FFCON Week 5 Wrap-up: Digital Identity & Convergence Marketplaces
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: NCFA Blog
Global News Radio Interview with Michelle Beyo: Alipay – Moving Money Between Countries
NCFA Canada | Michele Beyo | Aug 19, 2020
Checkout NCFA Advisor - Payments, Michelle Beyo's interview on Global News Radio
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, 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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FFCON Week 5 Wrap-up: Digital Identity & Convergence Marketplaces
NCFA | Samuel He | Aug 17, 2020
FFCON Week 5 Wrap-up: Digital Identity & Convergence Marketplaces
Digital identity has become particularly relevant in our modern age with the rise in technology, and the trend isn’t slowing down. This means it is crucial to deliver new frameworks and infrastructure to support digital commerce, online interactions and social identification in more secure and robust ways. This poses some important questions – What exactly is digital identity and why does it matter? How important is consumer ownership of their own data and how can businesses and government adapt to this?
Liquid Avatar Demo
See: FFCON20 DIGITAL Attendees to Receive Exclusive Digital Icon and Early Access to Liquid Avatar
TEDx: Why Digital Identity Matters Globally 2020 and Beyond (Info | Video)
The session kicked off with a presentation by David Lucatch of KABN about the importance of protecting one’s digital identity. David is a strong advocate, and the main point that he wants to emphasize is that our everyday actions online generate lots of data that have tremendous value. In his words, we as users are data generating machines. Different businesses and corporations have generated a lot of profit with the usage of this data. Lucatch believes that ownership of data should be a basic human right that the government should protect. He believes that data needs to be treated as currency for transactions for organizations that want to deal with them.
“You are a data generating machine,” David Lucatch, Co-founder, Director and President, KABN Systems North America
KABN followed up with a demo of their app called Liquid Avatar that functions as the digital identity of the customer. Utilizing biometrics and blockchain, Liquid Avatar provides the tools to set permissions and control for the customer’s private data, potentially reducing any opportunity for digital identity fraud. You can learn more about their app here: https://liquidavatar.com/
See: A new denim collection gives jeans a digital identity
Panel: How Businesses and Government Need to Adapt to Consumer Ownership of Data (Info | Video)
Later in the session featured a panel that offered different insights from four distinct perspectives on digital identity from the point of view of government, investor, technology, and the user. Each exhibited support for the idea of decentralized identity and moving ownership of data from the corporation to the user. In addition, it was discussed that data protection is crucial to protect new entrants into the market. This is because incumbents have lots of power if consumers are not in authority to control data streams.
“The key to the adoption of any technology is you have to develop value,” Senator Colin Deacon, Senate of Canada
4 important roles in digital ecosystems to create value
As was the case with all emerging technologies in the past, the idea of building trust with the consumer was promoted as a crucial step in delivering value and making digital identity usable for the average user.
Panel: Blockchain as the Foundation for Market Convergence: A Peak Into the Future (Info | Video)
Neoflow Screenshot:
Before the panel, Patrick Mandic of Mavennet gave a demo on his product NeoFlow. The aim of the product is to offer efficient solutions and bridge digital islands in the oil and gas industry. Patrick believes that the building blocks of transparency in the industry are identity, trust, and finance, all relevant factors to the topic of the panel. Neoflow is used by border control agencies and relevant government entities and provides tracking of key value chain events as well as digitization of relevant documents. You can learn more about Neoflow here: https://www.mavennet.com/solutions/neoflow/
See: US DHS Awards Mavennet $182K for Cross-Border Oil Import Tracking Using Blockchain
This next panel featured different perspectives on what the future may look like with markets. One idea discussed was to encourage different competitors to collaborate, with the end result being a better market for everyone. This involves finding the right individuals and government organizations that align with a shared vision/initiative. The panelists believe blockchain will have a lot of significance and will play a big role in transactions in the future. They believe that government and the central bank will play a vital role in innovation and cooperation that can speed up the adoption of blockchain.
Conclusion
An important takeaway from the panels is the importance of having transparency and having consumer ownership of their data. Moving ownership of data from the corporation to the user is an important step in being able to deliver value. The idea of transparency is also relevant with regards to the future of markets. Building a good rapport between government and competitors will play a key role.
Be sure to join us for the next session about Currency Wars, Digital Assets, and the Rise of Decentralized Finance! Learn more here: https://fintechandfunding.com/ffcon20-whats-on-this-week/
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, 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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FFCON20 RISE: Join us this Thursday, July 30 for Week 4 theme: LEADERSHIP AND CULTURE
NCFA | FFCON20 Team | July 28, 2020
Image Source: Vantage Circle
Join us Thursday, July 30, 2020! Leaders inspire a vision of the future, motivate and coach others, and bring together the resources and skills to achieve a vision. They must overcome challenges and obstacles as they lead people, technology, markets and navigate regulation towards transformative change.
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How humans can adapt during crisis and how to unleash it
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How to understand and lead in culturally diverse and different environments
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What are the 'People lessons' learned for growing organizations?
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How can a dynamic leader capitalize on their vision, market and relationships?
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Interactive Networking Breakouts! Network and learn with experts on the topics of 'Pitching & Funding During Covid-19, Fintech Innovation and Growth Mentoring'
Michelle Beyo, Founder and CEO of Finavator Joins the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada’s Advisory Group
NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | July 28, 2020
Michelle Beyo, Advisor, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
TORONTO, JUL 28, 2020 – The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA) today announced that Michelle Beyo, Founder and CEO of Finavator, has joined the Association`s growing Advisory Group to advise on the areas of payments and financial inclusivity.
Michelle Beyo is Founder & CEO of Finavator INC, Money2020 RiseUp Alumni, WomeninPayments Global Console & Award Committee Member, FinTech Advisor, CPPO Member, Amazon Prime Docu-Series Associate Producer and Participate on season two of The Social Movement.
Michelle started Finavator as she is passionate about payments & financial inclusion. Her background in Telecoms, E-commerce, Prepaid and Loyalty programs nurtures her passion for the world of tech. She has 20 years of extensive industry experience driving innovation across the retail and payments industry. Her most recent roles were as Chief Client Officer for a Blockchain startup focused on consent-based data sharing, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing at InComm, and Director of Loyalty Solutions for Aeroplan Division at International Marketing Company.
Her company, Finavator (www.finavator.com), helps Enterprise and Fintech companies present their customers with innovative payment and digital services. Finavator's team has experience and expertise in Payments, Open Banking, Prepaid Solutions, ISO 20022, Challenger Banks, , Affiliate Marketing, Micro Loans, E-Commerce, Rewards and Loyalty Solutions.
"I am excited to be joining the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association as an advisor at this critical time in the fintech industry. We all need to work together to push for Open Banking as it can help drive innovation and competition which will enable consumers to have more affordable services as the pandemic continues to cause uncertainty. Much of my work with clients is around how they can better serve their customers and I am thrilled to be an advisor to the NCFA as they play a key role in advancing the Canadian Fintech Ecosystem.” -- Michelle Beyo, Founder and CEO, Finavator
“We’re thrilled to have Michelle join the Association who is perfectly aligned with many of NCFA’s values from financial inclusivity to collaboration and partnerships. Michelle is a real activator and we welcome her positive energy and look forward to her contributions as a Finavator!” – Craig Asano, Founder and CEO, NCFA
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About National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a non-profit 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.
For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
About Finavator
Finavator is an award-winning Payments & Fintech consultancy in Toronto focused on offering digital innovation solutions. Finavator helps Enterprise and Fintech companies present their customers with innovative payment and digital services which place the consumer first. Our team has expertise in Payments, Open Banking, Prepaid Solutions, ISO 20022, Challenger Banks, E-Commerce, Affiliate Marketing, Micro Loans, Rewards and Loyalty.
Connect with our team to find out how we can help your business www.finavator.com
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Craig Asano
Founder and CEO
NCFA Canada
casano@ncfacanada.org
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Michelle Beyo, Advisor, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
Michelle Beyo, Advisor, Payments and Financial Inclusivity
Michelle Beyo is Founder & CEO of Finavator INC, Money2020 RiseUp Alumni, Women in Payments Global Console & Award Committee Member, FinTech Strategic Advisor, CPPO Member, Open Banking Initiative Canada FinTech Co-Chair and Associate Producer of The Social Movement Amazon Prime Docu-Series.
Michelle started Finavator as she is passionate about payments & financial inclusion. Her background in Telecoms, E-commerce, Prepaid and Loyalty programs nurtures her passion for the world of tech. She has 20 years of extensive industry experience driving innovation across the retail and payments industry. Her most recent roles were as Chief Client Officer for a Blockchain startup focused on consent based data sharing, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing at InComm, and Director of Loyalty Solutions for Aeroplan Division of Shop Local program.
Her company, Finavator (www.finavator.com), helps Enterprise and Fintech companies present their customers with innovative payment and digital services. Finavator's team has experience and expertise in Payments, Open Banking, Prepaid Solutions, ISO 20022, NEO Banks, E-Commerce, Affiliate Marketing, Micro Loans, Rewards and Loyalty Solutions.
"I am excited to be joining the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association as an advisor at this critical time in the fintech industry. We all need to work together to push for Open Banking as it can help drive innovation and competition which will enable consumers to have more affordable services as the Pandemic continues to cause uncertainty. Much of my work with clients is around how they can better serve their customers and I am thrilled to be an advisor to the NCFA as they play a key role in advancing the Canadian Fintech Ecosystem”
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, 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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FFCON20 fintech cage match: Financial planning vs literacy
NCFA Canada | By Samuel He | July 11, 2020
Image Credit: Inspiring / Shutterstock
Dealing with finances is time-consuming and difficult, especially when it involves contradictory goals, like paying off debt while investing for the future. Unfortunately, financial literacy is not emphasized in today’s educational curriculum.
Reports show that only 16% of Millennials qualified as “financially literate,” and over 75% of Canadians stated that they were not confident that they will ever achieve their financial goals.
Several companies have taken initiatives to offer assistance in this field. One company is Finally, a free online financial planning stimulator will provide guidance to users about their financial goals. Another is NuMoola, a family-focused consumer banking app that helps children develop good money habits using real money and gamified education.
Finally offers a DIY Financial Planning Simulator that helps users customize a tailor-made plan to best fit their needs. The simulator uses multiple financial algorithms and machine learning to make the process straightforward and efficient, creating a plan for the user in as little as 20 minutes.
A basic financial plan can be created for free, with the user having the option to subscribe for additional value-added services. Some of these services include automated money movement, access to a financial planning advisor, and cashback programs for assistance.
NuMoola approaches the problem from a different direction. The NuMoola app strives to make learning about financial literacy a less daunting endeavour. And their focus is on getting children to develop good lifelong financial habits early. The app features family-focused banking that allows children to learn the value of money and gamified educational tasks focusing on all aspects of banking and money management. Achieving financial awareness at this early stage prepares children to be financially responsible and tackle financial hurdles in the future.
You can see Finally and NuMoola pitch at FFCON20 DIGITAL’s Fintech Draft Competition!
Get a ticket, tune in and vote to show your support for Finally and NuMoola (and others, see below)
Check out their profiles and their competition at the FFCON20 RISE page.
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, 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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Refusal to embrace open banking puts Canada behind yet another curve
Financial Post | Kevin Carmichael | July 10, 2020
Adam Felesky, chief executive of Portag3 Ventures LP, the venture-capital arm of Power Corp. of Canada, was primed to put his home country on the leading edge of finance at the end of last year.“We’re on a mission to build global champions from a Canadian base,” Felesky told the TechCrunch website in early December when Portag3 announced it had raised $427 million for a new fund aimed at digital finance startups.
The “majority” of that money remains unallocated, Felesky told me this week, but that could soon change. The social distancing demanded by COVID-19 has sped up the shift to a digital economy, a boon for outfits such as Toronto-based Portag3, which specializes in identifying startups that have plans to disrupt finance. The pandemic caused a terrible recession, but anyone focused on digital technology barely noticed.
“We’ve been playing offence,” Felesky said during a Zoom interview organized by the National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association. “We’re excited about the environment right now. There are lots of opportunities.”
Without access to data, digital upstarts have little chance of stealing market share from legacy institutions, even if they offer a better service
Unfortunately for Canada, which, like most countries, will need all the investment it can get to recover from the coronavirus crisis, most of the opportunities that Felesky sees are elsewhere.
See: Open banking would help the recovery
That’s because we Canadians — and, by extension, our elected representatives — refuse to get excited about open banking, the industry term for a regulatory regime that grants control of financial information to clients rather than the financial institutions that serve them.
Without access to data, digital upstarts have little chance of stealing market share from legacy institutions, even if they offer a better service. The United Kingdom, European Union and Australia are among the jurisdictions that have adopted open banking over the past couple of years and will benefit from a first-mover advantage as a result.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, meanwhile, keeps postponing a decision on whether it intends to follow, which probably suits the established banking oligopoly just fine.
Around the time Portag3 closed its latest round of fundraising, an expert committee appointed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau was finishing up a report that was relatively enthusiastic about open banking. In January, Morneau released the review and announced additional consultations would be held in the spring. Those meetings were postponed until autumn because of the pandemic, meaning regulatory clarity is at least a year away, if not longer.
As a result, Portag3’s money probably will end up in places where governments have decided to embrace the future, rather than serve the interests of legacy interests by dallying. Canada will have exposure to the digital shift in financial services thanks to the ownership stakes Portag3 and others take in various international firms. But the actual champions of global finance will continue to come from elsewhere, and their clients in Europe and Asia will be first to enjoy the benefits of better service.
See: NCFA Open Letter: Government should collaborate with Fintechs
“Unfortunately, we’re spending more time outside of Canada than inside of Canada because of some of these (regulatory) headwinds,” Felesky said. “It’s difficult to make some of these investments believing something may occur. We just don’t have any capital in businesses that are dependent on open banking.”
A new generation of finance entrepreneurs think decades of coddling have left the big banks too risk averse to be successful in the digital economy
There is a strongly held view among fintech advocates that the big banks are using their influence to delay regulatory changes that would entice new challengers for as long as they can.
Given the banking oligopoly’s outsized role in the federal government’s COVID-19 rescue, it’s fair to wonder if it will have even greater sway over Ottawa once the emergency is over. The argument that the guarantee of financial stability justifies protecting the largest institutions from competition will be strengthened by Bay Street’s ability to keep many mortgage holders and smaller companies afloat during the crisis.
See: NCFA Announces Updated Virtual Interactive Programme for FFCON20 DIGITAL, the 6th annual Fintech and Financing Conference
There will need to be more urgency in Ottawa, too, and some of that will have to be directed by us, so call your member of Parliament. The opportunity cost of letting the banks and their regulators sort out open banking is too great.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, 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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