Aug 8, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Whisperer | Digital Banking And BaaS, Regulation And Policy, SME Finance And Business Banking, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, Capital Markets Infrastructure And Funding, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Embedded Finance, Risk Compliance And Regtech, Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, Cybersecurity Fraud And Financial Crime
Gate, which Alpaca says serves more than 58 million users, launched access to more than 10,000 U.S. listed stocks and ETFs, eligible IPO allocations and tokenized stocks using Alpaca infrastructure.
Alpaca provides the brokerage infrastructure behind the offering and supports custody and settlement of the underlying shares associated with Gate's gStocks tokenized stock product.
One day earlier, Crypto.com launched Tokenized Stocks through Alpaca for a platform serving more than 150 million customers, offering economic exposure to 1,500 U.S. stocks and ETFs from US$1, with selected products available around the clock.
Crypto.com's products are derivative financial instruments that provide economic exposure rather than ownership of the underlying shares or associated shareholder rights.
Large crypto platforms are starting to look more like multi asset investment distributors, but the infrastructure underneath them is still regulated brokerage, custody and settlement. Alpaca has been building specifically for this role, which NCFA recently examined in its global brokerage platform expansion. The competitive question is who controls that regulated layer as crypto, traditional securities and tokenized products converge inside the same customer interface.
BlackRock Canada launched the iShares Equity + Bitcoin ETF Portfolio, or IBQT, on the Toronto Stock Exchange with a strategic allocation of approximately 97% global equities and 3% bitcoin.
The fund carries a 0.22% management fee and packages Canadian, U.S., international and emerging market equities with bitcoin exposure inside one portfolio.
IBQT currently gets its bitcoin exposure through BlackRock’s Canadian IBIT fund, extending that product from a standalone bitcoin investment into a component of a diversified portfolio.
IBQT changes where the crypto allocation decision happens. Investors choosing the fund are buying a diversified equity portfolio with bitcoin already assigned a modest strategic weight, rather than adding crypto separately. That puts bitcoin closer to conventional portfolio construction and gives Canadian advisers and investors a simple way to combine traditional markets and digital assets in one listed product.
Flywire expanded its Trustly partnership into Canada and the United States, letting payers authorize large domestic and cross border payments directly from their bank accounts.
In Canada, the payment itself runs through Pre Authorized Debit. Trustly adds bank authentication and account connectivity around that existing rail rather than using Canada’s future regulated payment initiation framework.
The service removes manual account entry during checkout and adds payment verification and risk controls around higher value bank transfers.
Pay by Bank is reaching Canadian customers before regulated payment initiation does. Foreign providers are improving the experience around an existing Canadian bank rail instead of waiting for new infrastructure. That makes the commercial timing important for Canada’s open banking opportunity: future regulated access will enter a market where some of the customer experience is already being built.
Toronto based Dream Payments launched Dream Payouts for eligible U.S. businesses in collaboration with J.P. Morgan Payments, supporting payments to suppliers, partners and individuals.
Eligible payments can arrive through the RTP network in under 30 seconds, including nights, weekends and holidays, with ACH and wire available when instant delivery is unavailable or not selected.
Software platforms can embed payout capabilities, while Dream provides recipient onboarding, identity checks, banking verification, approval controls and transaction tracking from initiation through settlement.
Dream says the infrastructure can support software and AI agents that initiate, approve and reconcile payments within defined business controls.
Dream is taking infrastructure built by a Canadian fintech into U.S. business payment workflows where the payment can start inside the software that created the obligation. That also gives agent payment infrastructure a more concrete operating model: software can participate in the workflow, but identity, authority, approval and settlement controls still determine whether money moves.
Francisco Partners agreed to acquire Moneris from RBC and BMO for approximately C$2.0 billion in cash, with each bank receiving half of the proceeds. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
RBC and BMO will keep exclusive referral relationships with Moneris even as ownership of the payments company transfers to Francisco Partners.
Moneris says it has nearly 2,000 employees in Canada and will retain its Canadian headquarters and technology infrastructure after the transaction closes.
Last year’s Moneris sale discussion has become a signed change of control. RBC and BMO are giving up ownership while preserving customer distribution, leaving Francisco Partners to decide how aggressively Moneris invests across merchant acquiring, commerce software and payments technology. The separation between infrastructure ownership and bank distribution is the more consequential part of the deal.
CIMPA and CDS will begin the first stage of Canada's fail fee framework for Government of Canada bond and T-bill transactions on September 8, 2026.
The trial will run for at least 18 months. Settlement fails and indicative fees will be calculated, statistics will be published and CDS participants will receive reports and indicative invoices.
No fail fees will be charged or paid during this first stage. The Canadian Fixed-Income Forum will decide whether payments are activated later.
Canada is putting a settlement discipline framework into live measurement before imposing a financial penalty. That gives dealers, custodians and market infrastructure providers time to see where fails occur, what the operational burden looks like and whether the fee design changes settlement behaviour. The evidence from the trial will determine whether a reporting framework eventually becomes an economic incentive.
CIMPA, TMX Group and Clearstream have started repo trading using a standardized Government of Canada General Collateral basket on the Canadian Collateral Management Service.
CCMS automates repo collateral management and supports unlimited real time collateral substitution, giving participants another way to manage liquidity and collateral throughout a transaction.
The first GoC basket is expected to be followed by standardized baskets covering provincial securities, Canada Mortgage Bonds, NHA mortgage backed securities, public sector securities and corporate collateral.
Canada's repo market now has a standardized collateral workflow running on infrastructure that the Bank of Canada also plans to use for its domestic repo operations. Wider adoption would make collateral easier to allocate and substitute across financing activity while reducing manual processing. The next evidence is usage: how much repo activity migrates onto CCMS and whether the additional baskets deepen participation beyond Government of Canada securities.
PointsKash announced an expanded strategic capital commitment of up to US$100 million from Hawk Capital Advisors to support commercialization and national deployment of its financial services platform.
The first phase provides for up to US$35 million through October 30, 2026 for priorities including refurbishment and deployment of approximately 2,100 company owned KashPoint kiosks, technology integration, merchant activation, PK Pay development and working capital.
A second phase could provide up to another US$65 million between February and April 2027, subject to operating and deployment milestones, customary closing conditions and financing availability.
The financing connects capital directly to deployment of a physical and digital financial services network rather than funding an undefined expansion plan. PointsKash acquired more than 2,100 cryptocurrency kiosks earlier in August and now has a staged capital structure intended to refurbish and redeploy that hardware while building payments, merchant and mobile services around it. The conditional structure also keeps a clear line between near term funding and the larger amount that depends on execution.
CIRO now requires a Participant or Access Person to have a reasonable expectation that a short sale can settle on the intended settlement date before entering the order.
The rule adds a positive control before execution instead of relying only on action after a trade fails to settle.
CIRO provides defined exceptions, including certain sales involving securities a person is deemed to own, subject to prescribed delivery conditions.
The rule changes where settlement risk has to be dealt with. Firms must support the expectation of settlement before a short sale reaches the market, putting more responsibility on trading controls, securities availability and supervision. Difficult to borrow securities and repeated settlement failures will show how demanding the requirement becomes in practice.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra told banks to maintain inventories of material AI systems and establish governance that assigns clear responsibility for their use and risks.
He called for contracts with AI providers to preserve audit, explanation and exit rights, while material systems should be stress tested and tested against adversarial behaviour before deployment and periodically afterward.
Banks should retain meaningful human oversight where an AI error could materially harm a customer or financial stability, including lending, fraud and other consequential decisions.
RBI is pushing AI governance into the same operating disciplines banks already use for material risk. That aligns with Canadian work on regulated AI, where model oversight, vendor access, fallback plans and proof of control are becoming practical requirements. The advantage will come from deploying useful AI while being able to show who owns the risk and how the system is controlled.
Brazil’s central bank is assessing bilateral connections between Pix and foreign instant-payment systems, as well as participation in multilateral payment hubs, to support lower-cost and faster cross-border transfers.
The work goes beyond earlier discussion of possible international expansion. Banco Central do Brasil had already placed Pix Internacional on its 2027+ development agenda in March, and the August update points to more concrete interoperability options.
Pix processed nearly 80 billion transactions worth more than R$35 trillion in 2025, giving any international connection potential scale well beyond a niche cross-border payment product.
Pix is starting to test whether a national instant-payment rail can connect directly into foreign payment infrastructure rather than relying only on traditional correspondent channels. NCFA’s cross border payments benchmark shows why that distinction matters: strong domestic rails don’t automatically solve international cost, speed or interoperability. The practical questions are which systems Brazil connects to first, how FX, compliance and settlement are handled across jurisdictions, and whether this becomes a repeatable model for other domestic real time rails.
The OCC granted preliminary conditional approval for World Liberty Trust Company, National Association, the proposed national trust bank of Trump family backed World Liberty Financial.
The approved business plan covers USD1 issuance and redemption, maintenance of USD1 reserve assets, fiduciary digital asset custody and limited conversion services for custody customers.
The approval is not authority to begin operations. The proposed bank is limited to trust company activities, does not plan to become an FDIC insured depository institution and must satisfy remaining OCC conditions before commencing business.
USD1 could move from a stablecoin structure supported by external service providers into a federally supervised trust bank that combines issuance, redemption, reserves and custody. That would bring more of the operating stack behind a payment stablecoin inside one regulated entity, while concentrating responsibility for reserve management, safeguarding and compliance.
Deribit FZE received a Broker Dealer Licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, expanding the permissions behind its existing regulated spot trading operation.
Spot buy, sell and trade orders placed on Deribit can now be routed to Coinbase Exchange for execution, giving clients access to deeper liquidity and hundreds of additional assets.
The upgraded spot service is rolling out to retail, qualified and institutional investors. Assets acquired through it can also be used as collateral for Deribit derivatives trading, subject to regulatory approval.
The Coinbase acquisition is moving from ownership into shared market infrastructure. Deribit can keep its derivatives interface while drawing on Coinbase's spot liquidity and execution stack, extending the Deribit acquisition strategy into day to day trading. That brings spot execution, collateral and derivatives closer together inside one regulated operating structure.
PM MTF Ltd received CySEC authorization under MiCA for crypto asset services alongside its existing regulated European trading venue.
The authorized activities include operating a crypto asset trading platform, custody and administration, execution of orders, reception and transmission of orders, and crypto asset transfers.
The authorization provides a regulated route for Perpetual Markets to extend crypto services across the EEA, including infrastructure that can support institutional and white label distribution.
The significance is the combination of existing regulated market infrastructure with newly authorized crypto services. Rather than building a separate crypto venue, Perpetual Markets can extend an established MTF operating model into digital assets, giving brokers and institutions another route to offer crypto products under a European regulatory framework. The announcement authorizes expansion, but does not establish that every permitted crypto service is already live at scale.
Hong Kong licensed issuer Anchorpoint began phase one of HKD At Par, or HKDAP, through Beta Access for institutional distributors and professional investors.
Authorized distributors can provide conversion between HKDAP and fiat currency for institutions, corporate users and professional investors while integrating the stablecoin into commercial and financial applications.
Anchorpoint is initially targeting cross border payments and settlement and distribution of tokenized real world assets. Broader retail access could begin as early as the end of 2026, depending on market conditions.
Hong Kong's stablecoin regime has crossed from licensing into controlled distribution and commercial use. That builds on the tokenized finance strategy NCFA has been tracking through Standard Chartered and Hong Kong's regulators. HKDAP now has to prove that regulated tokenized money can attract repeat transaction flow across payments, asset settlement and institutional distribution rather than remain a licensed product with limited circulation.
Coinbase received Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM to arrange investment deals and provide custody in support of tokenized securities.
Coinbase says securities issued through the structure will be backed by underlying shares, with verified token holders receiving shareholder rights including dividends and voting.
Transfers will be subject to ongoing sanctions screening, with wallet level freeze and seizure capabilities where required.
The important distinction is the legal and operating structure behind the token. Coinbase is combining regulated custody, underlying shares, investor rights and blockchain transferability rather than offering price exposure alone. That puts the model inside the infrastructure test NCFA is tracking for regulated tokenized assets: whether ownership rights, custody, compliance and transfer can work together at market scale.
Robinhood has begun rolling crypto trading out to eligible UK customers, adding more than 50 digital assets directly inside its main investing app alongside equities, ISAs, options and futures.
Crypto trading is provided through Bitstamp UK Ltd, bringing the regulated UK infrastructure Robinhood acquired with Bitstamp into Robinhood’s retail distribution channel. Robinhood completed the acquisition in June 2025 to accelerate its crypto expansion outside the U.S.
The rollout is a material follow-on to Robinhood’s July 1 announcement, when the company said UK crypto trading was coming soon but had not yet launched it. Robinhood’s own disclosure at the time still said its UK entity did not offer crypto trading or custody.
The launch also adds Cortex Digests for Crypto, using generative AI to combine news, market data, technical indicators and Robinhood information into asset-level market summaries.
Bitstamp is becoming more than an acquired exchange for Robinhood. Its UK crypto infrastructure now lets Robinhood add digital assets to the same interface where customers already invest across traditional markets. The next test is whether that combination deepens customer activity and gives Robinhood a repeatable way to extend its wider investment platform into regulated crypto markets.
Shakepay launched BLOC, a revolving line of credit that lets eligible Canadian customers borrow against bitcoin held with Shakepay without selling it.
Customers can borrow up to C$50,000 starting at 9.5% APR and track their balance, payments, collateral and loan to value ratio inside the Shakepay app.
BLOC is offered by Shakepay Credit Inc. under exemptive relief. If collateral values fall, borrowers may need to add bitcoin, repay part of the balance or face liquidation under the product terms.
Crypto backed lending is becoming part of the product stack offered by Canadian trading platforms. Shakepay is integrating the credit relationship directly into its own account experience, while embedded crypto lending at Netcoins uses APX to supply the lending operation behind the interface. The two models create different economics and different responsibility for underwriting, collateral controls and servicing.
Toronto based Mortgage Automator launched Draw Management, bringing construction budgets, draw schedules and approvals directly into the active loan file for private lenders.
The feature automatically flags budget variances and applies Project Health scoring so lenders can monitor construction progress and draw risk without relying on separate spreadsheets or disconnected workflows.
The launch follows Mortgage Automator's August 4 acquisition of Lendr, extending its expansion into construction and private lending infrastructure across North America.
Construction lending is operationally intensive because capital is released in stages and each draw depends on current budget, progress and compliance information. Moving those controls into the loan system can reduce reconciliation work and make exceptions visible earlier, while giving private lenders a more integrated way to manage construction credit as portfolios scale.
TD launched an in-app payroll direct-deposit switching experience that lets customers redirect payroll deposits to a TD account in about one minute with most employers.
The capability is powered by Atomic and sits inside the TD app, removing the need for customers to separately obtain banking details and update payroll information through their employer.
TD says it is the first Canadian financial institution to offer a fully integrated in-app payroll switching experience and has exclusive Canadian rights to Atomic’s capability through the end of 2026.
Opening a new bank account is easier than making it the primary account. Payroll switching reduces the work required to redirect recurring income and adds an operational layer to open banking and financial portability. Competition improves when customers can act on a better banking option, not only compare one. The next measure is whether easier switching translates into more primary-account relationships and deposits.
Revolut Bank S.A. received a full French banking licence following a joint assessment by France’s ACPR and the European Central Bank, with the decision formally adopted by the ECB Governing Council.
The new French bank will begin serving customers in France before progressively expanding across Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Revolut Bank UAB in Lithuania remains the group’s other European banking hub.
Revolut says Western Europe now accounts for about 30 million customers. It has committed more than €1 billion to the region and is hiring more than 600 people across its Western European markets.
The licence turns Revolut’s banking expansion into a two-hub European structure with a new regulated entity serving its largest regional customer base. The execution test is how quickly customers and products migrate to the French bank, and whether local licences give Revolut more room to deepen lending, business banking and other regulated services across Western Europe.
The CFTC exercised emergency authority after Kalshi notified the Commission of a market emergency tied to litigation brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The Commission ordered Kalshi to continue operating in accordance with the Commodity Exchange Act Core Principles. New York is seeking to stop Kalshi from offering event contracts nationwide and is pursuing more than US$36 billion in damages.
The CFTC says federal law requires a uniform national derivatives market and has challenged state efforts to apply gambling laws to federally regulated designated contract markets in several jurisdictions.
The dispute is becoming a direct test of who controls access to event contracts in the United States. The CFTC is treating Kalshi as national derivatives infrastructure while states continue to challenge parts of the market through gaming law. NCFA’s regulated event contract infrastructure brief tracks the same boundary between exchange regulation, market integrity and product access.
ClearScore, Modulr, Teya, Urban Jungle and Zilch became the first firms regulated solely by the FCA to join its Scale-up Unit.
The unit gives fast-growing regulated firms a dedicated regulatory contact for product launches, permission changes, policy developments and other issues that arise as they expand.
The FCA also published findings from a 15-firm high-growth pilot, including weaknesses where governance, board oversight, risk management and controls had not kept pace with business growth.
The FCA is making regulatory engagement part of the scale up process rather than waiting for rapid growth to create supervisory problems. NCFA’s closer look at the five firms shows how that support intersects with payments, credit, insurance and European expansion. For fintechs, the tradeoff is clearer: faster access to regulatory guidance comes with closer attention to whether governance, controls and customer protections are developing at the same rate as products, customers and market expansion.
Senate leadership filed cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, after the chamber left for its August recess without voting on the bill.
The Senate schedule says the cloture motion will ripen on September 15 at 2:15 p.m., creating a formal procedural route toward floor consideration when senators return.
The bill still faces a 60-vote threshold and unresolved negotiations, including bank concerns over stablecoin rewards and proposed ethics provisions.
The CLARITY Act has moved from an uncertain post-recess commitment to a scheduled Senate procedure. The September vote will test whether negotiators can assemble enough support to advance a federal market-structure framework and narrow the remaining disagreements over banking, stablecoins and digital-asset oversight.
Mercury launched Mercury Spend with budgets, expense policies and company cards managed through one spending system.
Businesses can issue dedicated cards to AI agents for approved transactions and monitor their spending separately from employee activity.
Budgets and expense policies provide the control layer around those cards, while Mercury can automatically categorize transactions and lock cards when required tasks remain overdue.
The important change is that an AI agent can now receive its own controlled payment credential rather than only prepare a transaction for someone else. That makes permission design part of the payment product. NCFA has already tracked how AI agents use card rails; Mercury brings the same question inside company spending, where budgets and policy controls define how much authority software actually receives.
SIDBI and MonetaGo confirmed that Secure Financing is live on SIDBI’s GST-Sahay invoice-based financing platform following a pilot and three months of production use.
The system validates invoices financed through India’s TReDS infrastructure and checks invoices across participating factoring platforms and lenders, including SBI Global Factors and India Factoring.
The production milestone follows the November 2025 SIDBI-MonetaGo partnership. The system is designed to identify duplicate financing and strengthen invoice validation before credit is advanced to MSMEs.
Invoice financing fraud controls are becoming shared lending infrastructure rather than checks performed inside one lender at a time. MonetaGo has been working on shared trade finance fraud controls for years; the SIDBI deployment brings that model into live MSME lending. The test is whether interoperable validation reduces duplicate financing and exceptions at scale while making cash flow credit faster and safer across multiple lenders and factoring platforms.
De Nederlandsche Bank granted Mews Financial Services B.V. an Electronic Money Institution licence, giving the hospitality software company regulated financial standing across the EEA.
Mews plans to bring payment services, financial workflows and hotel operating data into the same platform, alongside safeguarding, fraud monitoring, sanctions screening and anti money laundering controls.
The company processed US$19.7 billion in hotel transaction value in 2025. Regulated capabilities are expected to begin with a Netherlands pilot in late 2026 before expanding across the EEA.
Mews is taking embedded finance beyond connecting hotels to outside financial providers. Its own regulated entity can now sit inside the software where hotel revenue, operations and payments already meet. That changes the regulatory boundary for embedded finance: vertical software can become part of the licensed financial infrastructure instead of remaining only the distribution layer.
TransFi launched JARVIS, a proprietary compliance intelligence platform that combines KYC and sanctions screening, internet profiling, behavioural and biometric signals, and fiat and blockchain transaction monitoring.
JARVIS builds risk profiles, uses heuristics and AI research to recommend actions on high confidence matches, and escalates complex or ambiguous cases for human review.
Final KYC, KYB, transaction monitoring and screening decisions remain with TransFi's compliance team under MLRO oversight.
AI is entering compliance as an investigation and decision support layer rather than replacing accountable human approval. That model fits the emerging market for AI powered compliance workflows where evidence, escalation, auditability and human control determine whether automation can be trusted. TransFi's operating test is whether JARVIS reduces review effort across multiple jurisdictions without weakening decision quality.
Trezor disclosed that a breach at shipping provider ShipMonk exposed customer information including names, email addresses, phone numbers and shipping addresses.
Approximately 11,742 customers had full contact and shipping information exposed, while another 1,947 had partial exposure, bringing the affected total to about 13,689 customers.
Trezor says its own systems, devices and services were not compromised. The company warns that the exposed information could instead be used for more sophisticated phishing and impersonation attempts.
The breach shows how self custody can inherit risk from suppliers that never touch a private key. Fulfilment providers still hold enough identity and location data to expose hardware wallet owners to targeted attacks, making vendor controls and data retention part of hardware wallet security rather than a separate privacy issue.
Weekly Close
Financial infrastructure is becoming easier to enter and harder to operate well. Bank switching is getting simpler, payments are becoming programmable, AI agents are gaining spending authority and software platforms are taking on regulated financial roles. At the same time, regulators are putting more weight on governance, settlement discipline, market access and accountability. The competitive advantage is moving toward firms that can combine better distribution with stronger control of the infrastructure underneath 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
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming part of the day-to-day operations of Canadian financial advice firms. From automating administrative tasks and analyzing client portfolios to supporting investment research and improving client communications, AI has the potential to make advisors more efficient and help firms deliver a better client experience.
But as adoption accelerates, governance isn't always keeping pace.
Many firms are experimenting with AI tools before establishing clear policies around how those tools should be used, monitored, and supervised. That creates significant risk in an industry where investment advice is built on trust, accountability, and regulatory compliance.
Using AI without proper governance is a bit like prescribing medication without understanding the side effects or drug interactions. The technology may offer benefits, but without safeguards, oversight, and a clear understanding of the risks, unintended consequences can quickly outweigh the advantages.
For Canadian financial advisors, governance shouldn't be viewed as unnecessary bureaucracy. It's an essential part of responsible innovation.
The Regulatory Landscape Is Evolving
Canada's financial regulatory environment already places significant responsibilities on advisors, and those obligations don't disappear simply because AI enters the picture. The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), together with provincial securities regulators such as the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), have made it clear that existing regulatory obligations continue to apply whenever technology influences regulated activities. Firms remain responsible for ensuring investor protection, fair dealing, appropriate supervision, cybersecurity, privacy, and sound governance, regardless of whether decisions are supported by artificial intelligence.
AI governance is no longer simply a future consideration. CIRO's 2026 Compliance Report identifies artificial intelligence and emerging technologies as areas of supervisory focus, signalling that firms should expect regulators to examine how AI systems are being used, what controls are in place, and whether appropriate oversight exists. The message is clear: firms remain accountable for the outcomes produced by the technology they choose to implement.
At its core, Canadian financial advisors continue to operate under well-established regulatory obligations. For most registered firms, this includes complying with Know Your Client (KYC), Know Your Product (KYP), and suitability requirements under the Client Focused Reforms. In certain advisory relationships, such as discretionary portfolio management, a fiduciary duty may also apply. Regardless of the business model, advisors are expected to understand the rationale behind every recommendation they provide and be able to explain why it is appropriate for each client. That expectation becomes much more challenging if an AI system produces recommendations that advisors cannot clearly explain, let alone defend or stress test.
Strong AI Governance Will Be Essential
Explainability is only one piece of the governance puzzle. Firms must also consider data privacy, cybersecurity, recordkeeping, model bias, third-party vendor oversight, and ongoing monitoring of AI systems. Regulators expect firms to demonstrate not only that technology delivers operational benefits, but also that associated risks are identified, documented, and actively managed.
History provides plenty of reasons for this scrutiny. AI systems used in other industries, such as HR, have produced biased hiring decisions, inaccurate healthcare recommendations, and flawed credit assessments due to inadequate oversight or unintended algorithmic behaviour. Financial advice firms cannot assume similar issues won't emerge within investment or wealth management applications.
Another emerging consideration is AI-generated investment commentary. Recent guidance from the CSA and CIRO reinforces that securities laws apply regardless of how investment recommendations are delivered. Whether commentary comes from a financial advisor, an online platform, or an AI-powered tool, firms remain responsible for ensuring communications comply with applicable registration, disclosure, and investor protection requirements. AI cannot be used to distance a firm from its regulatory responsibilities; introducing it does not reduce those responsibilities. If anything, it increases the need for governance.
Build Governance Before Expanding AI
Strong AI governance starts long before a new tool is deployed. Rather than allowing employees to independently adopt AI solutions across different departments, firms should first define exactly where AI will be used and where human expertise must remain central to the decision-making process. Administrative automation, document summarization, workflow management, and research support may represent lower-risk applications than suitability assessments, portfolio recommendations, or investment decisions that directly affect clients. Establishing clear use cases helps prevent AI from gradually expanding into areas where the risks may outweigh the benefits.
Governance also requires clear accountability. Every AI-enabled process should have an identified owner who is responsible for monitoring performance, addressing concerns, and escalating issues when necessary. Responsibility cannot rest with the software itself. Human accountability remains essential.
Transparency should be another guiding principle. Clients deserve to understand when AI contributes to services they receive, particularly if it influences recommendations, communications, or financial planning outputs. Transparency builds trust while helping clients better understand how technology supports, rather than replaces, professional judgment.
Bias testing is equally important because AI models learn from historical data, which can contain unintended biases. If left unchecked, algorithms may produce outcomes that disadvantage certain investor groups or reinforce patterns that conflict with principles of fairness and equal access. Regular testing allows firms to identify and correct these issues before they affect clients. The objective isn't simply to deploy AI; it's to deploy AI responsibly.
Turning Governance Into Daily Practice
Creating governance policies is only the first step. Maintaining them requires ongoing operational discipline. There are some daily practices that could help firms in this aspect:
Proper documentation: Every meaningful AI-assisted recommendation or decision should be properly documented. Firms should be able to demonstrate how information was generated, how it was reviewed, and how the final recommendation was reached. Comprehensive documentation not only supports internal quality control but also prepares firms for future regulatory reviews.
Continuous monitoring: AI systems are not static. Performance can change over time as market conditions evolve, new data becomes available, or models begin exhibiting algorithmic drift. Regular reviews help ensure systems continue operating as intended while identifying unexpected behaviours before they become larger problems. Many firms may benefit from conducting quarterly governance reviews that assess model performance, review exceptions, evaluate client outcomes, and confirm compliance with internal policies.
Employee education: This should also remain a priority. Advisors need to understand both the strengths and limitations of AI. Training should focus not only on how to use new tools but also on recognizing situations where human judgment should override automated recommendations.
AI should not be treated as a set-and-go replacement for professional expertise. It should be used responsibly as a tool that enhances decision-making and quality investment advice while preserving the experience, judgment, and accountability that clients expect from trusted financial advisors.
Responsible AI Is a Competitive Advantage
AI will undoubtedly reshape financial advice in Canada, but technology alone won't determine which firms succeed. Governance will. Organizations should establish clear policies, maintain transparency, monitor performance, and preserve meaningful human oversight while using AI. Without adequate governance, firms may expose themselves to compliance failures, reputational damage, and increased regulatory scrutiny.
As AI capabilities continue to expand, firms should regularly ask themselves one important question: Could we clearly explain every AI-assisted recommendation to a client and, if necessary, to a regulator? If the answer is yes, governance is likely supporting innovation. If the answer is no, governance deserves attention before AI adoption moves any further.
Ultimately, responsible AI is not a roadblock to the adoption of innovation. It's about ensuring innovation strengthens the quality, integrity, and trust that define professional financial advice.
Nadeem is a Chief Investment Strategist and Portfolio Manager with 20+ years' experience across major global banks, including senior-level roles at RBC, Raymond James, CIBC, Deutsche Bank, and Citigroup. At Marnoa, he leads investment strategy and portfolio management with a focus on North American equities and is a frequent commentator in the media, including regular appearances on BNN Bloomberg.
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
The central idea is personal empowerment. Zuckerberg argues that advanced AI should give individuals more ability to create, learn, build businesses, improve their health and pursue their own goals rather than placing most of that intelligence under the control of governments, large institutions or a handful of AI companies.
Meta's vision imagines personal agents working continuously on a user's behalf, small teams building companies that once required much larger organizations, personalized tutors, faster scientific discovery and powerful creative tools available to billions of people.
Meta wants AI capability spread widely, while the compute, models, release decisions and government relationships needed to provide it remain concentrated among a handful of organizations.
Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO, Meta:
“The defining questions of our age are who will have access to superintelligence and what will we direct it towards.”
Meta Is Betting On Invention More Than Automation
One of Zuckerberg's strongest economic arguments is that AI's biggest contribution could come from helping people invent things rather than simply automating today's jobs.
Meta expects individuals to become capable of doing work that currently requires larger teams, more capital or specialized expertise. Zuckerberg predicts more small businesses, more experimentation and potentially more employment as people use AI to create products, services and jobs that don't exist today.
That is a different vision from a future where AI mainly replaces knowledge work. Meta argues that if personal agents increase people's capabilities quickly enough, workers can adapt and new demand can grow alongside automation.
For founders, that could change the economics of starting a company. Product development, research, design, marketing and operations could require fewer people and less initial capital. Small firms could reach meaningful scale much earlier.
Financial services will feel the same pressure. Meta already has AI that can plan work, connect with email and calendars and continue tasks after the user leaves. As agents gain access to financial information and connected services, permissions and accountability become part of the operating model, especially when an agent can act rather than simply advise.
Meta Thinks Distributing AI Can Also Make It Safer
The more unusual part of Zuckerberg's argument is about safety.
He rejects the idea that one centrally controlled superintelligence can be aligned to a single set of values that works for everyone. People disagree about politics, economics, culture and what makes a good life.
Meta's answer is to distribute powerful AI widely enough that people, businesses, governments and competing AI systems check one another.
It is essentially a balance of power argument. One person with vastly better legal, financial or cybersecurity intelligence could gain an enormous advantage. If many people have access to comparable capabilities, Meta argues that power becomes harder to monopolize. (There’s some irony here. Zuckerberg built his fortune by controlling access to data, distribution and network effects that others couldn’t easily replicate.)
That philosophy also influences Meta's approach to alignment. Personal agents should primarily help users pursue their own goals within legal and safety boundaries rather than enforce one company's view of what those goals should be.
Meta says it plans to build a private mode where even Meta can't access a user's information, and it intends to resume releasing some open models. It is also giving its independent board authority to approve safety criteria for model releases rather than leaving those decisions entirely with Zuckerberg or management.
Meta's existing algorithmic products are already under legal scrutiny, including a federal trial involving 29 U.S. states over alleged harm to children. Meta denies the allegations. A company asking people to trust far more capable personal agents will have to show that user empowerment, privacy and safety work in practice. Algorithmic accountability is already moving into the courts as AI and automated systems take on a larger role in people's lives.
The Vision Extends Into Government And Geopolitics
Zuckerberg's decentralization argument has limits.
He wants individuals to have broad access to powerful AI, but he also argues that the United States and its allies should retain leadership in advanced models, silicon and infrastructure. Meta supports continued restrictions on exports of leading chips to geopolitical rivals and wants U.S. policy to make it easier to build data centres and energy capacity.
He also proposes closer cooperation between frontier AI labs and government. Rather than waiting until an advanced model is finished, Meta wants labs to share intermediate model checkpoints and technical staff so governments can identify cybersecurity and other security risks earlier.
The result still leaves considerable power with governments, frontier labs and the companies that control advanced compute. Individuals would gain far more capability. Governments would receive earlier access for security purposes. Independent boards would get more authority over release standards. Frontier labs would still control development of the most capable models.
Meta's vision is therefore decentralized at the user level while retaining substantial institutional coordination at the frontier.
Meta Has To Finance The Future It Is Promising
Meta expects capital spending of US$130 billion to US$145 billion in 2026 and spent US$31.08 billion in the second quarter alone. It is investing in models, data centres, energy, networking, its own chips and outside accelerators while trying to deliver AI across products already used by billions of people.
If personal superintelligence is going to be free or affordable at global scale, someone still has to pay for the compute..
Meta wants superintelligence broadly distributed, but scarce compute still has to be allocated. Its answer is a dynamic auction for additional capacity, which means the vision of AI for everyone could still produce tiers of access based partly on what users can afford. (conflict?)
The business model hasn't been proven. Meta's second quarter free cash flow fell to US$784 million as infrastructure spending accelerated, even while its core advertising business remained highly profitable.
Meta is making these commitments under real pressure. Its infrastructure spending has climbed rapidly, the company is still building the compute capacity and custom chips needed to compete at the frontier, and its existing platforms face growing legal scrutiny.
The scale of the investment also reinforces a central tension in Zuckerberg's vision. Meta wants personal AI to give individuals more power, but only a small number of companies can currently finance the systems needed to provide it.
Canada Should Pay Attention To Access And Agency
Meta's vision has clear upside for Canada.
Canadian entrepreneurs, researchers and smaller businesses could gain access to capabilities they would never be able to finance themselves. If AI lowers the cost of creating companies, learning new skills and developing new products, a smaller economy can participate without matching U.S. frontier model spending dollar for dollar.
Canada is already debating how to keep more domestic intellectual property, capital and compute capacity while using global AI platforms. The country's AI sovereignty debate is partly about preserving enough domestic capability to avoid becoming only a customer of technology developed and controlled elsewhere.
A recent pro-human AI initiative backed by researchers, business and labour groups also argues for human agency, limits on concentrated power and accountability for AI companies. Zuckerberg reaches some similar principles from a very different starting point.
Canada needs enough choice, competition, data control and domestic capability for its companies and citizens to use increasingly powerful AI on their own terms.
Talking Point
Zuckerberg's bet is that superintelligence can give individuals more power to learn, invent, work and build. Meta has the reach and financial capacity to put that idea in front of billions of people. The cost of doing so is already putting heavy pressure on cash flow.Whether users ultimately gain more control will depend on who controls the models, data, compute and rules behind their personal AI.
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
August 13, 2026 | NCFA Resource | Risk Compliance And Regtech, Artificial Intelligence And Data, Regulation And Policy
Machine Readable Rules For Compliance Systems And AI
On August 6, 2026, the UK Financial Conduct Authority launched the FCA Handbook API, giving firms, developers and RegTech providers direct access to structured Handbook data. The free service lets software retrieve current rules, guidance, technical standards and glossary content for use inside compliance and regulatory change systems.
The practical value is real. Firms no longer have to rely only on website searches, monthly downloads or manually maintained rule libraries when they want FCA source material inside their own systems. The API creates a direct route from the Handbook into software that tracks obligations, maps rules to business activities or supports AI assisted compliance work.
What It Does In Practice
The API provides structured access to the FCA Handbook, Technical Standards and Glossary. Users need a free Handbook account, and the FCA says the data can be used in firms’ own applications or through third party technology providers.
The FCA identifies several practical uses:
mapping rules to products, activities and customer journeys
tracking and comparing current and future Handbook changes
feeding regulatory and policy updates into compliance systems
supporting RegTech products with current FCA source data
providing trusted regulatory content to AI tools
AI can help retrieve, classify and compare regulatory information, but the quality of the output still depends on the source material it receives. A direct FCA data feed reduces one common problem which is compliance tools working from copied, stale or inconsistently maintained rule text.
NCFA has already identified this problem in AI powered regulatory reporting. The opportunity isn't simply to add AI to compliance work. Systems need reliable regulatory inputs, clear controls and a way to trace outputs back to the underlying rule or guidance.
The API can also reduce manual work around regulatory updates. Firms can connect Handbook content to internal rule inventories, product governance, control libraries or change management processes rather than repeatedly checking individual pages for updates.
There are some practical access conditions. Users cannot work with the API directly through the Handbook website. They need a compatible external application such as Postman or RapidAPI, or another system built to use the interface. Protected endpoints are also subject to rate limits.
Who Gets Value
The clearest users are compliance teams, legal teams, RegTech providers, financial institutions and fintechs that need FCA rules inside operational systems.
Large firms with internal technology teams can connect the data to their own compliance architecture and tailor how Handbook content is matched to business lines, products or controls.
Smaller firms may get more value indirectly through RegTech providers that use the API to improve rule monitoring, change alerts, obligation management or policy tools.
Developers and AI teams also gain a cleaner source for regulated workflows. For example, a compliance assistant could retrieve relevant Handbook content, compare current and future text, or help staff identify which internal policies may need review after a rule update.
That doesn't make the API a compliance decision engine. A system can retrieve the rule accurately and still reach a poor conclusion about how it applies to a particular firm, product or client situation. Human review, legal interpretation and internal accountability remain necessary.
Strengths And Limits
The main strength is source quality. The API automatically draws from the latest Handbook rather than requiring firms or vendors to maintain their own copy of the rulebook. That can improve consistency and reduce the delay between a Handbook update and its appearance inside a compliance system.
It is also useful that the FCA has made the service available without a separate licence fee. Firms can choose whether to connect directly or use a technology provider, which lowers the barrier for developers and RegTech companies testing new compliance tools.
The API is not a complete regulatory archive. It does not provide historic Handbook versions. Requests for past dates return an error, although current and future versions are available through the API. Firms that need a full historical record will still need the Handbook website, archive tools or their own retained records.
The API also does not cover every piece of FCA information. The FCA Handbook contains rules, guidance and standards, while other FCA publications, supervisory communications, consultations, speeches and notices remain outside that core source. Compliance systems therefore still need broader regulatory monitoring.
Direct access to current regulatory text improves the input, but it does not guarantee accurate interpretation. Firms using AI for compliance should still test outputs, keep records, control permissions and make it clear when a person needs to review the result. The IOSCO AI Supervisory Toolkit provides useful additional guidance on governance, oversight, data quality and control expectations for AI in regulated financial environments.
The FCA Handbook API is most useful when treated as authoritative source infrastructure. It can make regulatory information easier for software to retrieve and keep current, while firms remain responsible for deciding what the rules mean for their own operations.
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](http://www.ncfacanada.org)
Malhotra urged Indian banks to inventory the AI models they use and establish board approved AI governance policies, while arguing that banks cannot afford to avoid the technology because of its risks. The BRICS discussion is less advanced, but it has progressed beyond India's proposal earlier this year.
AI Governance Is Becoming A Bank Operating Responsibility
The RBI has been working toward this point for some time. India's FREE-AI framework was developed around responsible AI use in finance, including governance, explainability, privacy, fairness and risk controls. The central bank has also been expanding its model risk work beyond credit models into other operating areas.
Malhotra's August remarks make the institutional responsibility clearer. A bank cannot govern AI well if it cannot identify which models are running, where they are used or who owns the decisions around them. An inventory creates the starting record. Board approved governance then establishes responsibility above individual technology teams.
That becomes more important as AI spreads beyond analysis into customer service, credit, fraud detection, risk management and other live banking functions. Cybersecurity and operational risk also grow with the number of systems, vendors and data connections involved.
Canada is dealing with more or less the same operating problem. OSFI and GRI's financial AI work found that regulated deployment depends on practical controls around identity, cyber risk, financial crime, third party providers and customer outcomes. More than 170 participants contributed to that work, with 72% reporting AI use at work in financial services.
Financial regulators are asking institutions to prove control over AI that is already being used. For banks, model inventories, ownership, monitoring and escalation are becoming part of normal operating discipline.
BRICS Payment Links Advance From Proposal To Discussion
The payments comments are at an earlier stage.
In January, India proposed that BRICS members consider linking their official digital currencies for cross border trade and tourism payments. NCFA captured that proposal in its January BRICS payments evidence.
Malhotra now says BRICS members are discussing potential links between both fast payment systems and CBDCs. The objective is lower cost cross border payments, but he was equally clear that the work is still at the discussion stage.
There is no shared BRICS CBDC network, agreed settlement architecture or implementation timetable. There is also no basis for treating the discussions as evidence that a common BRICS currency is being created. Official BRICS material has instead focused on reducing the cost of trade and financial transactions and improving payment links between member countries.
The addition of fast payment systems is also important. CBDCs are only one possible route. Connecting existing national payment rails may offer another way to improve cross border transfers without waiting for every participating country to deploy a mature digital currency.
More Capability Means More Governance At Every Layer
Malhotra did not present AI governance and BRICS payment connectivity as a single program, however combined they do expose a common operating issue. Inside a bank, more capable AI requires clearer ownership, controls and auditability. Between countries, more connected payment systems require agreements around access, standards, settlement, legal responsibility and risk.
Interoperability is useful only when participants know who is accountable when something fails. The same is true for AI performing more important financial work.
For Canadian readers, the comparison is timely. Canada's financial infrastructure is becoming more open through new payment system access, PSP supervision and the Real Time Rail, while banks are also deploying more AI. Different technologies are involved, but both require stronger operating controls as access and automation expand.
Talking Point
Financial infrastructure gets harder to govern as it becomes more capable and connected. The RBI's AI expectations and the BRICS payment discussions show that control, accountability and interoperability are becoming operating questions, not side issues for innovation teams.
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
August 10, 2026 | NCFA Companies On The Move | Digital Banking And BaaS, Competition And Market Structure
French Banking Licence Extends Revolut’s Global Bank Expansion
On August 10, 2026, Revolut secured a French banking licence from the ACPR and European Central Bank. France will become Revolut's second EU banking base alongside Lithuania, with Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain expected to follow.
Revolut enters this phase with more than 75 million customers and $6 billion of 2025 revenue. It is also building licensed banks in several major markets, which changes the competitive significance of its renewed interest in Canada.
Revolut Now Has Bank-Scale Economics
Revolut's 2025 results show a business well beyond its original foreign-exchange and card proposition. Revenue rose 46% to $6.0 billion, profit before tax reached $2.3 billion and net profit was $1.7 billion. Customer balances reached $67.5 billion.
Eleven product lines generated more than £100 million each. Card payments produced $1.3 billion of revenue, wealth $876 million and foreign exchange $800 million. Revolut Business accounted for 16% of group income.
Credit is becoming substantial enough to change the risk profile. The loan book grew 120% to $2.9 billion across personal loans, credit cards and an early mortgage portfolio, while commercial real estate lending has extended the company into more specialized credit.
Private-market pricing has climbed with the operating results. Revolut completed a secondary transaction at a US$75 billion valuation in November 2025. A new secondary sale confirmed in July 2026 is reportedly pricing the company at US$115 billion. The current sale has not been announced as completed.
Revolut Is Adding Local Banking Operations In Major Markets
The French licence divides Revolut's European banking structure more deliberately. Lithuania remains the banking base for much of the European Economic Area, while the French entity will take responsibility for six Western European markets with roughly 30 million Revolut customers.
Revolut completed the next stage of its UK banking licence in March, launching the bank for a domestic customer base of 13 million after receiving the licence in 2024 and completing its mobilisation period.
Owning more of the banking infrastructure gives Revolut greater control over deposits, credit, payments and pricing. It also requires more local capital, compliance and operating capacity. In Western Europe, Revolut has committed more than €1 billion to the new regional structure and plans to build its headquarters in Paris.
Canada Is A Different Proposition Than It Was In 2019
Revolut's renewed Canada strategy follows an earlier attempt built around prepaid cards and foreign exchange. The company entered a limited Canadian beta in 2019 and withdrew in 2021 without establishing a domestic banking presence.
Jan Pilbauer was appointed to lead Revolut Canada in 2025 after senior roles at Payments Canada and the Bank of Canada. Revolut has described Canada as attractive but remains early in its evaluation. It hasn't announced a launch date, and there is no public evidence of a Canadian bank licence application.
The regulatory setting has changed too. OSFI's Streamlined Approvals Framework creates a clearer federal route for eligible innovative banking models, while consumer-driven banking could reduce data-access barriers once regulated sharing is operating.
Revolut would also be operating a different business. A payments and FX app would add another fintech option. A Canadian operation spanning deposits, credit, wealth and business banking would compete for much more of the customer relationship.
Local Licences Put More Responsibility On Revolut
Italy offers a recent reminder that localization cuts both ways. In April, the country's competition authority fined Revolut entities more than €11 million over investment disclosures, account restrictions and information concerning Italian IBAN availability.
The Italian action touched the same customer-treatment and localization issues Revolut has to manage as more markets gain their own banking entities. Revolut disagreed with the findings and said it would appeal.
Revolut now has the customers, earnings and product breadth to compete much more directly with established banks. Its French licence shows how much regulatory infrastructure that ambition requires. A Canadian return would reveal whether Revolut is prepared to build the same depth here.
NCFA Company Intelligence Snapshot
Revolut
Global payments, banking, credit, wealth and business finance platform
Last updated Aug 10, 2026
Company At A Glance
Founded 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko
Headquarters London, United Kingdom
Status Private financial technology and banking group
Customers 75M+ globally
Markets More than 40
2025 Revenue US$6.0B
2025 Net Profit US$1.7B
Customer Balances US$67.5B at Dec 31, 2025
Loan Book US$2.9B at Dec 31, 2025
Valuation US$75B completed valuation; July 2026 secondary sale reportedly at US$115B
Products Payments, cards, deposits, FX, lending, wealth, investing and business finance; availability varies by market
Revenue Model Payments, subscriptions, FX, wealth, lending, interest income and business services
Milestones
Select a milestone to follow Revolut from international payments into locally regulated banking
1 Payments Launch 2015
2 EU Bank Licence 2018
3 Canada Trial 2019–2021
4 US$800M Series E 2021
5 Profitable Scale 2025
6 Local Bank Buildout Jan–Jul 2026
7 French Bank Hub Aug 2026
Milestone 1
Revolut Starts With International Spending (2015)
Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko launched Revolut in London around spending, transfers and foreign exchange.
Company
Revolut Mobile financial technology company
Stage
Launch Initial consumer product
Capital
Early Venture Outside funding follows early adoption
Markets
UK First International spending and transfers
Customers
Consumers Customers seeking cheaper international money use
Competition
Banks And FX Digital alternative to bank foreign-exchange pricing
Additional Company Data
London launch
Mobile-first onboarding
Initial focus on spending and transfers abroad
Why This Milestone Matters
A narrow international-spending problem gave Revolut an entry point before it asked customers to use the app for more of their finances.
Milestone 2
Lithuanian Licence Adds Banking Capability (2018)
The Bank of Lithuania granted Revolut a banking licence in 2018, the regulatory base later used to provide banking services across the European Economic Area.
Company
Revolut Bank Payments business adding banking capability
Stage
Regulated Expansion Banking joins the product base
Capital
US$250M Series C raised in 2018
Markets
European Union Lithuanian regulatory base
Customers
Retail Payments customers gain access to more financial products
Competition
Digital Banking Revolut starts competing beyond payments
Additional Company Data
US$250M Series C valued Revolut at US$1.7B
Revolut Business had launched in 2017
Metal launched in the EEA in 2018
Why This Milestone Matters
The licence gave Revolut a regulated base for deposits and banking services instead of limiting the customer relationship to payments.
Milestone 3
Canada Gets A Limited Version Of Revolut (2019–2021)
Revolut entered Canada with a beta centred on prepaid cards and foreign exchange and withdrew in 2021 without establishing a Canadian bank.
Company
Revolut Canada Beta Partial version of the global product
Stage
Market Trial Entry ends before full banking launch
Capital
Group Funded No Canadian financing disclosed
Markets
Canada Cards and foreign exchange
Customers
Beta Users Narrower product access than in core markets
Competition
Limited Product No full domestic banking proposition
Additional Company Data
Beta began in 2019
No Canadian bank was established
Revolut exited in 2021
Why This Milestone Matters
Canada exposed the difficulty of competing with only part of Revolut's product set.
Milestone 4
US$800 Million Series E Funds A Larger Platform (2021)
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global backed an US$800 million Series E that valued Revolut at US$33 billion.
Company
Revolut Platform Consumer and business financial services
Stage
Global Scale Product and geographic expansion
Capital
US$800M US$33B Series E valuation
Markets
International Europe with expansion outside the region
Customers
16M+ Customers worldwide at the financing
Competition
Financial Platform More products compete for more customer activity
Additional Company Data
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Tiger Global joined as investors
Capital supported U.S., India and other international expansion
Savings, insurance, wealth and trading were part of the product build
Why This Milestone Matters
The Series E financed expansion well beyond the original payments proposition and put Revolut among the world's highest-valued private fintechs.
Milestone 5
Revenue And Profit Catch Up With Customer Growth (2025)
Revolut closed 2025 with 68.3 million retail customers, US$6.0 billion in revenue and US$1.7 billion in net profit. A November secondary transaction valued it at US$75 billion.
Company
Global Financial Platform Retail and business products at large scale
Stage
Profitable Scale Fifth consecutive year of net profitability
Capital
US$75B November secondary valuation
Markets
40+ Markets worldwide
Customers
68.3M Retail 767,000 business customers at year-end
Competition
Primary Banking More customers use Revolut for everyday finances
Additional Company Data
US$67.5B in customer balances
US$2.9B loan portfolio
Eleven product lines above £100M of annual revenue
Jan Pilbauer appointed to lead Revolut Canada
Why This Milestone Matters
Profit and customer balances gave Revolut more capacity to fund lending, licences and local banking operations from a much stronger financial base.
Milestone 6
UK, Mexico And Australia Add Local Banking Operations (Jan–Jul 2026)
Revolut launched full banking in Mexico, exited UK mobilisation and received an unrestricted Australian banking licence. Its U.S. national bank charter remains under review.
Company
Multi-Market Bank Local banks operate within the global platform
Stage
Banking Expansion More markets gain local regulated entities
Capital
Local Balance Sheets Deposits and lending require local capital
Markets
UK, Mexico, Australia U.S. charter application remains pending
Customers
Local Bank Users 13M UK customers and 1M+ Australian retail customers at launch
Competition
Full-Service Banks Deposits and credit deepen competitive overlap
Additional Company Data
UK bank launched in March 2026
Mexico passed 500,000 retail customers
Australia became Revolut's first licensed bank in APAC
U.S. banking still depends on charter approval
Why This Milestone Matters
Local banks let Revolut own more of the deposit, credit and payment relationship instead of depending as heavily on partner institutions.
Milestone 7
France Becomes Revolut's Second EU Banking Base (Aug 2026)
Revolut's French banking licence creates a regional base for France and, progressively, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
Company
Revolut Banking Group Regional banks inside a global platform
Stage
Regional Scale Second EU banking base
Capital
€1B+ Western Europe investment commitment
Markets
Six Countries France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain
Customers
~30M Across the intended Western European hub
Competition
Local Banking Depth More direct competition with domestic banks
Additional Company Data
Paris will house the Western Europe headquarters
The regional operation adds local risk, compliance and product capacity
Lithuania remains Revolut's other EU banking base
The July secondary share sale is reportedly pricing Revolut at US$115B
Why This Milestone Matters
Revolut is placing more banking responsibility inside the European markets where many of its customers actually live.
Frequently Asked Questions About Revolut
What is Revolut?
Revolut is a London-headquartered financial technology and banking group founded in 2015 by Nik Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko. It offers payments, cards, deposits, foreign exchange, lending, wealth, investing and business financial services, with availability varying by market.
Is Revolut a bank?
Revolut operates licensed banks in several jurisdictions, including the European Economic Area, UK, Mexico and Australia. Its legal entity and customer protections vary by market.
How many customers does Revolut have?
Revolut reports more than 75 million retail customers globally. It ended 2025 with 68.3 million retail customers and 767,000 business customers.
How does Revolut make money?
Revenue comes from card payments, subscriptions, foreign exchange, wealth products, lending and interest income, and Revolut Business. Eleven product lines each generated more than £100 million in 2025.
Is Revolut profitable?
Yes. Revolut reported US$2.3 billion in profit before tax and US$1.7 billion in net profit for 2025.
What is Revolut worth?
A completed November 2025 secondary transaction valued Revolut at US$75 billion. A secondary sale underway in July 2026 is reportedly pricing the company at US$115 billion, but Revolut has not announced that sale as completed.
Is Revolut coming back to Canada?
Revolut has renewed its Canadian effort and appointed Jan Pilbauer to lead the local business. Canada remains under evaluation, with no announced launch date or public evidence of a Canadian bank licence application as of August 10, 2026.
Why did Revolut leave Canada?
Revolut entered Canada in 2019 with a limited beta centred on prepaid cards and foreign exchange and withdrew in 2021 without establishing a Canadian banking presence or the wider product set available in its larger markets.
Who competes with Revolut?
Competitors vary by product and country. Revolut overlaps with traditional banks, digital banks and specialist fintechs across payments, deposits, credit, foreign exchange, investing and business finance.
Information notice: Private-company estimates are identified and attributed. Information may change after the stated update date. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial or legal advice.
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
August 10, 2026 | NCFA Fintech Intelligence Question | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Treasury Liquidity
Can Gold Move From The Vault Into Wholesale Finance?
Last Updated: August 10, 2026 Status: Emerging
Organizations: UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Bank of England, Prudential Regulation Authority, World Gold Council, London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)
On August 10, 2026, the Financial Times reported that the UK FCA is talking with banks and market participants about how tokenized gold could fit within the regulatory framework, including its possible use as collateral in wholesale markets.
The FCA declined to comment to the FT and hasn't published a gold specific framework, consultation or rule. But the discussion connects two developments already under way. UK authorities are working on tokenized collateral for wholesale markets, while the gold industry is trying to make physical bullion easier to own, transfer and pledge.
So can tokenized gold actually become collateral in wholesale markets?
Possibly, but creating the token is the easy part. A bank or market operator still has to trust the ownership claim, know where the bullion sits, value it quickly and take control if the borrower fails. Its own rules also have to permit gold as collateral.
That last hurdle matters. The UK is building infrastructure for tokenized collateral, but the Bank of England's current work focuses on tokenized versions of assets that already qualify. Gold isn't currently eligible collateral under the Bank's Sterling Monetary Framework.
Private markets could get there sooner. Banks and other wholesale counterparties have more room to agree on collateral terms between themselves. Acceptance by a clearing house would be a bigger step. Central bank eligibility would go further again.
This is why tokenized gold is different from simply launching another real world asset product. NCFA's analysis of tokenization in collateral and cash shows that institutional adoption is strongest where digital assets solve a real operating problem. Gold now has to pass that test.
Strategic Takeaway Tokenized gold becomes useful collateral when institutions can trust the claim, control the asset and sell it quickly if something goes wrong. Better technology helps, but it can't grant collateral status on its own.
Evidence
Click each item to expand
1. Gold Enters The UK Tokenization Discussion August 2026, United Kingdomⓘ
The Financial Times reports that the FCA has been discussing tokenized gold with major banks and other market participants, including whether it could be used as collateral in wholesale markets.
The discussions concern the regulatory treatment of tokenized gold.
Wholesale collateral is one of the potential uses being considered.
The FCA declined to comment to the FT.
No gold specific FCA proposal or rule has been published.
That makes this credible early evidence of regulatory interest, not a policy decision. What happens next depends on whether the industry can show that tokenized ownership works inside existing market controls.
2. UK Authorities Are Already Working On Tokenized Collateral May 2026, United Kingdomⓘ
The FCA and Bank of England set out a joint vision for UK wholesale tokenization in May. Collateral is one of the areas where firms have asked for clearer rules and infrastructure.
The programme covers prudential treatment, tokenized collateral and settlement instruments.
Sixteen firms are working through the Digital Securities Sandbox toward live issuance and settlement.
The Bank is targeting a live synchronisation service for 2028.
It is also working toward accepting tokenized versions of assets that are already eligible collateral at central counterparties and in its own operations.
The distinction is important. The programme can help an eligible security retain its collateral role when it is tokenized. It doesn't make a new asset eligible simply because someone puts it on a digital ledger.
Europe is dealing with the same operating challenge from another direction. The ECB roadmap for tokenized finance infrastructure focuses on connecting digital wholesale markets with central bank settlement rather than treating tokenization as a standalone product.
3. The Gold Industry Is Changing The Ownership Model 2025 To 2026, United Kingdomⓘ
The World Gold Council is tackling a problem that exists before the token arrives.
Allocated gold gives an investor ownership of specific physical bars, but that precision adds operating friction. Unallocated gold trades more easily, but the investor holds a claim against an institution rather than title to specific bullion.
The proposed Pooled Gold Interest is designed to sit between those structures.
Investors would hold a beneficial interest in a pool of vaulted physical gold.
The model allows fractional ownership rather than requiring whole bars.
Linklaters developed a legal framework for issuing and transferring the interests.
Easier use of gold as collateral is one of the stated goals.
That legal structure is central to the question. A collateral taker needs more than proof that a token exists. It needs an enforceable claim on the gold if the borrower fails.
4. Shared Infrastructure Is Being Built Around The Bullion March 2026, Globalⓘ
The World Gold Council's proposed Gold as a Service platform addresses the operating layer. A gold token is only as reliable as the records connecting it to the bullion in the vault.
The proposed platform connects physical custody with digital issuance.
It would standardize reconciliation, compliance and redemption.
Token supply could be kept aligned with physical inventory records.
The World Gold Council identifies collateralized borrowing as a possible use, subject to legal enforceability, custody and market infrastructure.
That qualification does a lot of work. Digital infrastructure may make gold easier to lock, transfer and release. The lender still needs a reliable right to the asset and a practical way to turn it into cash.
5. Gold Already Has The Market Depth 2026, Globalⓘ
Gold doesn't need a token to become a liquid asset. It already trades at enormous scale.
The World Gold Council estimates roughly US$31 trillion of gold exists above ground.
More than US$15 trillion is considered investable gold across private holdings, official holdings and derivatives.
Global gold trading averaged about US$361 billion per day in 2025.
Average daily trading reached about US$488 billion in the first half of 2026.
That gives gold an advantage over many tokenized assets. There is already a deep market and established pricing. The challenge is connecting that liquidity to a digital claim that collateral takers can actually use.
6. Physical Gold Still Faces An Eligibility Gap June 2026, United Kingdomⓘ
The London Bullion Market Association is separately asking UK authorities to reconsider how gold fits within the liquidity framework.
LBMA says allocated gold held at the Bank of England can be transferred and monetized quickly.
It argues that current regulatory treatment doesn't fully reflect that practical liquidity.
LBMA wants greater recognition of gold in firms' liquidity assessments.
It also asks regulators to consider whether gold could eventually become eligible collateral for Bank of England facilities.
That exposes the biggest gap. If physical allocated gold isn't currently eligible Bank collateral, tokenizing it won't remove the policy decision that comes first.
7. Tokenized Gold Products Are Arriving Before Collateral Acceptance 2025 To 2026, Globalⓘ
Institutions are already proving that physical gold can be represented and distributed digitally. HSBC has offered tokenized gold, DBS plans tokenized physical gold for customers in Singapore, and other issuers are expanding digital bullion products and infrastructure.
NCFA's evidence base also includes Tether's US$150 million investment in Gold.com, NatGold reporting more than US$469 million in premarket token demand, the DBS initiative and a bullion platform venture between AGTech and the Hong Kong Gold Exchange.
Together, those developments show growing demand, distribution and infrastructure. They don't show that the tokens are being posted as margin to clearing houses or widely accepted under institutional financing agreements.
The next proof is a financing transaction. A regulated bank accepting tokenized gold against a real loan, credit line or margin obligation would show that the ownership structure works beyond issuance. The terms would tell us even more. Who holds the bullion? How much of its value can be borrowed against? What happens if the borrower defaults? Can the lender take control immediately?
Those are ordinary collateral questions. Tokenization changes how the asset is recorded and transferred, but it doesn't make them disappear.
This is also where gold separates from tokenized Treasuries. Government securities already function inside mature repo, margin and central bank collateral systems. Their digital versions are trying to preserve an existing function while changing how the asset moves.
Gold has deep liquidity and established institutional ownership, but a more limited role inside regulated collateral frameworks. Private banks could accept tokenized gold first, particularly where they already understand bullion custody and financing. Wider dealer use would be stronger evidence. Acceptance by a central counterparty would show that the asset can meet tougher rules for valuation, control and liquidation.
The Bank of England is another threshold entirely. LBMA is still making the case for physical gold to become eligible, so tokenized gold clearly hasn't reached that point yet.
Canada offers a useful infrastructure comparison without forcing a Canadian gold story. Project Samara tested tokenized bond issuance, trading and lifecycle management with wholesale central bank settlement. The CSA has also opened Project Tokenization to examine how tokenized products and market infrastructure fit Canadian securities law. Neither establishes tokenized gold collateral in Canada. They show the kind of coordinated legal and settlement work that has to sit underneath institutional tokenization.
Why London Has More At Stake
London isn't searching for a tokenization use case. It already is at the centre of one of the world's deepest wholesale gold markets. If the ownership, custody and regulatory pieces can be made to work together, tokenization could make existing bullion easier to move between banks, trading venues and collateral accounts. The value would come from making a large market work better, not from creating another digital asset to trade.
There is also competition. Asian financial centres are investing in bullion markets, tokenized assets and digital settlement, while major central banks are building new wholesale infrastructure. London's existing market depth is an advantage, but only if the digital version preserves the legal certainty and liquidity that made the physical market valuable in the first place.
For now, the answer remains conditional. Tokenized gold has credible building blocks and a plausible route into private wholesale collateral. What it doesn't yet have is broad institutional acceptance.
The moment to watch is not the next gold token. It is the first repeatable collateral transaction where a regulated institution is willing to rely on one.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem providing education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities to thousands of members. NCFA works with industry, government, partners and affiliates to support a competitive and innovative fintech and funding sector in Canada. Join Canada’s Fintech and Funding Community or learn more at NCFA Canada.
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. 
