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
How Ontario’s Digital Spending Controls Can Strengthen Fintech Design
Sep 2, 2026
Image: Pexels
Ontario has turned a small product detail into a serious design question. A deposit limit once looked like a setting near the edge of an account page. In 2026, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation moved it closer to the centre of the experience when it introduced a measure requiring some online players under 25 to set deposit limits as engagement rises through its safer gambling approach. That decision gives fintech designers a live case study in timing and restraint.
The point reaches beyond gaming. Banking apps, trading platforms and payment products all ask people to make money decisions on small screens. Speed helps when someone pays a bill and it can harm judgment when a screen nudges faster spending. Ontario’s model shows how a digital product can add friction at the right place without turning every action into a lecture.
Ontario Offers A Practical Case
OLG’s under-25 measure focuses on a group that research often links with higher gambling harm. The rule does not ban play. It asks certain users to set a cap as their activity grows. A cap can be daily or longer term. In financial design, the same idea can apply to stock trading deposits or crypto purchases. Earlier boundaries can reduce decisions made under pressure.
Ontario also gives designers a mature market to study. iGaming Ontario says its regulated market produced $82.7 billion in wagers during 2024 to 2025, with $2.9 billion in gaming revenue across more than 2.6 million active accounts in its annual report. A market of that size creates real design evidence. The best lessons come from how controls appear during ordinary use.
What Fintech Designers Can Learn
Spending controls work best before stress arrives. A daily limit has more force when someone sets it during account setup. A reminder has more value when it appears before a pattern becomes hard to interrupt. Product teams often want the shortest route to a completed transaction. Ontario’s approach suggests a better question for finance apps: at which point does speed stop helping the customer?
Investing apps already face a version of this test. A user may understand a company but misunderstand leverage. Another may know the price of a fund but overlook currency exposure. A good interface does not need to scold either person. It should show the cost, the limit and the consequence before confirmation. Ontario’s spending controls offer a model for that kind of intervention.
Comparison Pages Become An External Design Audit
Casino comparison sites entered this landscape because choice became too large for casual browsing. Readers now compare payment methods, transaction times and withdrawal rules before opening an account. They also check licences, customer support and responsible-gambling tools before making a first deposit, a research habit that increasingly resembles fintech comparison. Someone choosing a trading app, for example, wants fees and account conditions visible before funding begins.
A regional review page can serve the same purpose by showing how product design differs across approved platforms. Someone looking at options selected by Casino.ca in Ontario can compare licensed casinos across practical criteria such as payment methods, withdrawal speeds, games and overall experience. The review format becomes more useful when it goes beyond a simple ranking and helps readers understand why platforms differ, including differences in security, banking options and customer support.
That structure also shows fintech teams how third-party guides can add value by making fees, risks, account controls and other important product information easy to inspect and compare. In both casino and fintech contexts, the strongest comparison experience helps users evaluate the product before they commit funds, rather than leaving important conditions until after registration.
Behaviour Signals Need Human Context
Behaviour signals can help a product notice risk before a user asks for help. A sudden limit increase has meaning in one context and less in another. Several deposits in a short period can show excitement, confusion or distress. The product cannot read motive. It can slow the next step and offer support without pretending to know the full story.
The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario tells operators to use automated and manual monitoring so they can identify signs of harm and respond at a pace that matches changing behaviour in its operator guidance. Automated checks can catch patterns at volume. Staff review can add judgment where a rule may overreach. Fintech products need that same balance when they flag risky payments or rapid trading.
Crypto products face a harder version because transfers move fast and reversal options can be limited. A wallet app can show network fees and destination checks before a transfer leaves. A trading product can display volatility ranges before a purchase. Those steps protect choice by adding context. They work best when the words sound like service language rather than legal fog.
Visibility Makes Tools More Useful
A control that users cannot find has little practical value. iGaming Ontario reported player awareness of responsible gambling tools at 71.5% in 2024 to 2025 through its 2026 to 2029 business plan. That figure gives product teams a hard target to think about. Of course, awareness doesn't arrive by placing a link in a footer. The interface has to bring the tool into normal view.
Fintech apps often place limits in account settings. Many users visit that area only when something breaks. Better design brings controls into the flow. A deposit screen can show the current cap. A payment app can show a monthly spending marker. A trading platform can let customers set cooling-off periods before volatile orders. The user still decides, but the decision gains context.
Language decides whether people use the feature. “Set a deposit limit” works better than “configure responsible-use parameters.” “Take a break” works better than a policy label. The same rule applies in banking. “Pause card spending” tells the user what will happen. “Manage transaction governance” sends them elsewhere. Good fintech design respects attention.
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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Foxquilt Pushes Deeper Into U.S. Commercial Insurance
September 1, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity + Insight | Insurance And Insurtech, Embedded Finance, Competition And Market Structure
Toronto insurtech adds E&O as it builds a larger U.S. small business insurance platform
On September 1, 2026, Foxquilt launched E&O insurance in the United States, giving the Toronto founded insurtech its second admitted U.S. product. The initial rollout covers Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, with nationwide availability targeted by the end of 2026.
Errors & Omissions (also called Professional Liability) covers financial losses caused by mistakes or failures in professional services. Foxquilt is targeting consultants, technology firms, beauty and health professionals and other service businesses, adding a different type of risk to the Commercial General Liability coverage already available through its U.S. platform.
Customers, agents and brokers can quote and bind both products through Foxden, Foxquilt's insurance platform. Embedded partners can also place E&O inside marketplaces, networks and other services used by independent professionals. Foxquilt describes the launch as part of its development from a single product U.S. MGA into a multi product commercial insurance business.
Foxquilt Has Been Building Toward a Bigger U.S. Business
Foxquilt was founded in Toronto in 2016 and started testing U.S. expansion years before this launch. It raised C$8 million in Series A funding in 2021 to support hiring, product development and expansion across the U.S. and Canada, followed by a C$12 million Series B aimed at North American expansion, technology infrastructure and a wider product offering.
Its U.S. footprint has since become much more substantial. Foxquilt expanded its small business insurance products into New York as it built agent, wholesale and enterprise distribution. The company now lists offices in Toronto and Charlotte, overall distribution across 50 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces, and more than 50 distribution partners. Foxden supports direct retail, embedded partnerships, wholesale distribution and MGA syndicates.
E&O adds more value to those relationships because a broker or partner can now place more commercial coverage through the same system. A consultant or software company may need General Liability for property damage or injury claims and Professional Liability for financial losses tied to its work. Foxquilt can serve more of that account without asking the distributor to switch platforms.
The company is also building on its U.S. capacity relationship with Markel. CEO Karim Jamal says “E&O is the first of several strategic additions to our platform”, making today's launch part of a larger product plan rather than a one off filing.
Canadian Insurtech Is Scaling Through Execution
Canadian insurtech funding remains selective. KPMG counted only two Canadian InsurTech deals in H1 2026, compared with 19 AI and machine learning fintech deals. More activity is happening inside underwriting, automation and distribution, where insurers are spending to reduce manual work and get products to customers faster.
NCFA's 2023 Canadian insurtech overview highlighted multi channel distribution, insurer partnerships and automation as important industry trends. Foxquilt is now commercializing several of those ideas through digital underwriting, broker distribution and embedded insurance in the U.S.
KPMG reports that 73% of insurance CEOs see AI as a top investment priority, while 67% expect returns within one to three years and plan to allocate 10% to 20% of technology budgets to AI. Canadian insurers are already applying those investments to underwriting, claims, distribution and customer service.
Canadian companies are selling into that demand in different ways. Quandri raised C$12 million to expand insurance automation across Canada and the U.S., while Manulife has cut eligible life insurance approvals to as little as two minutes using automated underwriting. Foxquilt is working on another part of the market by combining underwriting software, digital distribution and insurance products for small businesses.
The U.S. gives Foxquilt far more room to grow, but execution gets harder. Insurance approvals vary by state, underwriting still has to produce acceptable losses as volume rises, and agents or embedded partners can control much of the customer relationship. Adding products only helps if distributors use them and the business remains profitable.
Talking Point
Can Foxquilt turn one successful U.S. product into a durable multi product insurance business?
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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Solifi Acquires Vancouver Fintech Inovatec
September 1, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity + Insight | Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, Digital Banking And BaaS, Competition And Market Structure
Vancouver lending software joins a larger private equity backed global finance platform
On September 1, 2026, Solifi acquired Inovatec Systems, a Vancouver company whose cloud software handles digital applications, loan origination and servicing for banks, credit unions, captive finance companies and specialty lenders across North America. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Inovatec brings more than 160 employees and 20 years of lending technology development into a much larger secured finance business.
For Inovatec, the sale provides the scale its founders say customers are demanding. For Solifi, it adds retail automotive, powersports and specialty lending capabilities to a platform already strong in equipment, wholesale, working capital and automotive finance. Canada gets another successful fintech commercialization event, while ownership and future capital decisions now sit with a global company under foreign private equity control.
The transaction arrives in a Canadian market where those outcomes are common. KPMG estimates that nearly half of Canadian acquisition targets across industries are bought by international firms. Canadian companies are active buyers abroad too, completing more than two thirds of their own transactions outside Canada. The question is whether Canada is producing enough companies that can keep scaling into global buyers themselves?
Inovatec Built More Than an Auto Lending System
Vladimir and Danijela Kovacevic founded Inovatec in 2006 with two people. The platform now spans its Propel digital application portal, loan origination software and loan and lease servicing. It supports automotive, powersports, equipment and other consumer and commercial lending, with more than 70 third party integrations across its products.
The software reaches several workflows where lenders spend time and money. Applications can flow from consumers or dealers into credit decisioning and funding, while the servicing system handles payments, collections, customer service and asset recovery. Inovatec says lenders using its AI based funding automation have cut time spent manually reviewing documents by as much as 80%. That's a company reported customer result rather than an industry benchmark, but it shows the type of operating efficiency Solifi is buying.
Inovatec has also kept adding capabilities while expanding in the United States. In August, less than a month before the acquisition, it integrated Fortiro technology to detect altered and AI generated lending documents during origination. The company reports annual SOC 1, SOC 2 and SOC 3 audits along with ISO 27001 and ISO 27018 certifications, requirements that help lending software get through the security reviews of banks and other regulated customers.
The founders described the reason for selling in unusually direct terms. Customers want more products, channels and automation, and “meeting those needs requires scale.” Solifi gives Inovatec access to a much larger product portfolio, implementation organization and international customer base.
Solifi Was Already Buying Its Way Into More Finance
Solifi has dual headquarters in Minneapolis, United States, and Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and sells software to banks, captive finance companies and independent lenders around the world. When TA Associates became its majority investor in October 2024, Solifi had more than 650 employees globally. Thoma Bravo, which had backed the company since 2019, kept a meaningful investment.
The ownership change came with an explicit acquisition plan. TA and Solifi said they intended to expand into adjacent finance markets and new countries through strategic acquisitions as well as internal growth.
That plan started producing deals. In September 2025, Solifi acquired DataScan, an Atlanta area company whose wholesale finance and inventory risk software serves more than 45 major banks and captive lenders. DataScan added floorplan lending, digital inventory audits and field inspection capabilities.
While DataScan strengthened the wholesale side of automotive finance. Inovatec adds the consumer application, credit, funding and servicing work that happens on the retail side. Solifi can now sell across more of the financing relationship instead of relying on separate products for each part.
That makes the Vancouver acquisition easier to understand. Solifi isn't simply adding another software company. Its private equity owners are funding a deliberate expansion across secured lending, and Inovatec brings technology and customer relationships that would take years to reproduce organically.
Canadian Fintech Is Producing Assets Global Buyers Want
The timing fits Canada's current fintech market. KPMG counted US$996.7 million invested across 47 Canadian fintech deals in the first half of 2026. That was down more than 40% from US$1.7 billion across 82 deals a year earlier, while capital concentrated in companies with established scale, specialized technology and clearer economics.
KPMG partner Dubie Cunningham summarized what is attracting capital as “technology, customers, licences or regulated platforms that can accelerate expansion.” Inovatec fits that description closely. Solifi is buying working lending software, a North American customer base, integrations, regulated industry experience and a team that has spent two decades inside automotive and specialty finance.
Recent Canadian sales highlight various versions of the same commercial pattern. Fiserv bought Toronto based Payfare for C$4 per share, with the final acquisition covering roughly C$193.1 million of outstanding shares. Fiserv wanted Payfare's card program management, white label app and embedded finance capabilities. Payfare's situation included customer concentration and financial pressure before the sale, so it isn't a direct parallel to Inovatec.
Robinhood acquired WonderFi for about C$250 million for a different reason. WonderFi's Bitbuy and Coinsquare platforms brought roughly 300,000 funded customers at closing and regulated Canadian crypto access. Robinhood used the acquisition to enter Canada rather than spending years building that position itself.
European payments company Paynt used its 2025 acquisition of Vancouver based E-xact Transactions to expand in North America. E-xact was processing more than C$3.5 billion annually across 50 million transactions, and Paynt made Vancouver a new operational hub. The transactions differ, but the assets being purchased are software, customers, transaction volume, licences, regulatory experience and local distribution.
Foreign Ownership Is Only Half the Canadian Story
Canada isn't simply selling companies while everyone else buys. KPMG's wider M&A data show Canadian firms conduct more than two thirds of their transactions outside the country. The domestic fintech market is also still financing independent growth. Nesto raised C$302 million in its 2026 Series E at a C$1.47 billion valuation, the largest Canadian fintech financing in KPMG's H1 data.
Selling to a larger company can be a good outcome. Founders and investors get paid, employees may get more resources, and Canadian technology can reach customers that would have been costly to win alone. The bigger concern is when Canada keeps building valuable fintechs but too few grow large enough to become global buyers themselves.
Solifi says customers will keep their existing products and support, and that it will continue investing in Inovatec's products. The founders also say clients will keep working with the same team. What Solifi hasn't said is whether Vancouver headcount will grow, where future product decisions will be made, or where new intellectual property will be developed. There is no evidence today of layoffs, office cuts or development work leaving Canada.
Canada's economic return will depend on more than where the shareholder register ends up. Inovatec found the scale it wanted by joining Solifi. Canada's fintech market becomes stronger when more companies can eventually provide that scale themselves.
Talking Point
How many Canadian fintechs can grow from attractive acquisition targets into global acquirers?
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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The Technology and Fintech Innovations Driving the Evolution of Online Casinos
Sep 1, 2026
Betting has been one of our favourite activities for centuries, with people eager to wager on what they predict will happen when dice are thrown, wheels are spun, and so on. For most of human history, it was an extremely low-tech activity that relied on everyone being in the same room. While those games still exist in much the same form, it’s become far easier to engage with them, thanks to the following key innovations.
Different Kinds of Games
A vastly wider range of games represents the biggest change in casinos since they went online. While casinos were always limited due to their physical space in the past, the switch to online sites allowed operators to greatly increase their collection of games. This began with the introduction of more classic games, such as roulette and blackjack, which were usually very similar to the traditional versions.
However, leading game developers have taken our favourites in new directions since then. The Sportaza online casino contains a huge variety of slots, such as Royal Coins by ELA Games, Chicken Road 2.0 by InOut, and 3 Million BC by Betsoft. These games take the tried and trusted slots mechanism from the past and add new themes. Features such as jackpots and bonus rounds have been added to create more varied gameplay too.
In terms of table games, the biggest change has been implemented through livestreaming technology, which allows casinos to host online games with live presentation. A group of 4K cameras is typically used to provide different camera angles that the player can choose from, giving a smooth, uninterrupted view of the action at all times. In some cases, augmented reality is added, meaning that the cards and chips on the screen move between digital and real life. The Google AR & VR page explains how these technologies fit together.
This has led to classic table games being reimagined with new features, such as multipliers and side bets. It’s also given us game shows including Candy Wheel, Football Thrill, and Robin the Fair. These games introduce giant wheels, slots rounds, and other types of props to let players place varied wagers in a live setting.
Live Sports Bets with Cashout Options
The integration of different types of betting on the same site has been another huge change in the way we gamble. Sports betting has always been about wagers placed before the action begins, which are then settled once the final result is known. When online sports betting began, it followed this same process. However, the work carried out to integrate live scores and updates onto the same sites as casinos has allowed sportsbooks to now provide live betting.
This means that fans can bet on games and events as they take place, predicting what happens next based on what they see happening at the time. This has fundamentally changed the way we place sports wagers.
See: Programmable Stablecoin Payments
It works through advanced APIs that integrate live event data. Automated risk engines look at the data and adjust the odds instantly to take into account the flow of the action. The other major change has come with the way that users can choose whether to cash out early. This can be done in those cases where a cashout price is shown during the game, so that users can decide whether it makes sense to accept that price or wait for the event to end.
A Wide Range of Payment Types
Modern players don’t want to wait days or weeks for transfers to go through, which was one of the issues that held back the early online betting industry. Therefore, casinos now put their cashier experience as one of the most important parts of the overall site performance. This can be done thanks to the fact that several fintech innovations have helped make it a lot easier to move funds back and forth.
Digital wallets were among the earliest of the changes that were introduced to this sector, with the likes of Skrill and Neteller proving popular in North America. Canadians have also benefited from the introduction of Interac, which allows almost instant transfers to and from bank accounts. Interac is a decentralized interbank clearing network. In other countries, open banking allows users to easily move funds when they want to gamble.
The Future Depends on More Innovation
The different types of innovation that have led to these changes have made it far easier for people to enjoy online gambling. As the industry carries on growing, we can expect to see more new technology and ideas being used. If you just want to spin some slots or put some chips on the blackjack table, the good news is that innovations in fintech and beyond make this super easy to do from your own 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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ChatGPT Ads Hits $1B as AI Enters a Regulated Ad Market
August 31, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Competition And Market Structure, Data Privacy And Governance
OpenAI built a sizable ad business in under 200 days as regulators scrutinize the digital markets it is entering
On August 31, 2026, OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads reached a US$1 billion annualized revenue run rate in less than 200 days. Tens of thousands of advertisers are using the platform, OpenAI reports more than one billion weekly active ChatGPT users, and ads are available across more than 40 countries through direct sales, agencies and technology partners.
US$1 billion is a run rate, not revenue already collected. At that pace, ChatGPT Ads would produce roughly US$250 million per quarter. That's small beside the companies OpenAI now competes with for advertising budgets, but getting there in less than seven months gives advertisers, competitors and regulators something tangible to watch.
Notably, on the same day OpenAI announced the milestone, European regulators designated ChatGPT a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act. In the United States, the FTC and 22 states sued Amazon over alleged practices in its advertising auctions. Google is already operating under court ordered search remedies after losing a U.S. monopolization case.
OpenAI is building its advertising business in a market where regulators already know how digital distribution, auction rules, data and default positions can concentrate power.
OpenAI Built an Ad Platform in Seven Months
ChatGPT Ads started as a U.S. test on February 9 for adult Free and Go users. Canada, Australia and New Zealand followed in the spring. OpenAI added self service Ads Manager and cost per click buying in May, expanded into the U.K., Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea in August, and is now adding more markets across Europe, India, the Middle East and North Africa.
The product itself has grown just as quickly. CPC and outcome optimized bidding now account for most campaigns, according to OpenAI. Advertisers can use Pixel and Conversions API measurement, product feeds, geographic targeting and custom audiences, while more than 50 technology and measurement partners connect businesses to the platform.
OpenAI says one ecommerce advertiser produced a 3x return on ad spend over 28 days, while one technology partner reported that more than 80% of traffic generated by ChatGPT ads came from new customers. Those are select examples supplied by OpenAI, so they shouldn't be treated as typical campaign performance. OpenAI also says it doesn't yet have reliable performance benchmarks across industries and campaign types.
Back in February, NCFA asked whether conversational advertising could develop into a new route for product discovery. Six months later, OpenAI has a US$1 billion annualized ad run rate, self service buying, conversion tools and tens of thousands of advertisers. Businesses will pay to advertise inside AI conversations, and enough of them are doing so to create a sizable new revenue stream.
Alec Shao, Newegg performance marketing manager, an advertiser on OpenAI's own ads site explains the attraction directly:
“We want Newegg to be part of the conversation when someone is researching what to buy.”
Google Still Owns the Scale, ChatGPT Has the Conversation
OpenAI isn't close to Google in advertising revenue. Alphabet reported US$81.63 billion of Google advertising revenue in Q2 2026. Search and other advertising alone generated US$63.27 billion, up from US$54.19 billion a year earlier.
Meta generated US$59.36 billion of Q2 advertising revenue, while Amazon generated US$19.81 billion from advertising services. OpenAI's roughly US$250 million quarterly equivalent makes clear how much ground separates a fast growing new entrant from established digital advertising businesses.
However, ChatGPT offers advertisers something those numbers don't capture. Search advertising usually begins with a query. Social advertising often begins with interests, behaviour and attention. Amazon can catch a shopper close to purchase. A ChatGPT conversation can contain a goal, budget, constraints, preferences and several rounds of comparison before an ad is selected.
OpenAI says its ad system considers the context and intent of the current conversation, the ad and landing page, advertiser supplied context hints and, when personalization is enabled, selected information from a user's wider ChatGPT experience. Advertiser hints describe relevant conversations, topics or keywords, but they aren't exact match search keywords.
The auction is already becoming familiar territory for performance marketers. OpenAI supports CPM and CPC buying and recommends starting CPC bids around US$3 to US$5. It says eligible ads compete through a relevance weighted second price auction.
Whether a detailed conversation produces a better customer than a search keyword hasn't been established. Advertisers now have enough buying and measurement tools to start finding out.
Regulators May Reach AI Advertising Earlier
Regulators may reach AI advertising earlier than they reached search and social platforms. Google is already operating under court ordered search remedies, while Amazon now faces allegations over how its ad auctions were priced. OpenAI is entering the same commercial territory with regulators already alert to distribution control, auction transparency, data use and platform power.
ChatGPT Ads is still small beside Google, Meta and Amazon, but it reached a US$1 billion annualized run rate in less than 200 days. Regulators may not need to wait for comparable scale before asking how the market works, especially if distribution, data or auction rules begin limiting competition.
Canada Can Test the Channel, With Limits
Canadian advertisers can already create and manage ChatGPT Ads through OpenAI's self service Ads Manager, with a minimum daily budget of C$25. Canadian financial firms face an important limit, though. OpenAI currently generally prohibits financial services ads outside the United States, where approved advertisers can be accepted case by case for products such as credit cards, mortgages, brokerages, insurance, loans and payments.
See: OpenAI Pulls Back From Checkout As Agentic Commerce Expands
OpenAI treats financial services as a restricted category requiring extra safeguards, including enhanced advertiser verification or manual review, and says advertisers may have to prove they are properly licensed.
Financial software, budgeting tools and educational products may have more room to experiment. For firms that can participate, can ChatGPT produce customers at a better cost and with stronger intent than search, social media, affiliates or other channels?
Talking Point
Will regulators act on AI advertising before market power becomes difficult to unwind?
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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Coinbase Powers Webull Canada Crypto Expansion
August 31, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Wealth Investing And Trading, Competition And Market Structure, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure
Webull adds crypto after two years of building out its Canadian brokerage
On August 31, 2026, Coinbase announced its Webull Canada partnership, supplying the trading and custody services behind Webull's new Canadian crypto offering. Webull maintains the investor relationship and brokerage experience, while Coinbase handles two core crypto functions. The same partnership already supports Webull in the United States, Brazil and Australia.
Webull Canada Crypto Limited was registered as an Investment Dealer and admitted to CIRO membership effective June 17, 2026. Coinbase Canada, Inc. is registered as a Restricted Dealer across Canada.
Crypto arrives after Webull spent more than two years expanding its Canadian brokerage. It launched here in 2024 with Canadian and U.S. equities and later added registered accounts, options, cash management, desktop trading and longer trading hours. Canadian stocks and ETFs now trade at zero commission, while selected securities are available around the clock five days a week.
Webull Has Spent Two Years Expanding in Canada
When Webull entered Canada, its offering was much narrower. The company has since added enough products that crypto now joins an account already spanning stocks, options, cash, margin, TFSAs and RRSPs.
Using Coinbase lets Webull add crypto without building its own trading and custody systems from scratch. It can use infrastructure already supporting the same partnership elsewhere, reducing the amount of technology and operating capability Webull has to build internally.
Webull still has to persuade Canadians to use the product. The company reports 26 million registered users globally but doesn't disclose its Canadian customer count, leaving a large gap between the breadth of its local product menu and what outsiders can see about actual adoption.
Coinbase Can Earn Without Owning the Webull Customer
A Canadian investor trading crypto through Webull remains inside Webull's experience, but Coinbase can still earn from the trading and custody taking place underneath it.
Coinbase has been selling more of those capabilities to financial institutions. Its Crypto as a Service business targets banks, brokers, fintechs and payment companies that want to offer digital assets without building everything themselves. Coinbase said in 2025 that more than 200 institutional clients were already using its infrastructure.
Webull gives Coinbase another customer for that business while Coinbase continues competing directly for Canadian crypto users through its own platform. The two companies can pursue the same investor from different positions. Webull wants the account and ongoing customer relationship. Coinbase can benefit whether the investor chooses Coinbase directly or reaches its services through Webull.
Webull is relying on Coinbase for key parts of the service. If trading, custody, pricing or service problems arise, Webull still has to deal with the customer impact.
Webull Joins Canada's Build Versus Buy Competition
Webull isn't alone in combining its own customer experience with outside financial infrastructure. Wealthsimple offers stocks, cash and crypto from one relationship, while its regular crypto service uses external custodians including Tetra Trust, Coinbase Custody and BitGo. Its recent in app DEX trading beta uses a different model, creating a self custody wallet for the client and routing trades through a third party DEX aggregator.
Crypto focused firms such as Coinsquare, Newton and Shakepay started from a different approach, building their customer relationships around digital assets before adding more services. Webull started as a brokerage and is bringing crypto into an account already built around conventional investing.
Customers can now see a growing number of competing apps even when some important functions behind those apps come from the same suppliers. If several brokers rely on a small group of firms for custody, execution or liquidity, competition at the customer level can grow faster than the number of companies providing the underlying services.
Building everything internally isn't automatically better and often depends on the lifecycle stage of the firm and target customer base. It can preserve more control and economics, but it also brings technology, security, compliance and operating costs. Buying specialist infrastructure can get a product to market faster, provided the platform is comfortable with the dependency and the economics.
Crypto Gives Webull More to Sell Canadian Investors
Webull has removed many of the obvious product gaps since entering Canada. Investors can now trade Canadian and U.S. equities, options and crypto, use registered accounts and access longer trading hours. Another product won't automatically pull customers away from Wealthsimple, established brokerages or dedicated crypto platforms.
See: Wealthsimple Launches In App DEX Trading Beta
Existing Webull users may be the easiest audience. They can add crypto beside the rest of their portfolio without opening another trading relationship. Whether that convenience produces meaningful Canadian crypto activity won't be clear until Webull discloses more about adoption or the market provides other evidence.
Coinbase receives another benefit if the model continues to expand. Its Webull relationship now spans four countries, so a successful Canadian launch gives Coinbase another example it can use when selling trading and custody services to other financial firms. It doesn't need its name on the customer's home screen to participate in the transaction.
Webull and Coinbase are building different businesses from the same Canadian launch. One wants to own more of the investor relationship. The other can earn by supplying financial functions to companies that already have one.
Talking Point
As financial apps buy more of what they offer from specialist providers, who keeps more of the long term value: the company with the customer or the company running the service underneath?
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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Laurentian Bank Sale to Fairstone Clears Final Approvals
August 31, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity + Insight | Banking And Credit, Competition And Market Structure, SME Finance And Business Banking, Consumer Finance And Lending
Fairstone buys Laurentian as National Bank takes retail and SME
On August 31, 2026, Laurentian Bank confirmed the final key regulatory approvals for Fairstone Bank to acquire Laurentian and for National Bank to take its retail and SME banking portfolios. The parties expect to close on November 1, 2026, with Laurentian retail and SME products and services scheduled to migrate to National Bank by late 2026.
National Bank gets deposits, borrowers and customer relationships it can run on a much larger banking platform, while Fairstone gets Laurentian's commercial bank and lending capabilities that would take years to build. Canada loses a long standing independent full service bank, but the transaction also gives a growing specialty lender more commercial depth while strengthening National Bank's customer base.
Laurentian reached this point after a difficult 2023 and 2024, followed by a partial recovery in 2025. A strategic review ended without a sale, a major technology outage was followed by leadership changes, restructuring costs climbed and loan volumes weakened. Commercial lending was growing again by 2025, which helps explain why Fairstone wanted the commercial bank while National Bank wanted the retail and SME portfolios.
Laurentian Transactions Clear Final Approvals
Fairstone Bank will acquire all outstanding Laurentian common shares for C$40.50 each, valuing the transaction at approximately C$1.9 billion in cash. National Bank will take Laurentian's retail and SME portfolios, which held approximately C$3.6 billion of loans and C$7.5 billion of deposits at July 31, 2026. Final cash consideration for those portfolios will depend on balances at closing, and Laurentian has said the transaction would approximate net book value using earlier reference balances.
National Bank also acquired Laurentian's C$705.7 million syndicated loan portfolio for C$646.2 million in February plus certain assumed liabilities. The Minister of Finance, OSFI, CIRO and relevant securities regulators have approved the transactions, while the Competition Act condition has been satisfied subject to no change in circumstances involving the Competition Bureau.
Closing remains targeted for November 1. Laurentian retail and SME customers are expected to migrate to National Bank by late 2026, while Laurentian's retail branches and employees do not transfer with the portfolios. Laurentian is responsible for closing the branches and terminating or reassigning affected employees before closing.
Why Laurentian Bank Ended Up With Two Buyers
Laurentian's board launched a strategic review in July 2023 that considered a sale, divestitures and other options. By September it had decided to remain independent and focus on efficiency, simpler operations and businesses where management believed the bank could compete.
Weeks later, a planned IT maintenance update led to a mainframe outage that disrupted customer services. Éric Provost replaced Rania Llewellyn as CEO on October 2, while Michael Boychuk became board chair. The outage did not determine Laurentian's future on its own, but it exposed an operational weakness at a bank already trying to modernize and regain customer confidence.
The cleanup was expensive. Laurentian cut staff, closed its equity research business, reduced office space, suspended its Advanced Internal Ratings Based credit project and simplified technology and operations. It recorded C$228.4 million in impairment and restructuring charges in fiscal 2024 and reported a C$5.5 million annual net loss, compared with C$181.1 million of profit the previous year.
Total net loans fell by C$1.8 billion in 2024, including declines in commercial, personal and residential mortgage lending. Laurentian cited high interest rates, weaker loan demand, volatile markets and changes in its lending mix. Its disclosures do not establish Canada's later immigration, temporary resident or international student policy changes as a material cause of mortgage volumes, deposits, credit performance or the eventual transaction.
Commercial lending then recovered. By October 2025, commercial loans had grown 8% from a year earlier to C$17.9 billion, led by commercial real estate, inventory and equipment finance, while deposits reached C$24.0 billion. Laurentian had repaired enough of its commercial business to make that franchise attractive even though keeping retail, SME and commercial banking together no longer produced the strongest outcome.
National Bank Gets Retail and SME While Fairstone Gets Commercial Banking
National Bank is buying customer portfolios rather than Laurentian's retail operating structure. It gains loans, deposits and established relationships without taking Laurentian's branches or retail employees, allowing those customers to be served through National Bank's existing digital services, physical network and product range.
The transaction follows National Bank's acquisition of Canadian Western Bank, but the job is different. CWB brought a complete regional banking franchise. Laurentian brings selected customer books, reducing the amount of physical infrastructure National Bank has to absorb while still adding deposits and borrowers.
See: Haventree Bank Enters Canada’s Digital Deposit Market
Fairstone is buying the part of Laurentian that complements its own lending strategy. Home Trust brought alternative mortgages, deposits, GICs and broker distribution, while Fig added digital lending and API based distribution. Laurentian adds commercial real estate, equipment finance, inventory finance, United States lending and capital markets expertise.
Those commercial capabilities were built over years, including Laurentian's 2017 acquisition of Northpoint Commercial Finance. Fairstone therefore gets experienced teams, underwriting history and customer relationships that would be expensive and slow to reproduce. It's already a Schedule I bank, so the acquisition does not give Fairstone its first banking licence. It gives the group substantially more depth across consumer, mortgage, digital and commercial credit.
National Bank takes the retail and SME deposit book, so Fairstone does not inherit Laurentian's entire funding base. The strategic gain is less about collecting all of Laurentian's deposits and more about adding specialized commercial lending to a group already built around credit.
Five Routes to Canadian Banking Growth
Laurentian's sale comes as Canadian challengers pursue very different ways to grow.
- National Bank is buying scale through acquisitions.
- Fairstone is assembling specialist lending businesses that serve different borrower groups.
- EQB's acquisition of PC Financial adds national customer distribution, credit cards and loyalty to an established challenger bank.
- Wealthsimple is expanding into credit and everyday banking without buying a legacy branch franchise.
- Haventree is expanding digital deposits from inside the federal banking system.
Also, OSFI's streamlined approvals process could make entry more predictable for additional banking models. Laurentian therefore does not prove that smaller Canadian banks cannot survive. Its own technology, leadership and restructuring problems were significant. What the deal does show is how costly it can be for a smaller full service bank to recover from those problems while continuing to fund technology, cybersecurity, compliance, risk management, customer acquisition and a competitive range of products.
That is becoming more demanding as specialized competitors attack individual parts of banking without carrying every cost of a traditional bank. Consumer driven banking should also make financial data easier for customers to take elsewhere, raising the value of having a clear reason for them to stay.
Laurentian Customer Migration Creates Fintech Openings
Laurentian retail and SME customers will have to migrate products and services to National Bank, and businesses may need to update payment instructions, accounting connections, treasury processes and other systems tied to their bank. Fintechs that simplify onboarding, account connectivity, cash flow visibility, identity verification and payment routing can reduce friction while customers are already reviewing their financial relationships.
SME credit creates another opening because a forced banking transition gives businesses a reason to compare lenders. Faster underwriting helps, but better SME financial data remains essential if digital lenders want to price risk accurately rather than compete only on speed. Consumer driven banking should eventually make future migrations easier by allowing customers to authorize reusable financial data instead of rebuilding every connection manually.
Fig creates another possibility through embedded credit. Its digital lending model already places loans inside partner experiences, while Laurentian brings deeper commercial underwriting. Together, those capabilities could support financing through dealer networks, vertical software, SME platforms and other workflows where businesses encounter credit while completing the job that created the financing need.
Outlook Depends on Customer Retention and Integration
National Bank has to migrate Laurentian customers while continuing its Canadian Western Bank integration. Fairstone has to combine businesses serving different borrowers through different systems, channels and credit models. Pricing changes, technology problems, weak communication or difficult conversions could reduce the value either buyer expects to capture.
Credit conditions add another risk because commercial real estate, mortgages, consumer lending and SME credit react differently to rates and economic weakness. Both buyers need underwriting, funding and risk controls to keep pace while integration is underway.
See: Banking Consolidation as Canadian Western Bank is Acquired
The result will determine whether Laurentian's disappearance mainly reduces competition or redistributes it. Canada is losing one independent full service bank, but the assets going to Fairstone could give another challenger considerably more weight.
A clean National Bank migration could give Laurentian customers more products and distribution while producing better economics from the acquired portfolios. Successful Fairstone integration could create a stronger specialty competitor across consumer credit, mortgages, digital lending and commercial finance.
The result will determine whether Laurentian's disappearance mainly reduces competition or redistributes it. Canada is losing one independent full service bank, but the assets going to Fairstone could give another challenger considerably more weight.
Talking Point
Does dividing Laurentian between National Bank and Fairstone preserve enough competition to compensate for losing one of Canada's long standing independent banks?
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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