Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
March 17, 2026

The age of longevity is upon us. Older generations have traditionally been viewed primarily in social terms.
But now they are becoming a dominant group in economic development. Terms such as Slow Tourism, AgeTech, and Aging in Place are unlikely to be familiar to Russian investors, both private and public.
And that's a shame. After all, they refer to the trending concepts of the ‘silver economy’: ‘slow’ tourism, medical technologies to combat ageing, and adapting housing to the needs of older people.
This is a huge market worth trillions of dollars. This potential can and should be capitalised on.
The global economy is rapidly ageing. Simple calculations show that over the next 25 years, the number of people over 60 will more than double, from 1.4 billion to 2.1 billion. By that time, the average person will live to be 77.3 years old (almost 4 years longer than today).
Europe will lead the way with an average life expectancy of 84 years, while the advanced Asian economies — Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China — will reach 80–82 years. It is important to note that, in addition to increased life expectancy, the quality of life will also change. A modern 70-year-old is physically and cognitively equivalent to a 53-year-old in 2000. People remain active for longer, which means they participate in the economy for longer.
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Objective demographic shifts are also leading to a transformation of the economy as a whole. After all, older people have accumulated significant resources, which they use quite actively. The total expenditure of all households in the older population amounted to $17 trillion in 2025, or 27% of all global expenditure, according to a report by the Silver Economy analytical agency.
Of this, $4.2 trillion is accounted for by the specialised Silver Economy Market, which offers goods and services tailored to older citizens. This market is growing at a rate that exceeds the average global GDP growth rate, averaging 7.6% per year.
People of retirement and pre-retirement age now account for 34% ($45 trillion) of global gross domestic product. By 2050, their share will grow to 39% of GDP — $118 trillion.
But as prosperity grows, the structure of demand is also changing. Already, most of the global consumer class lives in the world's majority countries. So far, their populations are mostly young, and their economies are built around active consumers under the age of 45. However, as these generations age, a new type of pensioner is emerging — one that is more numerous and more affluent. This inevitably changes the structure of demand and economic priorities. Therefore, both businesses and governments need to adapt their strategies to the new demographic reality today.
The ‘ageing’ of the economy is opening up new markets. Not only is the proportion of the elderly population changing, but so is the consumption pattern of older people.
The largest share of the ‘silver economy’ market (about 31%) in 2025 will be occupied by the health and well-being sector — goods and services created specifically for the elderly (preventive medicine, hearing aids, longevity clinics), which is estimated at $1.3 trillion.
Demand for medical devices is growing exponentially: knee implants, technologies for treating aortic stenosis and glaucoma — the total addressable market for these technologies will grow from $1.8 billion in 2025 to $8.3 billion by 2035. This is almost a fivefold increase in ten years.
The AgeTech market stands out separately. Its volume reached $279 billion in 2025, approximately one-fifth of the entire health and well-being sector for the elderly.
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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March 17, 2026

Image: Freepik
Thinking about changing careers? It's completely normal to panic a little. Nobody wants to feel like they're throwing away years of hard work just to start over at the bottom of the ladder. But here's the thing: pivoting to a new industry rarely means you're actually starting from scratch. You aren't erasing your past. You're just taking the skills you already have and pointing them in a completely new direction.
A lot of what makes someone good at their job doesn't depend on the specific industry. Things like managing chaotic projects, conflict resolution, and just communicating clearly are universally valuable. You just have to know how to frame them on your resume.
Take criminal justice, for example. If you've spent years analyzing dense police reports, you already have the exact research skills needed for legal support. If you're looking into how to become a paralegal, that past experience isn't irrelevant. In fact, it is actually a massive advantage over someone fresh out of school. Hiring managers love these kinds of transferable skills because they are notoriously hard to teach.
People often stress that their undergraduate major has absolutely nothing to do with their new career path. Don't sweat it too much. Getting a degree proves you know how to learn, hit deadlines, and handle complex information.
Plus, if you decide to go back to school for a specialized certificate in your new field, you can usually transfer a bunch of those old credits. It saves you a ton of time and money, turning that old degree into a solid foundation instead of a sunk cost.
You can't learn everything from a job description. If you really want to know what a new field is like, you have to talk to the people actually doing the work. Reach out to professionals for a quick coffee chat or an informational interview. It's low pressure, and you'd be surprised how often these casual conversations uncover unadvertised jobs or hidden pathways into a company.
Show up to local networking events or industry conferences, too. You don't have to be an expert yet; just showing genuine curiosity goes a long way with potential mentors. Joining a professional association is another easy win. It gets you access to niche job boards and puts you right in the middle of the community you're trying to join.
Jumping into a new profession is definitely a big deal, but it doesn't have to mean hitting the reset button on your life. Think of it more like a strategic pivot. Sure, the transition might feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but staying stuck in a career you've outgrown is much worse. Lean into the skills you've already built, squeeze every ounce of value out of your past education, and start talking to people in your new field. You've already got momentum. Now you just need to steer it. Trust in the experience you've gathered along the way and take that first step.
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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Mar 16, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments And Market Structure

On Feb 17 2026, a federal securities class action was filed in California against PayPal for allegedly misleading investors about its 2027 targets and the growth outlook for Branded Checkout. The class action was filed following PayPal’s fourth quarter and full year 2025 results published on Feb 3, when the company withdrew its 2027 targets and pointed to weaker than expected Branded Checkout performance.
At PayPal Investor Day 2025, management laid out a plan to accelerate branded total payment volume growth to between 8% and 10% by 2027. When that target was pulled less than a year later, the market reaction was severe. Reuters reported that PayPal stock fell 19% on Feb 3 after weaker 2026 profit guidance, disappointing holiday quarter results, resulted in PayPal appointing a new CEO.
The complaint argues that investors were given an overly optimistic picture of Branded Checkout growth and the path to PayPal’s 2027 financial targets. When management withdrew those targets, the issue changed from execution pressure to credibility pressure. While investors can absorb a difficult quarter, they respond more sharply when a company promotes a long range growth plan and then walks it back before the plan has time to play out.
This is why the lawsuit matters beyond the legal claim itself. A class action can take years. The more immediate issue is whether investors now discount management guidance more heavily than before. Once that happens, the company has to rebuild trust through results, not presentations.
PayPal is trying to defend a core commerce business in one of the most competitive parts of fintech. Stripe, Apple Pay, Adyen, and other platforms keep pushing deeper into merchant checkout and payment orchestration. See NCFA's prior coverage on Stripe's scale and PayPal pressure.
That is why adjacent product moves around stablecoins, merchant tools, and infrastructure aren't the main story right now. Investors are still anchored to checkout adoption, merchant retention, branded payment volume, and margin quality. If the core checkout engine weakens, new initiatives don't offset that on their own.
The next phase is about proof. PayPal needs to show that Branded Checkout can return to steadier growth and that management guidance once again lines up with operating reality. Until then, both legal and market pressures are likely to continue.
When a payments company faces both a securities class action and a sharp stock repricing, what matters more to investors in the end: the lawsuit or whether the core commerce engine still works?
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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Mar 16, 2026 | NCFA Market Insight | Consumer Duty And Digital Finance

Data Source: UK Financial Conduct Authority Financial Lives Survey
On Mar 13, 2026, the UK Financial Conduct Authority published good practice and areas for improvement on consumer understanding, which is critical under Consumer Duty. It's important because the FCA wants firms to show that customers actually understand products, risks, costs, eligibility, and support at the point of decision. This moves the debate past disclosure.
The FCA has real evidence about consumer weakness. Its 2024, a UK Financial Lives survey found that 12% of adults, about 6.3 million people, had limited understanding of the products they held.
Another 19%, about 10.3 million, had low confidence with everyday numeracy (34% poor or low financial numeracy). Three in 10 said their preferred communication channel had been withdrawn, causing difficulty for most of them.
The FCA also cites research showing that 1 in 7 adults have literacy skills at or below those expected of a 9 to 11 year old.
The study also notes that 22% of adults lacked confidence managing money and 36% had low knowledge about financial matters.
Those numbers explain the policy intent. If firms keep pushing more financial decisions into online self serve journeys, regulators want evidence that speed doesn't come at the expense of understanding.
The FCA says it used a wide evidence base, including supervisory findings, form data, behavioural research, and engagement with industry bodies, charities, and consumer groups.
It also ran a September 2025 survey of 38 firms across insurance, retail banking, payments, consumer finance, and Contract for Difference providers.
The review focused on five areas: (1) management information and testing, (2) innovation and communication design, (3) vulnerability and accessibility, (4) financial promotions, and (5) governance and oversight.
1. One firm used website analytics to find where customers got stuck during a sales process, tested improvements, reduced the number of clicks needed to complete the task, and cut helpline calls.
2. Another smaller firm tested a renewal letter with customers including two with sight impairments, then introduced large print, a 100 word summary, and clearer next steps. Follow up calls and a micro survey then showed better understanding of excesses and cancellations, with fewer complaints about unclear letters.
3. In another example, a firm set an internal target of at least 80% correct recall of key points when testing communications with customers in vulnerable circumstances and repeated drafting until it hit that threshold.
The FCA is not just asking for better UX or a cleaner narrative. It is asking for an integrated control system that links insight, design, testing, vulnerability, promotions, and governance.
The FCA says the publication may help policymakers and other stakeholders improve customer understanding across financial services. That makes it relevant in Canada on two levels.
For fintechs and financial institutions, it offers a practical operating playbook for testing, accessibility, promotions, and governance. For policymakers and regulators, it shows what a more detailed supervisory model looks like when a market evolves from broad conduct guidance to clearer expectations on proof, monitoring, and accountability.
NCFA has already highlighted the demand side of this issue in its analysis of FCA Financial Lives gaps. This new FCA paper adds the supply side. It shows how firms are expected to respond.
The takeaways travel well beyond the UK. Firms should approach it as an operating model. Policymakers should study it as a regulatory benchmark. Consumer Duty is pushing the market from disclosure to proof, and that's raising the standard for digital finance. If the market wants better outcomes, stronger trust, and fewer harmful misunderstandings, it will need more than disclosure rules alone. It will need evidence that customers actually understand what they are being shown and asked 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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Mar 16, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Cross Border Payments Infrastructure

On Mar 13 2026, global payments platform Airwallex announced a $1.135B over five years across the United Kingdom and EMEA to expand product development, engineering capacity and regional operations.
The company reported 116% year over year revenue growth and a 226% increase in transaction volume across EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa). The expansion includes plans to hire about 100 senior engineers in London, the first time Airwallex will base engineering teams in the United Kingdom.
Airwallex provides infrastructure for international businesses including multicurrency accounts, cross border payments, foreign exchange, card issuing, and expense management.
In its 2025 year end mission update, the company said its platform processes more than $266B in annual transaction volume. The firm also reported that 95% of transactions run through local payment rails across 127 countries, with about 94% settling the same day.
The investment adds engineering capacity and infrastructure in one of the world’s largest markets for cross border business payments. Global businesses increasingly rely on platforms that provide local accounts, foreign exchange, international payouts and card services through a single financial infrastructure provider.
Large platforms are responding by building regional engineering teams, expanding local rail coverage and increasing settlement speed. Airwallex’s reported transaction scale and investment size show how quickly infrastructure providers are scaling to serve cross border digital businesses.
Competition global payments platforms combine local payment rail access, multicurrency financial services and software integration in one system capable of handling large international transaction volumes.
Platforms processing hundreds of billions in transaction volume are investing heavily in local payment rail access and engineering capacity as competition intensifies in cross border payments infrastructure.
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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Mar 16, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Consumer Fintech And Housing Payments

AI generated image: Rent Now Pay Later (RNPL)
On Mar 14 2026, CNN rent BNPL trend coverage in the US highlighted a new area of growth for consumer fintech, Rent Now Pay Later. BNPL providers and payment platforms are starting to move into rent payments, the largest recurring expense for many households.
Canada is already heading down this path. Fintech firms have spent several years pulling rent into the credit system through reporting and credit building services. KOHO rent credit programs allow renters to build credit history through rent payments, while rent credit history tools from Borrowell allow renters to add up to two years of past rent payments to their credit profile.
Now the model goes further.
Instead of only reporting rent payments, fintech platforms are beginning to split, finance, or route rent payments through credit rails. Rent is starting to look less like a fixed housing cost and more like a financial transaction that can generate data, fees, rewards, and short term credit exposure.
The underlying driver is housing affordability. rent burden data from Statistics Canada shows 33.0% of Canadian renter households spent 30% or more of income on shelter costs in 2022, a commonly used affordability threshold. Among private market renters who don't receive rent subsidies, the share rises slightly to 34.0%.
When roughly one third of renters already operate near an affordability limit, even small timing mismatches between income and rent payments can create pressure. Many workers receive pay every two weeks while rent is due monthly. Payment flexibility tools are now working to bridge that gap.
Several Canadian fintech firms are building products around rent payments. Zenbase offers split rent payments while reporting payment history to credit bureaus. Toronto fintech Chexy allows renters to pay rent by card, turning rent into a transaction that can generate rewards and short term credit float.
Borrowell focuses on rent reporting, allowing rent payment history to appear in an Equifax credit file. Products from KOHO, Borrowell, Zenbase, and Chexy differ in structure but share the same direction. They're moving rent deeper into payments infrastructure and credit data systems.
It's an important problem to focus on because rent is one of the largest financial flows in household budgets. Once fintech platforms innovate the payment stream, the implications extend into credit scoring, underwriting, rewards programs, and consumer debt exposure.
The benefits are straightforward. Rent reporting can help renters build credit files that traditional lending products often overlook. Payment flexibility can help align rent payments with pay cycles.
The risk emerges when flexibility substitutes for affordability. The reality is splitting rent into installments doesn't reduce the underlying cost of housing. It only spreads the obligation across time. Service fees, credit card interest, and repeated installment use can gradually turn a convenience feature into ongoing credit reliance.
This fact will likely determine how the category evolves. Products designed for occasional payment timing behave very differently from models that depend on frequent borrowing by financially stressed households.
Canadian regulators already monitor buy now pay later products as a consumer finance issue. The BNPL pilot study from the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada surveyed 1,034 Canadians to better understand how these services are used and whether consumers fully understand repayment terms and penalties.
Rent installment services raise similar questions. When the largest household bill starts moving onto credit rails, repayment discipline, fee transparency, and repeat usage patterns become key areas of concern and focus for both fintech providers and regulators.
Products that help renters manage payment timing or build credit history can deliver real value. But if rent flexibility becomes another channel for consumer borrowing, the category will face the same scrutiny that now surrounds buy now pay later services.
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Mar 12, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure And Card Networks

On Mar 12 2026, OpenWay announced that its Way4 digital payments platform now supports the full set of UnionPay International card products. The company said Way4 clients can issue UnionPay cards, process acquiring transactions, run switching infrastructure, and support tokenization and digital wallet integrations through the same platform. OpenWay also said the first UnionPay Big Pay deployment on Way4 is already live with six major banks in Central Asia, with additional rollouts expected.
It is a live infrastructure rollout that combines four core payment functions in one stack. For banks and fintechs, that can reduce integration work, shorten launch timelines, and make it easier to support wallet based payments and tokenized credentials across markets.
OpenWay is the software layer behind the card. On its corporate site, OpenWay says Way4 is used by banks, processors, acquirers, payment service providers, telcos, national payment switches, and fintech startups. The platform handles account management, digital wallets, card issuing, acquiring, switching, and e commerce gateway functions.
UnionPay brings the network scale. On its official site, UnionPay International says it enables card acceptance in 180 countries and regions through partnerships with more than 2,500 institutions worldwide. When a platform like Way4 adds full UnionPay support, the point is not just another card option. It is faster access to a very large acceptance network through one operating system.
Card networks still matter, but the software platforms connecting issuers, acquirers, wallets, and tokenization services are becoming more important in their own right. Especially as digital wallets, tokenized credentials, and cross border acceptance keep growing. Institutions increasingly compete on how fast they can launch, how easily they can add wallet and token support, and how much complexity they can remove from their payments stack.
That creates room for companies building issuer processing, orchestration, fraud controls, wallet enablement, and merchant routing tools.
As card networks push deeper into tokenization and wallets, will the strongest edge by the network brand or with the platform that runs the infrastructure behind it?
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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