Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Payments, Transfers, Rewards
Fintech: The Core of Modern Gaming
December 22, 2025
Image: Unsplash/Michael Förtsch
Fintech has gone from a basic background tool to the actual foundation of digital life. In gaming and online entertainment, this tech isn't just some back-office task. It is the heart of how players use a platform, trade their items, and decide who to trust. As these digital worlds grow, the payment tech and the game itself become one and the same. If the money lags during a session, the whole experience breaks. This makes top-tier financial tech a must-have for any platform trying to survive today.
Payment Architecture and Modern Rails
Money in digital entertainment is moving differently now. It is less about the checkout button and more about making payments feel like a built-in feature. You see this drive to remove lag everywhere, from esports prize payouts to trading inside massive multiplayer games.
Mobile games and freemium apps are using one-click flows to handle battle passes and upgrades instantly. The same shift is hitting the online casino market. Since there are brand new options popping up every day, these sites offer players access to thousands of games and usually ditch slow, traditional banking options for faster, more modern payment methods like crypto tokens, Interac payments, and transactions through e-wallets. These flexible and secure transaction methods allow players to deposit and withdraw funds nearly instantly, which keeps things moving. Even streamers use these tools now to grab micro-tips without waiting three days for a bank to clear the funds.
Whether it is a tournament payout or a tiny tip, fintech isn't an afterthought anymore; it is what determines if a platform can actually handle the pressure of live users.
Open Banking and the Race to Zero Friction
The move toward real-time settlement is largely down to the rise of Open Banking. We are seeing pay-by-bank tools evolve from niche experiments into genuine threats to credit card dominance. By using secure APIs to link directly to a user’s account, platforms can bypass the middlemen, avoiding the steep fees and slow settlement times that define old-school card networks.
This creates a win-win. Users can track their spending instantly, while operators get access to cleared cash without the usual wait. For any platform handling high volumes across borders, these gains are essential. Cutting out card-based rails helps stop chargeback fraud and keeps liquidity moving so that growth does not get stalled by banking lag.
RegTech and Automated Integrity
Growing a platform globally is a headache because money laws change as soon as you cross a border. RegTech fixes this. It handles things like ID checks and anti-money laundering rules automatically, so they don't stall growth.
The shift toward trust-led payments proves that you can't have innovation without solid security. By running these checks quietly in the background, apps can enter new countries without a mountain of paperwork. It keeps the bad actors out while letting real users move through the system without the typical friction.
Digital Wallets and In-Platform Economies
Digital wallets have become the primary hub for value exchange within interactive environments. Stashing cash in a balance means users stop sharing bank details constantly, which is a massive win for privacy and security. Digital wallets are on the rise as a preferred method for everyday transactions, demonstrating how stored-value systems are shifting consumer behaviour.
Two wallet models now dominate. Closed-loop systems support platform-specific credits or loyalty balances, keeping activity within a single ecosystem. Open-loop wallets are more flexible, letting users move money across different sites through third-party providers. Both versions use the same heavy-duty tech, instant balance updates, and multi-factor logins to keep things safe.
Blockchain Research and Transparency
Crypto hype comes and goes, but the technology behind it is quietly reshaping fintech at the infrastructure level. The real win isn’t about digital coins; it is the shift toward faster settlement, transparent records, and systems you can actually trust. Because distributed ledgers create permanent, auditable records, they are a strong fit for any service handling large volumes of small transactions.
See: Tokenized Infrastructure Is Changing How Markets Operate
Even if a service never uses a blockchain directly, the logic remains. Using permanent records to settle accounts is becoming a baseline expectation for security. This matters more than ever as digital items start to have real-world value. A recent example is the integration of a crypto-native fintech into Payments Canada’s core payment infrastructure, recognizing that ledger-oriented designs have a role to play in settlement and transparency within mainstream systems. When technology can prove you actually own what you paid for, it creates the trust a digital market needs to survive.
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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NCFA Weekly Fintech Intelligence Dec 13-19, 2025
December 19, 2025 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer Weekly Intelligence | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Payments And Money Movement, Regulation And Policy, Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing, Digital Assets, Blockchain And Tokenization
Image: Freepik
This NCFA intelligence for the period Dec 13-19 tracks financial technology developments that significantly affect how fintechs build, sell, raise capital, and operate under scrutiny. Coverage prioritizes Canada and includes global events that directly influence competitive conditions, market access, and execution realities across fintech sectors. (Missed the prior week's Fintech Whisperer? Fintech December 6-12)
Weekly Fintech Market Intelligence Dec 13-19, 2025
Open Banking Open Finance And Data Sharing
Bank of Ghana Publishes Draft Open Banking Directive
December 20, 2024, Ghana
- The Bank of Ghana published a Draft Open Banking Directive for regulated financial institutions to support secure customer-consented financial data sharing across Ghana's financial system.
- The draft establishes rules covering data protection, security protocols and operating standards for participating institutions, with the Bank linking open banking to competition, product choice and digital financial service innovation.
- Stakeholders were given 30 days to submit comments. The Bank said it would engage participants on operationalizing the directive after an implementation date is announced.
Ghana moved open banking from policy ambition into a formal regulatory design with explicit requirements around consent, security and participant operations. The next operating trigger is implementation: regulated institutions need clarity on technical standards, liability, accreditation, API access and the timetable for moving from consultation into live data sharing.
Market Infrastructure
DTCC And Digital Asset Partner To Tokenize DTC Custodied US Treasury Securities
Dec 17, United States
- DTCC and Digital Asset announce a partnership to tokenize a subset of US Treasury securities custodied at DTC using the Canton Network.
- The initiative targets an MVP in a controlled production environment in the first half of 2026, with expansion based on institutional demand.
- The effort ties tokenization directly to existing post trade custody and settlement infrastructure rather than standalone pilots.
This moves tokenization into regulated market plumbing where adoption decisions sit with custody, risk, and operations teams. For fintechs selling into capital markets workflows, the opportunity shifts toward integration and tooling that fits institutional settlement and collateral processes.
Payments And Money Movement
Visa Brings USDC Settlement To US Issuers And Acquirers
Dec 16, United States
- Visa launches USDC settlement in the United States and lets US issuer and acquirer partners settle with Visa in Circle’s USDC.
- Visa discloses more than $3.5B in annualized stablecoin settlement volume and names Cross River Bank and Lead Bank as initial participants settling over Solana.
- Visa plans broader US availability through 2026, which pressures treasury teams to treat always on settlement as a competitive baseline.
This matters because stablecoin settlement moves from a pilot talking point to a bank ready treasury workflow. Fintechs that ride existing card and bank rails now face a higher bar on weekend liquidity, reconciliation, and cost of funds, especially for cross border payouts and merchant settlement.
PayPal Files To Establish PayPal Bank As A Utah Chartered Industrial Bank
Dec 15, United States
- PayPal submits applications to the Utah Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC to form an industrial bank called PayPal Bank.
- PayPal says PayPal Bank aims to expand access to financial services for US small businesses, including business lending and potentially interest bearing savings accounts.
- PayPal says it seeks direct connections to card networks for processing and settlement, which can reduce reliance on partner banks and reshape unit economics.
This pushes fintech toward vertical integration under supervision. Canadian fintechs that compete in SMB lending, merchant credit, or cross border commerce should assume tighter competition on price and speed from platforms that control both distribution and the balance sheet wrapper.
Digital Assets, Blockchain And Tokenization
Tetra Completes First Smart Contract Deployment And Partner Testing For CADD
Dec 16, Canada
- Tetra Digital Group announces its first smart contract deployment and initial partner testing for CADD ahead of a planned Q1 launch.
- The release positions partner testing as a step toward production readiness rather than a concept demo, with a defined near term timeline.
- Production grade Canadian dollar stablecoin infrastructure can change treasury, settlement, and cash management playbooks for Canadian fintechs that operate across borders.
This signals a practical path from Canadian stablecoin design to bank and platform execution. Fintechs should focus on operational readiness like ledger integration, compliance controls, and payout design, not only token mechanics, because distribution wins the market.
Regulation, Policy And Market Structure
Bank Of Canada Sets A Hard Bar For Trust In Digital Money
Dec 16, Canada
- Governor Tiff Macklem describes new responsibilities that include regulating stablecoins and implementing consumer driven banking.
- The speech states close to 1,600 payment service providers sit registered with the Bank of Canada or sit in the registration pipeline.
- The speech describes Real Time Rail as a system that clears and settles instantly, 24 7, 365 days a year, with direct access for payment service providers.
This puts real constraints around which stablecoin models earn institutional distribution in Canada and which ones remain niche. It also tightens the competitive loop because Real Time Rail and consumer driven banking push more switching and more product bundling pressure into everyday financial services. Fintechs win when they build for regulatory grade trust and operational resilience instead of treating compliance as an afterthought.
CIRO Launches Review To Improve Access To Affordable Tailored Online Investment Advice
Dec 17, Canada
- CIRO posts a news release for a review that targets access to affordable, tailored online investment advice.
- The framing points to investor access and suitability expectations intersecting with online advice models.
- The review signals more scrutiny on how digital advice products deliver outcomes, not just onboarding and UX.
This matters for wealthtechs because distribution now depends on how clearly a firm shows fit, guardrails, and investor outcomes in digital channels. Firms that rely on generic risk questionnaires or one size models face more friction as CIRO tightens expectations. The advantage goes to teams that harden advice governance and product suitability evidence early.
FCA Opens Consultation On Proposed UK Crypto Rules
Dec 16, United Kingdom
- The FCA opens consultations on proposed UK crypto rules and sets a consultation close date of Feb 12, 2026.
- The FCA publishes consultation papers that cover regulated cryptoasset activities, admissions and disclosures, market abuse, and a prudential regime for cryptoasset firms.
- These proposals raise the compliance and capital planning bar for exchanges, brokers, lending and staking models that want UK market access.
For Canadian firms that sell into the UK or route liquidity through UK counterparties, this consultation defines the future cost of compliance. Fintechs that build custody, lending, staking, or brokerage should model authorization pathways and operational controls early, because late compliance adds both time and valuation risk.
Conclusion
This week highlighted where fintech momentum is real and where it remains aspirational. Capital continues to concentrate around trusted platforms, infrastructure is scaling inside regulated environments, and experimentation increasingly gives way to execution. For fintechs and investors alike, the gap between announcement and adoption remains the defining test. NCFA offers various curated resources to help founders and investors stay current on developments that impact fintech markets, subscribe to NCFA’s weekly newsletter, view a rundown of current fintech news and insights, or dive into the latest fintech industry research.
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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Spendsafe Youth Financial Education Platform Launch
Dec 19, 2025 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments and Financial Inclusion
Image: Freepik/asier_relampagoestudio
Spendsafe Launches Youth Finance Platform Backed By Mastercard
On December 18 2025, Spendsafe launched a full service financial education platform for youth in Canada. The product combines financial education tools with a reloadable prepaid Mastercard program delivered through regulated Canadian payments partners.
The platform is built for children and teens aged 6 to 18. It provides a mobile app experience where young users can track spending, set savings goals, and learn money concepts as they use funds in real time. Parents retain control through features that include balance loading, spending limits, transaction visibility, and account oversight, while also helping children prepare for long-term goals through tools such as an education savings plan.
The launch arrives at a time when access to practical money education is lagging behind digital participation. The platform connects learning to everyday activity through a secure prepaid card, a connected mobile app, and a personalized digital coach that adapts as the child grows. Parents can assign chore based allowances, set financial goals, and guide spending in real time within a structured environment.According to the release:
- More than 8.5 million Canadians aged 6 to 18 are navigating increasingly digital financial environments
- Gen Z scores only 38% on financial literacy assessments
- 75% of teens wish they had been taught money skills earlier
- In 2024 more than 69% of parents used chores to build financial habits and 73% tied rewards to performance
Spendsafe operates its payments program through a structured partner stack. Peoples Trust Company acts as the prepaid card issuer, Berkeley Payments provides program management, and Mastercard supplies the acceptance network. This design places the product inside existing Canadian payments and compliance frameworks rather than outside them.
Vasanth Ratna, CEO and Founder of Spendsafe:
"Financial confidence isn't built overnight. It's developed through small, meaningful decisions made over time. Spendsafe gives families a smarter, safer way to raise financially independent children. With Mastercard as our network provider, we're proud to deliver a platform that brings together payment security, behavioral learning, and a clear path to lifelong financial wellbeing."
Spendsafe operates independently while relying on licensed partners to handle regulated functions such as card issuance and payment processing. The company has also attracted external backing. In November 2025, Malar Group announced a strategic investment in Spendsafe to support product development and expansion. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Talking Point
Spendsafe places financial education inside live payment behaviour. If habits form through daily use rather than instruction alone, will embedded learning models earn stronger long term engagement than classroom based approaches?
The launch highlights how prepaid payments, parental controls, and education tools continue to converge into single consumer products. Execution now depends on adoption, trust, and ease of use for families managing real money.
Related Stories
Canadian Payments Reach $12.2 Trillion in 2024
Good money trust innovation and Canada’s payments future
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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Nuvei MiCAR CASP License For EU Crypto Services
Dec 19, 2025 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments and Digital Assets
Image: Freepik/frimufilms
Nuvei Secures MiCAR License For EU Crypto Asset Services
On December 17 2025, Nuvei, a payments technology company founded in Montreal and later taken private through a $6.3bn buyout led by Advent International alongside Canadian investors, secured a Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation MiCAR. The authorization enables Nuvei to deliver regulated crypto asset services and passport them across EU member states under a single regime.
Nuvei says the authorization lets it offer regulated services that include cryptocurrency storage and administration, transfers, and the exchange of crypto assets into funds, integrated into its payments infrastructure. For founders and operators, this matters because licensing turns crypto capability into something procurement, risk, and compliance teams can actually support across multiple EU markets without rebuilding the framework country by country.
MiCAR also creates a common baseline for authorization and oversight across Europe. ESMA outlines the framework and the register concept for authorized providers in its overview of Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation MiCA.
Nuvei also says it obtains a Payment Institution license that supports services related to electronic money tokens. Together, Nuvei positions these approvals as a way to run crypto asset flows, electronic money token flows, and fiat based payment and settlement flows through one regulated platform.
Talking Point
This license moves Nuvei from crypto enablement to regulated crypto execution across Europe, which changes how enterprise clients evaluate risk, continuity, and scale. Will more Canadian payments leaders pursue regulated crypto permissions in major global jurisdictions to win enterprise trust and defend cross border growth?
Phil Fayer, Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Nuvei:
“This authorization marks an important milestone in the convergence of payments and digital assets. MiCAR brings long-needed regulatory clarity to Europe. Operating under this framework allows us to help customers move value across crypto and traditional payment rails with confidence, consistency, and scale.”
Nuvei also describes the customer impact in practical terms, including simplified access to crypto payments across Europe, compliant fiat to crypto and crypto to fiat flows, faster and more transparent settlement options, and reduced regulatory and operational complexity when scaling across EU markets.
Read: Nuvei Shareholders Approve $6.3B Advent International Buyout
For Canadian founders and investors, regulatory clarity is a growth lever. While a CASP license doesn't guarantee adoption, it removes a major blocker for enterprise decision makers who need clear accountability, clear supervision, and predictable operating rules before they integrate crypto settlement into production payment stacks.
This development is part of a wider move towards tokenized financial infrastructure, where digital versions of cash and assets are starting to connect directly with payment and settlement systems. NCFA’s recent piece on how tokenized infrastructure is changing how markets operate explains why regulated access to these systems matters as institutions look to move value faster, cheaper, and with stronger controls.
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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SoFi Technologies Stablecoin Infrastructure Launch
Dec 18, 2025 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Digital Assets & Infrastructure
SoFi Launches SoFiUSD Stablecoin For Banks and Fintechs
On December 18 2025, SoFi Technologies announced the launch of its SoFiUSD stablecoin, a fully reserved U.S. dollar token issued by SoFi Bank, N.A., designed to support settlement and money movement for banks, fintechs, and enterprise platforms, according to the company’s announcement.
The stablecoin is issued 1:1 against cash reserves held at a Federal Reserve account and operates on a public, permissionless blockchain. SoFi says the structure enables near-instant settlement at fractional-cent cost while maintaining regulatory strength through its national bank charter.
This launch unfolds in the midst of Canada’s stablecoin policy evolution, where the Bank of Canada and federal policymakers are emphasizing that stablecoins should be backed by high-quality liquid assets and designed to support payments system resilience.
Talking Point
SoFi is positioning SoFiUSD as fully reserved stablecoin infrastructure for enterprise settlement rather than a retail crypto product, using bank oversight to address long-standing concerns around trust and liquidity. Will regulated issuers now face higher expectations around reserve transparency and settlement reliability as stablecoin infrastructure matures?
SoFi says SoFiUSD will initially support internal settlement activity, with broader partner and member integrations expected over time. The design allows financial institutions and platforms to integrate stablecoin rails into existing payment and treasury workflows without taking on independent reserve or governance risk.
The launch reflects growing interest from regulated financial institutions in providing stablecoin infrastructure that aligns with banking supervision and compliance requirements. Unlike earlier issuer models, SoFiUSD emphasizes oversight, liquidity backing, and operational resilience rather than yield or consumer speculation.
Anthony Noto, Chief Executive Officer, SoFi Technologies:
“With SoFiUSD, we’re using the infrastructure we’ve built over the last decade and applying it to real world challenges in financial services. Companies today struggle with slow settlement, fragmented providers, and unverified reserve models, and SoFi is helping address these gaps by combining our regulatory strength as a national bank with transparent, fully reserved on chain technology.”
For Canadian fintechs operating in payments, digital assets, or cross-border settlement, the news highlights how stablecoin infrastructure may increasingly converge with traditional banking oversight rather than sit outside it. As regulatory expectations sharpen globally, execution, governance, and proof of reliability will likely matter more than speed alone.
The real test will be adoption beyond internal use. Market participants will be watching for partner integrations, transaction volumes, and evidence that regulated stablecoin rails can operate at scale without compromising liquidity, compliance, or uptime.
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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Marshall Islands Blockchain Based Basic Income Payments
Dec 17, 2025 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments and Financial Inclusion
Image: Freepik/wirestock
Marshall Islands Adds Stablecoin Option To Basic Income
On December 17 2025, as reported by the Guardian, the Marshall Islands rolled out a national universal basic income program that includes a stablecoin delivery option, alongside bank deposits and paper checks. The program targets quarterly payments of about US$200 per eligible resident citizen as part of a cost of living response.
The government is using a government backed digital wallet to move stablecoin payments across a geographically dispersed set of islands where traditional delivery can be slow and costly. The story is not crypto for novelty. It is a live test of public sector payments infrastructure under real constraints.
The numbers highlight where the adoption friction sits. The Guardian reports the Marshall Islands has a population of about 42,000. The Marshall Islands Social Security Administration reports about 60% of the first round of payments went to bank accounts, with the remainder paid by paper checks, while only about 12 people had signed up for the digital wallet option at the time of reporting.
This development also lands as Canada moves toward formal rules for stablecoin issuance and oversight, with federal policymakers outlining requirements around reserve backing, governance, and consumer protection in the first draft of the Stablecoin Act.
Talking Point
This program treats stablecoins as a distribution rail for routine public payments, not a speculative asset. If even a small country faces low opt in at first, what will it take for digital wallet based public payments to earn trust fast enough to matter at scale?
David Paul, Minister of Finance, Marshall Islands:
“We the government want to make sure no one is left behind,”
The financing structure also matters. The Guardian reports the program is financed through a trust fund established under a long-standing compact agreement with the United States, which provides financial support to the Marshall Islands in exchange for strategic and economic cooperation. The fund holds more than $1.3bn in assets, with the U.S. committing a further $500m through to 2027. That structure puts a hard spotlight on governance and oversight, because payment distribution is only one part of the risk picture.
See: ChatGPT Creator Tells Us What Is Coming Next
For founders and investors, the takeaway is practical. Stablecoins do not win because they sound modern. They win when they reduce cost, reduce delay, and survive messy real world conditions like limited connectivity, uneven device access, and low initial confidence. The early channel mix in this rollout suggests that trust, onboarding, and usability will define outcomes more than the underlying token mechanics.
This is the kind of public sector experiment that can quietly set expectations for digital wallet rails, stablecoin backing standards, and compliance design. If the program proves reliable and expands wallet uptake without compromising oversight, it will give fintech builders a real benchmark for what production grade stablecoin payments need to look like.
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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Good Money Trust Innovation And Canada’s Payments Future
Bank of Canada | Speech | December 17, 2025
Image: Freepik/rawpixel.com
Why Tiff Macklem Puts Trust At The Center Of Canada’s Money System
On December 16, 2025, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem delivered a year end speech at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal called, “Good money and your central bank.” This time instead of focusing on rates or short term market conditions, Macklem spoke about something more foundational. Trust. As money becomes faster, more digital, and more complex, the Bank of Canada is expanding its role to make sure every form of money Canadians use remains safe, convertible, and stable in value.
Trust Is The Operating System For Money
“At its core, the role of the Bank of Canada is to maintain trust in our monetary system.”
Macklem is clear about where everything starts. Money only works when people trust it to behave the same way tomorrow as it does today. He defines good money as money that trades at par, moves reliably, and holds its purchasing power.
See: Consumer Trust and Trends in US Digital Banking
For founders and investors, it explains how the Bank evaluates new ideas. Innovation that makes money easier to use while keeping it predictable fits inside this system. Innovation that introduces uncertainty around access, value, or redemption runs into resistance. Trust is the gate that determines which ideas scale and which ones stall.
Why Cash Still Matters In A Digital Economy
“Cash has undeniable benefits. It’s simple, widely accepted, inexpensive to use and reliable.”
Macklem talks about cash because it sets the standard. It works during outages, power failures, and cyber incidents. It does not depend on networks or intermediaries behaving perfectly.
By committing to new bank notes and upgraded security features, the Bank is reinforcing a simple idea. Money must keep working when systems fail. For builders, this is a reminder that how a system behaves under stress matters. For investors, it highlights why resilience is still the core cash test, even as products move further into the digital realm.
Payments Are Now Treated As Core Infrastructure
“This year, the Bank began overseeing retail payments.”
This changes who sets the rules for payments. Payment service providers now operate inside the same trust framework as banks and other core financial infrastructure. Digital wallets, point of sale platforms, and cross border payment services are no longer treated as peripheral technology layers.
The scale and growth of payments makes the change unavoidable. Canadian payments reached $12.2 trillion in 2024, with digital methods representing the majority of how Canadians move money day to day. Payments are not a niche function. They are the system.
Nearly 1,500 payment service providers must now register under the Retail Payment Activities Act. This aligns with NCFA’s analysis in Canada’s payments innovation push gains speed, which explains how broader access to payment rails comes with higher expectations around safeguarding funds and managing operational risk.
Real Time Rail sits at the center of this change. Instant settlement creates opportunity, but it also removes buffers. When money moves faster, mistakes and failures propagate faster too. That is why oversight and discipline rise alongside speed.
Stablecoins And Open Banking Are Moving to Core
“It is important for Canada to have its own regulatory framework for stablecoins.”
Macklem treats stablecoins as money that must earn trust before it earns scale. Any stablecoin used in Canada must trade at par, be backed by high quality liquid assets, and provide clear redemption terms. It's not about blocking innovation but about making sure innovation behaves like money.
This approach builds on Canadian dollar stablecoin testing with institutional partners, where testing is actively taking place in live environments. All sounds exciting but adoption remains limited. Stablecoin insights from FCAC’s 2025 national survey show that only a small share of Canadians currently hold or use stablecoins. The Bank is clearly designing rules before use expands, not after problems emerge (plus they are playing catch-up on a number of files that have spanned years of industry advocacy).
Open banking follows the same logic. Today, millions of Canadians still share banking credentials through insecure screen scraping. That creates real exposure to fraud and misuse. The consumer-driven open banking framework aims to replace this with secure, permission based data sharing.
See: CSA and CIRO Set Clear Rules for Finfluencers
Consumer understanding remains uneven. An FCAC survey on Canadian consumer perspectives on open banking shows many Canadians are unclear about how their financial data is accessed and protected. NCFA’s open banking commercialization roadmap for Canada outlines how trust, education, and competition need to advance together for the model to work.
Stablecoins and open banking are treated the same as payment modernization. Innovation is welcome, but only when it strengthens confidence instead than testing it.
Innovation In A World That Breaks More Often
“Structural shifts… make global economies increasingly vulnerable to shocks and uncertainty.”
Macklem is describing a reality founders and investors already recognize. Trade relationships change quickly. Technology fails in unexpected ways. Geopolitical risk shows up in supply chains, costs, and access overnight.
In this environment, faster payments and digital money create upside, but they also raise the cost of failure. Systems need to work under pressure, not just in steady conditions. That's why the Bank keeps returning to trust and why it continues to treat inflation control as foundational.
Purchasing Power Still Decides Everything
“Good money in all its forms is only as good as its purchasing power.”
Macklem closes with a reminder that no amount of innovation matters if money loses value. Payments, data sharing, and digital instruments all sit downstream from price stability. The Bank remains committed to the 2% inflation target and will review its framework in 2026 to make sure it still works in a more volatile environment. For reference, the Bank of Canada held interest rates steady at 2.25% last Wednesday with no timeline for increases.
Read: Market Forces Pressuring Fintech Plans For 2026
For consumers, builders and investors alike, Canada's inflation rate sets the outer boundary. Per Macklem's speech, innovation is scaled inside stability, not outside of it.
Closing Perspective
What emerges from Macklem’s speech is a Bank of Canada that is now impacting the conditions under which change can scale. By pulling payments, digital money, and data access into a single trust framework, the Bank is defining how money must behave before innovation reaches mass adoption. For Canada’s fintech ecosystem, the most durable opportunities will belong to those who build inside that reality rather than trying to outrun 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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