Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Press Releases
Interac Adds Verified Identity To Kijiji Transactions
Apr 14, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Identity Privacy And Data Governance, Payments And Money Movement
Trust Layer Expands To Peer to Peer Transactions
On April 14, 2026, Interac and Kijiji introduce verified identity for marketplace users, bringing Interac Verified solutions into peer to peer transactions. The integration allows Canadians to confirm who they are dealing with before messaging, meeting, or completing a purchase.
Interac connects nearly 300 financial institutions and is used more than 20 million times per day to move money across Canada. Kijiji operates at national reach with more than 4 million live listings and over 1 million new listings added each month. This puts verified identity into a place where millions of transactions happen and trust issues show up most often.
Peer to peer marketplaces have historically relied on ratings and reviews. Those signals describe past behaviour, but they don't confirm identity. Verified identity addresses that gap directly. It confirms that the person behind an account is real before a transaction begins, reducing uncertainty in both high-value categories such as automotive and real estate and in everyday transactions.
Amanda Zeffiro, General Manager, Kijiji Canada:
“Integrating Interac Verified solutions to bring verified identity to Kijiji is how we raise that standard, giving Canadians the confidence to transact with people they’ve never met.”
Interac is rolling this out in stages and keeping identity verification in Canada. People can verify their identity today through participating financial institutions, using systems already trusted for payments. Later this year, a second option will let users verify with government-issued ID and a quick liveness check. This gives people different ways to verify depending on what they are comfortable with and the type of transaction.
Interac’s network already supports a large share of how money moves domestically, and this approach uses that same system for identity. At a time when data control is becoming more important, keeping verification tied to Canadian institutions carries weight with both users and regulators.
See: LinkedIn Identity Checks Show The New Privacy Cost Of Trust
The benefits are clear. Verifying identity upfront can reduce impersonation and fraud, especially in higher risk transactions. It can also make people more confident when buying or selling. Over time, this kind of verification can connect more closely with payments and onboarding, giving platforms a more complete way to manage trust across the full transaction.
Talking Point
Interac is extending beyond payments into identity verification at scale. By placing verified identity before the transaction, Interac is positioning itself as part of the trust infrastructure that reduces risk and helps establish trust and therefore who can safely transact.
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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FUTR And EQIBank Plan AI-Native Banking Joint Venture
Apr 8, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Embedded Finance Platforms And Partnerships, Payments And Money Movement, Artificial Intelligence And Data
Proposed Banking Layer For FUTR Agent App
On April 7, 2026, FUTR outlined a proposed digital banking joint venture with EQITrade, with EQIBank Limited and EQITech Limited acting as performing affiliates. It's not a closed transaction or live launch yet. The structure is a binding letter of intent dated April 2 and still depends on definitive agreements, regulatory approvals, technical integration, and TSX Venture Exchange approval.
The proposal is ambitious. The companies are targeting digital banking and payments in more than 100 countries, with a goal of up to 1 million FUTR Verified Active Users over 36 months and a targeted commercial launch in H2 2026. The release also ties future share issuance to funded FUTR accounts, revenue milestones, broader EQIBank integration, and verified user growth. That gives the market a useful clue about what management thinks matters most. Not downloads. Not signups. Funded accounts and actual user activity.
FUTR already has some operating base to build from. The company reported $8.35M in fiscal 2025 revenue, up 13% year over year, with 90% gross margins. FUTR’s July payments update also said FUTR Payments had more than 42,000 users and had processed more than US$3B in value.
The payments footprint has also widened. In December 2025, FUTR Payments expanded data connectivity across about 70% of the U.S. franchised auto dealer market, or roughly 11,000 dealers. In February, it added an exclusive partnership with the New York State Automobile Dealers Association that opened access to about 1,000 more franchised dealerships in New York. That's still a niche payments segment, but it gives FUTR real distribution in one vertical while it tries to expand the product much further.
In January, FUTR appointed Alex McDougall as CEO after bringing him in as President in 2025. FUTR said he had already played a central role in the company’s consumer-first strategy, including the AI Agent App, intelligent payment rails, and data monetization infrastructure. That gives this proposal a bit more continuity than a last-minute strategic pivot.
What The Banking Partner Brings
EQIBank brings the regulated layer underneath. This is EQIBank Limited, a bank licensed and regulated in the Commonwealth of Dominica (note that this is not Canada’s EQ Bank). Its current site says it offers banking, cards, borrowing, custody, escrow, BaaS, and wealth management services to clients in more than 180 countries. That background gives the proposed venture a cleaner division of parties. FUTR brings the app, user layer, and payments capabilities. EQIBank brings the banking, custody, and BaaS rails.
The product ambition goes well beyond a wallet add on. The release says the joint venture would combine the FUTR Agent App, secure data vault, and token rewards engine with EQIBank’s infrastructure to support multi-currency accounts, cards, yield, stablecoins, crypto lending, and digital asset trading, subject to jurisdictional approvals.
See: AI Payments Challenge Consent Rules And Liability
The companies put the goal this way: “The vision is to enable a consumer’s FUTR Agent to become an active financial interface” that helps users manage money, documents, rewards, and broader financial life while keeping control of their own data.
While this is a proposal with real building blocks, it's not a finished banking product. No funded account numbers, live transaction volume, or commercial user data for the joint venture exist yet. The main question now is whether FUTR’s agent layer and EQIBank’s regulated stack can turn milestone language into funded accounts, payment activity, and repeat user behaviour.
Talking Point
A banking agent is easy to describe. Getting people to trust it with money is the real test...
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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Broadridge Adds On-Chain Governance To Tokenized Equities
Apr 7, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Digital Assets And Tokenization
Voting And Corporate Actions For Tokenized Shares
On April 6, 2026, Broadridge launched on-chain governance to tokenized equities. The platform now supports proxy voting, corporate actions, and disclosures across traditional and tokenized holdings inside the same workflows institutions already use.
Broadridge is bringing real scale into this launch. The company says its tokenization capabilities already process $8 trillion in tokenized assets per month. It also says its technology platforms process and generate more than 7 billion communications annually and support the daily average trading of more than $15 trillion in tokenized and traditional securities globally.
This is significant because governance is one of the harder parts of tokenized equity infrastructure. Issuing a tokenized share is one step. Running the rights attached to that share is another. Broadridge now gives issuers a single view across registered, beneficial, and tokenized holdings, which makes governance easier to manage across the cap table.
See: ECB Sets A Roadmap For Tokenized Finance Infrastructure
Broadridge already confirmed a real public company use case with Galaxy planning to use the capability for its annual meeting and shareholder vote in May with native tokenized shares on Avalanche.
The company is also extending a tokenized market stack that already has live operating volume. In January 2026, Broadridge’s distributed ledger repo platform processed $365 billion in average daily volume, with total monthly volume of $7.3 trillion, up 508% from January 2025. Broadridge isn't entering tokenization from the sidelines, but rather extending existing market infrastructure into tokenized ownership.
Institutions don't only need tokenized shares. They need voting rights, disclosures, and corporate action controls that work inside familiar systems. That also builds on tokenized money market fund infrastructure from Goldman Sachs and BNY, where the market has already started solving issuance and settlement in a more usable way.
For issuers, custodians, and market operators, it makes tokenized equities easier to use and track inside real workflows. If governance is streamlined institutions have less friction and fewer reasons to hold back.
Talking Point
If tokenized equities can now handle voting and corporate actions inside existing workflows, which part of the traditional equity stack faces pressure next?
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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Wisesheets Brings Market Data to Spreadsheets
Mar 11, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Wealthtech And Market Data Infrastructure
Low Cost Spreadsheet-based Market Data For Investors
On Mar 10 2026, Toronto based firm Wisesheets made a product and pricing announcement for individual investors to pull financial statements and market data directly into Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, currently serving users in 40+ countries per the release.
Wisesheets fits people who already work in spreadsheets and want data to flow straight into their models. That includes retail investors building screens, watchlists, and valuation models, analysts at smaller funds, advisors doing quick comparables, and founders or finance teams pulling data without paying for a terminal. The value is speed and repeatability. When data lands in Excel or Sheets, users can run their own formulas, build their own screens, and refresh models without copying numbers from websites into cells, or use one of the AI integrations.
Wisesheets offers three tiers with different features. Wisesheets annual pricing lists Pro at $60 USD per year, Elite at $120 USD per year, and Enterprise at $900 USD per year. Spread across 12 months, that works out to as low as $5 USD per month for the starting service. You can learn see Wisesheets documentation.
How It Compares
There's competition for this service. Google Sheets includes GOOGLEFINANCE, but Google warns quotes may be delayed up to 20 minutes and the information is provided “as is.” MarketXLS offers an Excel focused market data and analysis add in with a Standard plan priced at $70 per month or $850 USD per year. Excel Price Feed also offers an Excel add in for market data with different pricing by user type.
Wisesheets competes on price versus paid spreadsheet add ins and on workflow fit by keeping the user inside Excel and Sheets. Low cost spreadsheet data tools keep squeezing the middle of the research stack. Terminals still win on depth, support, and enterprise controls. Free and low cost tools win on price, but they come with limits and delay risk. Spreadsheet add ins win when they reduce manual work and keep models current and affordable for use.
See: JPMorgan’s Data Fee Sparks Open Banking Backlash
For Wisesheets, credibility comes down to data quality, reliability, and whether the add in stays stable as users build heavier models and rely on it for repeatable screening and valuation work.
Talking Point
If spreadsheet add ins can deliver usable market data for $60 to $120 USD per year, which parts of the legacy retail research stack still justify premium pricing, and what about new AI 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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VersaBank Becomes Banking Partner For QCAD Stablecoin
Feb 3, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Stablecoins and Payments
Canadian Bank Enters Custody And Safeguarding For Stablecoin
On February 3 2026, VersaBank announced that Stablecorp’s QCAD is its first stablecoin customer, bringing a Canadian Schedule I bank into the custody and safeguarding of a Canadian dollar-backed digital currency.
Stablecorp issues QCAD as a 1:1 Canadian dollar-backed stablecoin with reserve funds held at regulated financial institutions. VersaBank provides custodial services and settlement support for QCAD transactions using its digital asset infrastructure and API framework.
Most stablecoin infrastructure in Canada still depends on global US dollar networks. QCAD represents a domestic currency alternative, and VersaBank’s role places regulated banking oversight directly inside the operational flow of a Canadian stablecoin.
VersaBank has been building digital asset custody and tokenized deposit capabilities over the past several years. Its platform supports digital asset APIs, ledger compatible settlement tools, and custody frameworks designed for fintech integration. Bringing QCAD onto this platform turns that infrastructure into a live payments and settlement environment rather than a technical capability waiting for use.
See: VersaBank USA Launches Tokenized Deposits Pilot
Transaction volumes aren't disclosed, but the structure matters more than scale today. A Canadian stablecoin now sits inside a regulated bank’s custody, reconciliation, and safeguarding systems. It's a practical step toward making stablecoins usable for treasury management, fintech on and off ramps, merchant settlement, and cross-border flows without relying on foreign currency rails.
David Taylor, President and CEO, VersaBank:
"We are pleased to support Stablecorp and QCAD as they bring a Canadian dollar stablecoin to market. Our digital asset custody and settlement platform was built for exactly this type of use case, where regulated banking infrastructure meets digital currency innovation."
Talking Point
If Canadian stablecoins can settle through Canadian regulated banks, what role will they play in future payment rails, treasury operations, and fintech infrastructure?
Instead of sitting outside the financial system, digital Canadian dollars are beginning to move through 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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RPAA Forces Hospitality Payout Platform To Rewire Funds
Feb 2, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Market Activity | Payments and Regulation
Operational Changes Show How RPAA Hits Real Payment Flows
On February 2 2026, XTM Inc said Everyday Payments had started the Retail Payment Activities Act compliance process for thousands of hospitality businesses across Canada.
The release tied the work to the Everyday platform that manages hospitality payout flows such as tip outs and shift-based earnings. It also linked the compliance path to the migration of the AnyDay Canadian hospitality solution into the newly formed Everyday Payments entity.
See: Bank of Canada Clarifies RPAA Trust Tax Treatment for PSPs
XTM said that on January 28 2026 it implemented additional risk mitigation measures to address legacy operational practices across the platform.
Marilyn Schaffer, CEO of XTM:
"While the RPAA transition has included challenges related to reconciliation and technology alignment, we welcome building from a place of discipline."
The release lists three specific changes:
First, it said it had implemented regulated trust accounts for each client with an expected completion window of 30 to 45 business days.
Second, it said it had moved from weekly to daily withdrawals to improve reconciliation, control, and visibility.
Third, it said it had added enhanced audit and review rights so business owners could independently assess account standing.
This is where RPAA stops being policy and starts being operations. Fund segregation, withdrawal cadence, and auditability now sit inside the day to day flow of money for hospitality workers and merchants.
Everyday Payments operates payout infrastructure used by restaurants, bars, hotels, and hospitality venues across Canada to distribute earned funds to workers and reconcile merchant balances. That scale is what makes these changes meaningful. When a platform supporting thousands of venues adjusts how funds are held, released, and reviewed, it foreshadows what other vertical payment operators will soon face as RPAA requirements mature.
See: Payments Canada Admits Five New Payment Service Providers
The release also says RPAA's a system level baseline, requiring registration, operational risk management frameworks, safeguarding of end user funds, and incident reporting administered by the Bank of Canada. Remember RPAA registration opened on November 1 2024.
Gordon Reykdal, Executive Chairman, Everyday People Financial Corp, and Board Member, Everyday Payments:
“Applying under the RPAA to the newly formed Everyday Payments is a natural extension of how we operate our business. We welcome a clear and robust regulatory framework and believe it strengthens trust across the payments ecosystem, benefiting consumers, merchants, and partners alike.”
Why It Matters
Daily withdrawals, regulated trust accounts, and merchant audit rights raise the operating bar. Which vertical payment platforms will treat that bar as a moat, and which will treat it as friction that slows growth?
RPAA compliance is now showing up inside real operational workflows that move money for frontline workers and merchants, not only inside financial institutions.
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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Velix Raises $2M To Fix Logistics Finance Bottlenecks
Canadian Fintech Funding | February 3, 2026
Image: Freepik/DC Studio
Montreal Startup Targets Financial Workflows Behind Freight Growth
On February 3, 2026, Montreal-based startup Velix announces a $2M pre-seed funding round led by Luge Capital with participation from Stand Up Ventures and Accelia Capital to modernize how logistics companies handle billing, reconciliation, and financial disputes as trade volumes rise across Canada.
David Nault, Partner, Luge Capital:
“Logistics has invested heavily in moving goods more efficiently, but little innovation has occurred on the financial layer, resulting in massive inefficiencies as volume increased. We’re excited to partner with Velix to launch a modern financial platform to automate billing and reconciliations for logistics operators.”
Canada’s logistics networks expand quickly. Forecasts estimate the market will reach $65B by 2030 while the federal government commits $4.1B to strengthen trade corridors and supply chain resilience. As physical networks scale across carriers, warehouses, and border touchpoints, financial attribution becomes harder across multiple parties and systems.
Most Logistics Operators Still Run Manually
Third party logistics providers now act as financial intermediaries between carriers, brands, and end customers. They assign dollars to every parcel and service across invoices, rate cards, surcharges, and service levels. Many still rely on paper, email, flat files, and siloed legacy tools. These workflows slow billing cycles, create errors, delay cash collection, and reduce margins.
See: Claude Launches AI Toolkit for Financial Workflows
“The majority of 3PL operators I’ve worked with of all sizes share one thing in common, clunky and time consuming billing processes that create the cashflow drag. What Maeghan and the Velix team are building is game changing, helping operators structure and automate a critical, massively underserved part of the logistics stack.” Nicholas Richards, Co Founder, ShipHero
Velix's financial operations platform allows logistics teams to automate freight and parcel reconciliation, customer billing, and dispute resolution in one system. The platform closes the gap between the movement of goods and the financial workflows required to settle accounts across many participants.
As Canada invests $4.1B to strengthen trade corridors and supply chain resilience across roads, ports, and rail, the financial systems behind those movements become a constraint. This story sits at the intersection of fintech and industrial infrastructure. It shows how financial operating systems inside vertical industries remain under served even as payments innovation advances at the consumer layer.
As trade corridors expand and logistics volumes rise, billing accuracy, reconciliation integrity, and dispute resolution directly affect how quickly revenue moves through the system. Velix addresses an bottleneck where operational finance limits the benefits of national infrastructure spending.
Closing Outlook
This development shows how financial infrastructure inside critical Canadian industries receives far less attention than physical infrastructure. As trade corridors expand and freight volumes increase, the ability to bill accurately, reconcile quickly, and resolve disputes efficiently becomes part of how well that infrastructure performs in practice.
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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