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
39 U.S. Banking Associations To Build Shared Blockchain Network
August 26, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Banking And Credit, Competition And Market Structure
Shared infrastructure targets tokenized deposits and payments
On August 25, 2026, 39 U.S. state bankers associations formed BankChain Alliance to build a shared blockchain network for financial institutions. The planned infrastructure would support smart payment tools, tokenized deposits, stablecoins and automated settlement, with participating banks able to take an ownership role. Together, the associations represent thousands of financial institutions serving millions of consumers, businesses and communities.
BankChain is selecting a technology partner and targeting a 2027 launch. It says the network will interoperate with other networks and that banks across the country will be invited to take ownership. The technology platform, ownership terms for individual banks, operating rules and settlement design haven’t been disclosed, so BankChain remains infrastructure under development rather than a live payment rail.
Smaller Banks Could Share the Cost of Tokenized Money
Building tokenized payment infrastructure involves more than choosing a blockchain. Banks need core system integration, compliance controls, security, operating rules and connections to other financial networks. Those costs are easier for a large institution to absorb than for a community or regional bank.
BankChain's model proposes that banks share more of the work and costs while retaining a say in how the network operates. If enough institutions participate, common infrastructure could reduce the amount each bank needs to build independently and give smaller banks another route into tokenized deposits and programmable payments.
The economics are still unknown. BankChain hasn't disclosed participation costs, ownership terms or implementation requirements. A shared network won't solve much for smaller institutions if joining it still requires expensive integrations, duplicated compliance work or several connections to outside payment systems.
The Clearing House Already Has the Payment Connections
BankChain is entering a market where another bank-led model is already taking shape. In June, The Clearing House launched an on-chain money initiative designed to clear and settle tokenized commercial bank deposits between institutions while connecting blockchain activity with its RTP and CHIPS payment networks.
The Clearing House begins with infrastructure that already clears and settles more than $2 trillion in payments each day. BankChain begins with 39 banking associations and plans to build a common network around institutions that may not have the resources to develop proprietary infrastructure.
Interoperability is paramount given that banks will need tokenized money to move between institutions and connect with established payment infrastructure. BankChain says its network will be interoperable, but hasn't explained how those connections will work.
See: Can Canadian Credit Unions Share A Digital Asset Future?
BMO and TD Bank U.S. are among the institutions supporting The Clearing House initiative. Their participation gives Canadian financial institutions a direct view into one model for connecting tokenized commercial bank money with established U.S. payment rails while BankChain develops a different model based on shared ownership.
Individual bank commitments, network architecture and participation economics will determine whether BankChain becomes usable shared infrastructure.
Related Market Signals
- Wells Fargo plans tokenized deposits for corporate and commercial clients on its proprietary blockchain platform beginning in fall 2026
- FIS launched Lyriq to let banks issue and manage tokenized deposits while connecting digital money workflows to existing core banking systems
- Swift is preparing a 17-bank tokenized deposit pilot that connects bank-issued digital deposits while keeping final settlement on existing systems
- Tetra Trust launched CADD in May as a Canadian-dollar stablecoin issued through a regulated financial institution
Talking Point
Can shared ownership make tokenized payment infrastructure economical for smaller banks, or will access to established clearing networks and customer distribution remain the bigger competitive advantage?
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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Elevate 2026 Agenda Puts Fintech, AI And Capital In Focus
August 26, 2026 | NCFA Community Announcement | Fintech And Innovation, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Capital Markets And Funding
Elevate 2026 Innovation AI Capital And Company Building
Elevate is less than a month away! Checkout the latest Elevate 2026 agenda giving founders, investors and technology operators a closer look at the conversations coming to Toronto from September 22–24.
For Canada's fintech community, the mix is worth watching. Elevate's 2026 programming spans fintech, artificial intelligence, capital, commercialization and other technologies competing for investment, customers and talent. NCFA is a Community Partner for this year's festival at Meridian Hall.
Fintech Connects With AI And Commercialization
Canadian fintech has a direct place in the program.
Eva Wong, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Borrowell, is among the announced speakers, bringing experience from one of Canada's established consumer fintech companies to discussions about product, fintech and the development of Canada's digital finance market.
The latest agenda announcement also highlights Mati Staniszewski, Co-Founder and CEO of ElevenLabs; Adam Collins, Chief Communications Officer at Reddit; and Jessica Chalk, Founder and CEO of myStoria.
Those adjacent technology perspectives are relevant to financial innovators. AI is entering customer service, fraud detection, compliance, product development and internal operations, while fintech companies still have to turn technical capability into products customers trust and businesses can scale.
For founders, the useful question isn't simply which technology attracts the most attention. It's where new capabilities can solve a real financial problem, reach customers and support a viable company.
750+ Meetings Put Capital Into The Program
Elevate is also expanding direct access between founders and investors.
Its Meeting Exchange program is doubling capacity for 2026, with more than 750 curated one-to-one meetings for investment-ready startups.
That adds a practical capital component to a festival expected to bring together approximately 10,000 technology professionals, entrepreneurs, founders, executives and investors.
See: Elevate Festival 2026 Connects Founders And Investors
For early and growth-stage companies, concentrated access to investors, potential customers, partners and other founders can make the trip more useful than a schedule built around stage content alone.
Save 20% With The NCFA Community Code
NCFA community members can receive 20% off General Pass tickets for Elevate Festival 2026.
Use promo code: NCFAELEVATE20
📅 September 22–24, 2026
📍 Meridian Hall, Toronto
More speakers and sessions are being added ahead of September.
See you there
For fintech founders, investors and operators, the value is in the overlap. Finance is colliding with AI, new infrastructure, changing customer expectations and tighter competition for capital. Elevate offers three days to test ideas with people building, funding and buying technology across those markets.
#ElevateFest2026
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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CRSHMARKET Launches Livestream Prediction Markets
August 26, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Regulation And Policy, Risk Compliance And Regtech
When Creators Can Influence The Market Outcome
On August 19, 2026, CRSHMARKET promoted a wider vision for its livestream prediction market, where people can put money on events while a stream is still unfolding. Its campaign showed markets around dates, public interactions and creator content, while the live product currently remains concentrated in video games such as Rocket League and Among Us.
The format is built around speed. Users enter dollar amounts on short yes-or-no outcomes and some markets can settle within minutes. When checked on August 26, CRSHMARKET on-chain volume showed about US$7.79 million in cumulative USDC entry volume across current and earlier contracts. DefiLlama says each entry is counted once and treasury seed liquidity is excluded.
What happens if the product expands beyond esports into creator-led livestreams where the person on screen can affect what traders are betting on?
Creator Markets Need Different Controls
Prediction markets already have to manage insider information. Creator-led markets add another problem because someone close to the content may be able to influence the result itself.
A market on whether a streamer gets someone's phone number, spends more than $100 or completes a stunt can involve people who know more than the audience. The creator, production staff, guests or friends may know what is planned. Some may also be able to change what happens.
There's already a useful precedent. A Kalshi insider trading case resulted in a financial penalty and two year suspension after an internal editor traded on markets connected to MrBeast videos he worked on. Kalshi's surveillance tools and user reports helped identify the activity.
Livestreams compress that problem into a much shorter window. The event is happening now, viewers are trading now and the market may settle before a platform has much time to investigate. Controls therefore need to identify who is close enough to the event to have an unfair advantage before suspicious trading becomes the only warning.
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| Risk | Why Livestreams Make It Harder | What Platforms Need |
|---|---|---|
| Inside information | Creators, guests or production staff may know what is coming | Restricted accounts and connected party checks |
| Outcome manipulation | People on the stream may be able to change the result | Creator rules and limits on controllable markets |
| Disputed results | Live video can be unclear, interrupted or open to interpretation | Clear settlement rules and independent evidence |
Integrity Infrastructure Could Become The Bigger Opportunity
CRSHMARKET has already written some of these concerns into its operating rules. Its published CRSHMARKET Bonus Terms allow identity, age, location, wallet, payment and source-of-funds checks before promotional funds are paid or withdrawn. The terms also identify collusion, automated accounts, location masking and creator manipulation as reasons to cancel promotional value or restrict future eligibility.
Those are promotion rules rather than a complete public rulebook for every market, so they don't establish how all livestream disputes or conflicts will be handled. They do show that CRSHMARKET recognizes creator manipulation and connected-account behaviour as operating risks.
In the U.S., prediction markets can operate within the CFTC regulated derivatives framework, but that protection depends heavily on how the contracts and venue are structured. CRSHMARKET does not appear to be a CFTC registered exchange, so creator led livestream markets could still raise federal derivatives, state gambling and market manipulation questions.
The regulated event contract infrastructure opportunity tracks demand for surveillance, conflict detection, audit trails, settlement tools and dispute handling as prediction markets grow. Creator-led markets make those capabilities more valuable because the event, the people controlling it and the traders can be closely connected.
Some markets may also need to be excluded entirely. For example, when a trader can influence the event they are betting on, an issue already explored in prediction markets on controllable events.
For CRSHMARKET, speed is part of the attraction. It can turn ordinary moments inside a livestream into something viewers can trade almost immediately. The commercial model becomes stronger if creators gain another way to monetize audiences and viewers find the markets entertaining enough to return.
But they'll need to show that people close to an event cannot quietly trade on better information, creators cannot steer outcomes for financial gain and disputed results can be settled consistently. If it can do that, livestream prediction markets could create a new category of interactive financial entertainment. If it can't, the integrity issue may limit the model before the audience does.
Talking Point
If livestream prediction markets expand beyond esports, can platforms build controls fast enough to separate genuine audience participation from markets where creators or insiders can influence the outcome themselves?
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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RBC Global Transaction Banking Targets Corporate Cash
August 25, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Treasury Liquidity And Cash Management, Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, Cross Border Payments And FX
Open Banking And Real-Time Payments Raise The Stakes
On August 25, 2026, Royal Bank of Canada created a RBC Global Transaction Banking business spanning Commercial Banking in Canada and the United States and RBC Capital Markets. Payments, cash and liquidity management, working capital, trade finance and foreign exchange will operate under shared leadership and one strategy.
Most of the products already existed. RBC is changing how it organizes, develops and sells them. RBC Edge serves Canadian cash management clients and RBC Clear serves the U.S. market. The bank hasn't said the two platforms will become one system.
When a business collects money, makes payments, holds cash, converts currencies and borrows through the same bank, that relationship can produce payment fees, operating deposits and more financing opportunities. RBC is trying to make more of those services work as one relationship across borders.
Corporate Deposits Raise The Value Of The Relationship
RBC explicitly links transaction banking to deposit growth. By the end of fiscal 2025, RBC Clear U.S. transaction banking had attracted US$23 billion in deposits from more than 180 clients, up from about US$9 billion and 100 clients earlier that year. RBC's medium term target is US$50 billion.
Operating deposits are useful because businesses need money available for payroll, suppliers, collections and other daily obligations. RBC can use those balances as funding elsewhere in the bank while earning fees from payments and treasury services.
BMO shows how significant that combination can become. At its March 2026 Investor Day, BMO Treasury and Payment Solutions said it served more than 138,000 businesses and had processed $68 trillion in payments during the previous fiscal year. The business represented roughly 40% of BMO's deposits and about 10% of fee revenue.
For banks, the prize isn't just the payment. It's the cash before and after the payment, the foreign exchange required across markets and the financing a business may need later.
Payments Look Like The First Place Businesses Will Unbundle
Businesses don't have to replace their primary bank to give part of the relationship to somebody else. Payments, foreign exchange, cards, payables and finance software can all be purchased separately while the main operating account stays where it is.
Canadian payment data shows where demand is strongest. Payments Canada SME payment research found 69% of small and medium-sized businesses would use real-time payments to send money and 66% would use them to receive money if available. Payment delays were their most common payment problem, followed by cash flow management.
A separate 2025 Canadian business payments survey found 60% planned to increase fintech use, 77% were prioritizing real-time payments and 53% expected to move from traditional payment methods toward digital ones.
This means payments are a practical entry point for fintechs. A company can solve a visible problem such as supplier payments, international transfers or reconciliation without asking the customer to move its entire banking relationship.
| Provider | What It Brings Together | Where It Can Win |
|---|---|---|
| RBC | Payments, deposits, cash management, FX, trade and working capital | Large relationships, lending capacity and cross border banking |
| BMO | Treasury, payments, deposits and embedded banking | North American treasury and business banking |
| Airwallex business payments and FX | Multi-currency accounts, payments, FX, cards and bill pay | Businesses managing money across countries and currencies |
| Float business finance platform | Accounts, cards, payments, FX, credit and finance automation | Canadian finance teams that want banking and software together |
| Dream Payments real-time payouts | Payment controls, supplier onboarding and payouts | Payments built directly into business software |
Customer survey and behaviour data suggests the relationship can already break apart product by product. Canadian bank switching reached a 20-year high in 2025, with 24% of Canadians choosing a new financial institution when opening an account. Another Canadian financial loyalty survey found 62% would be open to switching if the process were easier, while 35% identified switching hassle as a barrier.
Open Data Makes A Multi-Provider Model Easier
Canada's new financial infrastructure can lower the friction of using several providers. Proposed Canada Open Banking and Consumer Driven Banking Rules establish the framework for consent-based financial data sharing, authentication and security.
The Canada open banking commercialization roadmap shows what that can mean commercially. Read-only data sharing can support cash flow dashboards, account comparison, switching and easier onboarding, while later payment initiation can open more room for embedded credit, payments and real-time treasury services. The competitive effect isn't only easier switching. It's easier unbundling, because a business can use better tools from another provider without first moving its main operating account.
A business could keep its core banking relationship with RBC while using another provider for foreign exchange, payables, treasury analytics, cards or financing. Better data access makes those services easier to connect. The primary bank doesn't have to lose the customer to lose part of the relationship.
The payment side is changing too. Canada's Real-Time Rail access rules create new participation routes for eligible payment service providers as Canada prepares for instant, data-rich payments. Payments Canada research already highlights strong SME demand for faster payments. RBC did not say that the new global transaction banking structure is connected to the rail, but banks and fintechs will eventually be building products on more capable payment infrastructure.
The NCFA Financial Innovation Map separates payments, treasury, embedded finance, business banking and open finance into different markets. Customers won't necessarily make the same distinction. A business wants to get paid, see its cash, pay suppliers, exchange currencies, borrow when necessary and keep the records straight.
Where RBC Has To Defend The Relationship
RBC's scale still gives it advantages fintech specialists can't easily reproduce. It can combine deposits, lending capacity, treasury services, foreign exchange and large corporate relationships inside one regulated institution. For companies operating in both Canada and the U.S., making those services work smoothly together could be especially valuable.
But product-by-product competition changes what RBC has to defend. A client may keep its operating account while moving international payments to one provider, cards to another and treasury software somewhere else. Each piece that leaves takes fees, data and customer activity with it.
Fintechs don't necessarily need to replace RBC to win. Payments offer an early opening because businesses already want faster and more automated ways to move money. Open banking can make outside tools easier to connect. Better real-time infrastructure can widen the number of companies able to build around the payment itself.
RBC's Aug. 25 reorganization is about more than putting existing teams under common leadership. The bank is trying to make payments, cash, FX and financing work well enough together that businesses have fewer reasons to peel those services away one at a time.
Talking Point
As open banking makes financial data easier to share and real-time payments give businesses more ways to move money, can RBC keep more of the corporate relationship by connecting payments, cash, FX and financing, or will fintechs keep winning those services one product at a time?
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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Fobi Launches Continuous Digital Identity Verification
August 25, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Digital Identity And Trust, Cybersecurity Fraud And Financial Crime, Risk Compliance And Regtech
Continuous Authentication And AI Agent Authorization
On August 25, 2026, Vancouver based Fobi AI launched Fobi AltID 3.0, expanding its digital identity technology beyond credential verification. Fobi says the new platform can continuously authenticate a verified person, confirm authorization and use satellite positioning to add location and time to the decision. Financial services and customer identity checks are among its intended uses.
The existing Fobi digital identity wallet focuses on proving identity or age while limiting how much personal information needs to be shared. The new proposition goes further. Once someone has been verified, Fobi wants the credential to keep helping organizations decide whether the right person is still present and allowed to complete an action.
That addresses a real financial control problem. Verifying someone when an account is opened does not prove that the same person still controls a session months later, approved a particular payment or gave software permission to act for them. The gap gets wider as financial services automate more activity.
The launch names financial services as a target market but doesn't identify a bank, credit union, payment company or financial pilot. It also doesn't explain how an AI agent would be given, restricted or stripped of authority. Those are important boundaries between the product Fobi has launched and the larger trust infrastructure it wants to build.
Continuous Authentication Extends Trust Beyond Onboarding
This approach already has support in established digital identity practice. NIST continuous authentication guidance allows organizations to monitor characteristics such as behaviour, device information, location, timing and network activity after a user has logged in. Suspicious changes can trigger another identity check or end the session.
For financial firms, that can add protection without repeatedly asking customers to upload identity documents. An account can remain usable while the service watches for changes that make the current activity look less like the person who was originally authenticated.
Fobi adds location to that decision. The company says satellite positioning can connect a verified person with where and when an interaction occurs. Location can strengthen a risk decision, but Fobi has not disclosed the positioning technology, accuracy or protections against false location data. NIST also treats geolocation as one piece of a wider risk assessment rather than proof of identity on its own.
More monitoring also creates more privacy responsibility. Behaviour, devices and location can all reveal sensitive information. NIST requires those uses to be included in privacy risk assessments. Fobi says the personal information used for the original verification can be removed from the ongoing process, but further disclosure is needed to show what the platform continues to observe and retain.
Canada is dealing with the same combination of identity, consent and security as financial data becomes easier to share. The proposed Canada Open Banking and Consumer Driven Banking Rules bring authentication, consumer permission, security and evidence of authorization into the same operating framework. Persistent digital identity becomes more useful when those controls have to work after onboarding rather than only at the beginning of the relationship.
AI Agents Make Authorization A Bigger Financial Problem
AI agents make the distinction between identity and authority easier to see. A bank may know who owns an account and still need to know whether software has permission to spend $500, change an instruction or continue acting tomorrow. AI agents with wallet access increases the urgency of defining what software can do, for how long and on whose authority.
Payment networks are already building controls around that problem. The Visa Trusted Agent Protocol lets merchants verify that an AI agent is legitimate and has permission to act for a customer. Visa's specifications also allow merchants to limit an agent to a specific purpose, such as browsing or making a payment.
Mastercard Verifiable Intent, developed with Google, records what a person authorized before an AI agent acts. Mastercard is designing it to work across wallets, platforms, payment networks and different agent systems.
The same convergence appears in the FCA Emerging Technology Horizon Scan 2026, where digital identity, AI agents, consumer control and programmable finance intersect. For fintechs, the opportunity goes beyond proving who somebody is toward proving what a person or piece of software is allowed to do.
Open digital credentials could make those permissions easier to carry between services. The W3C digital credential standard provides a common way to issue and verify secure, privacy respecting credentials. Fobi has not disclosed whether its new platform supports that standard or another open identity framework. Interoperability is necessary if the technology is expected to work across banks, fintechs, payment networks and other organizations rather than mainly inside Fobi's own products.
Fobi is also positioning post quantum security as part of the platform. Financial firms are already preparing for post quantum cryptography as new security standards replace encryption that future quantum computers could threaten. Fobi has not identified which algorithms or standards it uses, or provided independent technical validation. For now, quantum readiness remains a product claim that still needs evidence rather than the main reason to assess the launch.
The more immediate opportunity is digital trust. Identity can establish the person. Ongoing authentication can flag when something changes. Authorization can control what a person or AI agent is allowed to do. Those capabilities also connect digital identity, cybersecurity and automated finance across the Financial Innovation Map.
Fobi now has to prove that its technology can join those pieces in practice. A financial institution deployment, support for open credentials or documented controls for delegated authority would make the case much stronger. Until then, the launch is a credible expansion of Fobi's digital identity technology into a financial problem that is becoming harder as software gains more authority.
Talking Point
As AI agents gain access to payments, financial accounts and digital credentials, will proving identity once be enough, or will financial services need to keep verifying who is in control and exactly what they are allowed to do?
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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KPMG H1 2026 Shows Canadian Fintech Capital Concentrating
August 25, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Competition And Market Structure, Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing
Fewer Deals, Bigger Q2 Cheques And A Higher Bar For Funding
On August 25, 2026, KPMG reported KPMG H1 fintech data showing US$996.7 million across 47 Canadian fintech deals in the first half of 2026. Its current comparison puts that against about US$1.7 billion across 82 deals a year earlier, leaving both investment and deal activity down more than 40%.
Q2 was much stronger than Q1 without producing more deals. Investment climbed to US$621.7 million across 23 transactions from US$375 million across 24. Venture funding reached US$398.2 million across 19 deals from US$94.6 million across 14. Almost the same number of transactions attracted substantially more capital.
Canada's broader venture capital market tells a different story. Canada H1 venture data show C$2.69 billion invested across 250 deals, with dollars up 17% and deal count down 8.8%. Sixteen rounds of C$50 million or more absorbed 59% of all venture capital.
Look at the funding source of those larger cheques. Rounds financed entirely by Canadian investors represented 66% of H1 venture transactions, but foreign investors participated in 56% of later stage rounds, up from 30% a year earlier. U.S. investors participated in 44%, up from 19%.
Global capital is valuable to Canadian companies and should remain part of the funding mix. However, the opportunity is to build more domestic capacity to lead large rounds as companies scale, allowing Canada to retain more ownership, investment influence and financial upside while still attracting international investors.
KPMG and CVCA measure different markets. KPMG includes venture capital, private equity and M&A, while the CVCA figures above cover venture capital. Together, they show a funding market where larger commitments are going to a relatively small group of companies.
KPMG says investors are favouring scale, specialized AI capabilities, competitive positioning and demonstrable economics. For Canadian fintechs, the funding bar is getting clearer and harder to clear.
Nesto Shows What Investors Are Paying For
The largest Canadian fintech financing in KPMG's H1 data was Nesto's C$302M Series E in June at a C$1.47 billion valuation. The Montréal mortgage technology company entered the round with more than C$80 billion of mortgages under administration, more than C$37 billion of 2026 originations and a profitable business.
Nesto also owns lending technology and established mortgage businesses while building Nesto Cloud and Maestro AI for financial institutions. Investors were backing technology connected to customers, lending operations, distribution and a large existing financial market.
Regulated access can carry similar strategic value. Robinhood's WonderFi acquisition gave it Canadian customers, local teams and regulated crypto platforms through Bitbuy and Coinsquare instead of building that position from scratch.
AI attracted the most activity in KPMG's H1 data with 19 investments, compared with eight digital asset deals and four payments deals. KPMG says investors are favouring specialized applications that make lending, deposit taking and payment processing faster or more efficient.
That is already visible in Canadian financing. Float raised C$85 million to expand its AI business finance platform across payments, cash management and finance workflows. Nesto is applying AI to mortgage operations and lending technology. AI becomes easier to finance when it can lower costs, improve risk decisions, speed up work or increase revenue inside a financial product customers already use.
The early stage pipeline below those larger companies needs attention. CVCA says early stage investment dollars rose 24% on a flat deal count, while seed funding fell 31% to C$285 million. KPMG recorded 12 early stage fintech deals and eight seed rounds. Future Canadian scale companies depend on enough younger fintechs getting the capital and customers required to reach that level.
Delayed Financial Infrastructure Has A Competitiveness Cost
KPMG expects Consumer Driven Banking and the Real-Time Rail to improve fintech economics by opening access to financial data and payment infrastructure. Both are finally entering implementation after years of delay.
Canada's RTR access rules came into force on August 24. Payments Canada is targeting a Q4 2026 launch with initial direct participants, followed by additional onboarding and transaction growth through 2027. Registered payment service providers can pursue membership and RTR access, but firms still need the technology, settlement arrangements, fraud controls and operating capacity to participate.
Consumer Driven Banking is also getting closer to operation. Proposed regulations cover data access, accreditation, liability, security and technical standards. Implementation is expected to begin with accreditation after final regulations are published, while payment initiation and wider open finance capabilities come later.
These infrastructure reforms can reduce barriers that have favoured larger institutions, but firms still need the resources to integrate, comply and compete. Smaller challengers benefit when access becomes practical and affordable enough to improve their products and economics.
Canada's delay also affects how much experience fintechs build before competing internationally. In 2025, the Bank of Canada described payments modernization delays compared with the UK, Australia and EU. Fintechs in those markets have had more years to develop products around faster payments, financial data access and modern infrastructure.
Canadian firms are only now gaining some of the same tools. Infrastructure delays do not explain the success or failure of any individual company, but they can leave Canadian fintechs with less experience using capabilities that competitors elsewhere already know well. That can make winning customers and market share outside Canada harder.
Scale, licences, customer access and specialized technology are easier to finance once companies have had time to build them. If modern infrastructure helps Canadian fintechs prove their economics earlier, more firms could become credible candidates for larger rounds.
Canada's fintech funding concentration was already visible in 2025. H1 2026 makes the domestic question more pressing. Strong companies are still attracting large cheques, but fewer fintechs are reaching investors.
More selective investment can reward stronger companies, but Canada still needs enough firms coming behind today's winners. Better payment and data infrastructure can lower operating barriers. Applied AI can improve real financial workflows. Deeper domestic growth capital can help Canadian investors lead more large rounds.
The goal is not to make investors less selective. It is to produce more Canadian fintechs strong enough to earn their capital and compete globally.
Talking Point
Canadian fintech investors are backing scale, specialized AI, regulated access and proven economics, while international capital becomes more important in larger rounds. Can Real-Time Rail and Consumer Driven Banking help more Canadian fintechs build those advantages earlier while Canada develops more capacity to finance their growth at home?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Aliaswire Adds US$6M At US$100B Payment Scale
August 24, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Payments And Money Movement, Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, SME Finance And Business Banking
Growth Capital Meets Embedded Payments And Receivables
On August 24, 2026, Toronto based Flow Capital announced a US$6 million investment in Aliaswire (see quarterly filing), a Burlington, Massachusetts payments technology company serving vertical SaaS platforms, financial institutions and enterprises. The investment was made August 17 and will provide working capital for growth while refinancing existing debt.
Aliaswire provides billing, receivables and payments technology through DirectBiller for enterprises and financial institutions and DirectEmbed for vertical SaaS platforms. The company says its technology serves more than 7,000 customers and has processed more than one billion transactions and US$100 billion in payment volume.
Its embedded receivables platform lets software companies add billing, invoicing, payment acceptance, account management and reconciliation inside their own products without building the full payments operation themselves.
The financing terms have not been disclosed. Flow's core business is growth venture debt, but the public documents do not identify the Aliaswire instrument, pricing, maturity, security or any equity component. The US$6 million should therefore be treated as an investment unless further terms are released.
When Debt Can Fit Better Than Another Equity Round
Aliaswire is large enough to have more financing choices than an early startup. Equity brings capital without scheduled principal repayments but gives up ownership. Bank debt can be cheaper when a company qualifies. Venture debt can extend runway with less dilution, while other private credit can offer more flexible terms when a financing need falls outside normal bank lending.
Venture debt is one form of private credit. Flow focuses on revenue generating growth companies and typically provides senior secured financing, sometimes with a small warrant component.
This deal sends Canadian growth capital into a U.S. fintech. Canadian institutions already hold roughly C$500 billion in private credit exposure, much of it outside Canada, while non-bank loans account for only about 15% of external funding for Canadian non-financial businesses. Foreign investment is not the problem. The question is whether Canadian fintechs at the same stage can access comparable growth capital at home?
Capital Choice
| Financing | Where It Can Fit | Founder Advantage | Main Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bank debt | Established cash flow, credit history or collateral | Often lower cost when available | High growth companies may not qualify |
| Venture debt | Growth company with traction and a defined next milestone | Can extend runway with limited ownership dilution | Interest and repayment obligations, often with warrants |
| Private credit | Financing needs that do not fit normal bank lending | Terms can be tailored to the company and use of capital | Can cost more and give lenders stronger protections |
| Equity | High growth where cash needs to remain inside the business | No scheduled principal repayment | Founders and existing investors give up ownership |
How Companies Have Used Flow Capital Financing
Flow's portfolio shows how growth debt can serve different jobs. Toronto retirement fintech Common Wealth used a C$15 million senior secured note before raising a C$12 million Series A in March 2026. The debt helped fund product development, customer growth and operating scale before the equity round.
Vancouver based JUDI.AI used several Flow tranches to finance U.S. expansion, including senior sales hiring and new American credit union customers. UK insurtech Wrisk used a C$4.25 million senior secured note to fund growth toward profitability. Revenue rose 142% in the following year, its UK operation later became profitable and the company subsequently raised a £12 million Series B.
UK marketplace lending platform CrowdProperty received a C$5.25 million senior note for marketplace lending growth and technology improvements. Aliaswire adds another use case by combining new working capital with refinancing.
Debt isn't replacing equity in these examples. Common Wealth used it before an equity raise, JUDI.AI used it to enter a new market, Wrisk used it to reach profitability and CrowdProperty used it to expand an established platform. The financing changed with what each company needed to accomplish next.
Embedded Receivables Expands The Vertical SaaS Opportunity
Aliaswire is raising capital as payments become a bigger part of the vertical SaaS business model. Stripe reported that median payments adoption across its software platforms rose from 27% in 2024 to 40% in 2025, while leading platforms reached 80% or more. Its vertical SaaS payments data also found 11% lower annual churn among platforms offering embedded financial products and 49% faster revenue growth among platforms offering several financial products compared with software only peers.
J.P. Morgan's work on embedded payments points to transaction revenue, stronger customer relationships and proprietary payments data. As AI makes software features easier to reproduce, owning more of the financial workflow can make a platform harder to replace.
Aliaswire is targeting that opportunity through embedded receivables rather than payment acceptance alone. DirectEmbed combines payments with billing, invoicing, self service, account management and payment operations. Aliaswire is also adding AI for receivables automation, including cash flow prediction, DSO optimization, risk analysis and agentic payment workflows.
Aliaswire's embedded receivables model also connects with the Financial Innovation Map, where payments, receivables, SME finance and embedded software are tracked as connected opportunity areas.
Outlook
If more vertical SaaS companies bring billing, receivables and payments inside their products, Aliaswire can grow with a market it has served for more than two decades while DirectEmbed gives it a newer route into software platforms. Its existing payment volume, customer base and financial institution relationships give it experience that newer embedded finance providers still need to build.
See: Embedded Finance: Banking Meets the Customer
The opportunity is also attracting much larger payment companies and newer infrastructure providers. AI can make software features easier to copy, while deeper control over billing and payments increases fraud, compliance and reliability demands. Aliaswire has to do more than make payments easy to add. It needs to help software companies get customers using them, earn more from them and manage receivables better than competing platforms can.
Talking Point
Aliaswire has already processed more than US$100 billion in payments. Can US$6 million of flexible capital help it turn embedded receivables and AI into a bigger position inside vertical SaaS while larger payment platforms compete for the same customers?
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