it would have taken many, many years ago to figure it out for someone living in a tiny apartment in Ottawa. That's not a little thing — that is a shift in the audience for competition. Until a few years ago, only channels with actual production budgets could produce videos consistently that would be sharp. That is not so much the case anymore.
3/22/2011 8:01 a.m. EDT THE ALGORITHM GUESSING GAME
AI-powered thumbnail generation and title testing are also staple features. Creators send a few variants of thumbnails to the AI to forecast the video click through rate before its publication. Not all of it is science, but it's more than just a shot in the dark, and it's all the more important when a channel is seeking growth in a saturated Canadian playspace, whether it is outdoor, the adventure, personal finance, or the product reviews.
This same "intuition" has now trickled down into title writing. These creators now experiment with three or four different title possibilities based on AI feedback instead, which was once a guess and a gamble of between two options the creator preferred.
Better understanding the audience has never been more important
Now, things really begin to get interesting for a community manager. They can get thousands of comments for each of their videos on popular Canadian channels, and it simply isn't feasible to read through them all manually these days. That's where a youtube comment search tool has been quietly becoming a staple — content creators can save hours of scrolling countless comments to discover the useful content, recurring questions, or product mentions that they were hoping to find.
As a single human being, it's more important during the process that it seems at first glance. A content creator posting a review about a certain competitor product might want to see the number of views that had comments about that product, while a cooking channel may want to see a list of all the substitutes that viewers had a question about so they can create a pinned video reply or another video about the subjects. Leave out the wall of noise and make the comments easy to search—and now efficiently.
It just has been transforming the way creators carry out giveaways and involvement components. There are a ton of gaming and lifestyle channels in Canada that have fan giveaways all the time, and manually selecting the winner from comments, which contains hundreds or thousands, was a very tedious and – somewhat unfair – process often: It was easy to miss out on people or scroll past an entry. Now, one of these is a youtube comment picker that will randomly show you and the audience, automatically and transparently, which stuff you picked up next. As with all currency, trust is important online and removing human bias in a giveaway is one way to earn it.
I like the tone in this podcast
Bilingualism is a part of Canada's reality, and this creates opportunities for creators to tap into both English-speaking and French-speaking audiences, which is more possible than ever before thanks to AI dubbing and translation tools. The while, their Quebec rendition of a video can now be considered for English Canada quite properly, by means of not employing a complete translation team. That has now opened up truly new avenues of audience growth for makers with a regional footprint that had shrunk essentially to a rule.
Data is now influencing decisions sooner
An overlooked pivot: AI-powered tracking and recommendations enable creators to make decisions at earlier stages of the process, not just after their videos flop or fail. Predictive retention modeling, sentiment analysis gleaned from comments, and pacing analysis are not just done after a video is uploaded-updated, but before it is entirely cut up. This can lead to a reduction in wasted uploads, and hence shorten the feedback loop between what the audience desires and what is produced next.
The Human Factor – Still matters most
None of these imply a reduction in creative effort by AI.
See: The Day the Platform Went Dark. A Cyber Resilience Story
These tools are where the fastest-growing channels are most foreseeably using them to eliminate busy work and dedicate more time and energy to the areas where they can more impactfully resonate with viewers — the storytelling, the personality, the moments that seem real. Automation is managing logistics. Humans continue to deal with connection, and that isn't going to change soon.
Where Is This Going?
Canadian creators are logical regarding new tech — they make use of that which works for them, and pass that which's hype. It's working for them: that instinct. So the content creation process on YouTube is not being replaced by AI in Canada, but it's being compressed, friction eliminated and more people competing with less resources. That's a great thing for those now considering constructing a channel here.
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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