Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Venture Funding and Building
VersaBank Takes Real Time Receivable Funding to U.S.
September 1, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, SME Finance And Business Banking, Digital Banking And BaaS
ECN Capital and VersaBank's First U.S. Real-Time SRP
On September 1, 2026, London, Ontario based VersaBank announced the first U.S. Real-Time SRP implementation with ECN Capital. The system can fund eligible point of sale loans within hours. VersaBank says conventional funding can leave lenders waiting five to 30 days or longer while enough receivables accumulate.
ECN isn't a new customer. It implemented VersaBank's original U.S. Structured Receivable Program in 2025, and another ECN subsidiary joined the program in July with at least US$300 million in expected annual fundings. ECN Capital's Chris Johnson said the original SRP helped the company “grow our business faster” while improving profitability. The September implementation adds the newer real time capability, although VersaBank hasn't disclosed how much volume is flowing through it yet.
The scale is already substantial. VersaBank's total Structured Receivable Program portfolio exceeded C$4.4 billion as of January 31, 2026 after growing at a 33% compound annual rate over five years. U.S. SRP credit assets reached US$604.9 million by the end of the bank's second fiscal quarter of 2026, and VersaBank was targeting at least US$1 billion in additional U.S. SRP fundings during fiscal 2026.
What changes with ECN is speed. A funding model VersaBank has used in Canada for more than 15 years, and recently accelerated with Financeit, is now running in the U.S. with an established finance company.
Three Takeaways
1. Five to 30 Days Can Become Hours
Point of sale lenders need capital to keep making loans. A lender financing home renovations, HVAC systems, equipment or other large purchases may hold new receivables on its own balance sheet or borrow against them through a warehouse facility until the loans can be sold, refinanced or packaged into a securitization. That interval ties up capital and carries a financing cost.
VersaBank's Structured Receivable Program purchases qualifying receivables from finance companies. Real-Time SRP brings that funding closer to the original loan by evaluating and financing eligible individual receivables within hours rather than waiting for a larger pool to accumulate.
The model was first tested through an April Financeit pilot. The pilot finished ahead of schedule, and Financeit became the first partner to use Real-Time SRP at large scale when VersaBank formally launched the program in June. Financeit was approaching C$2 billion in annual loan originations, giving VersaBank a sizeable Canadian lending operation on which to prove the process before taking it into the U.S.
VersaBank describes the system as AI enabled, but its public disclosure supports a more targeted description. The bank says its internal AI technology helps evaluate individual loans underlying SRP receivables. It has not disclosed enough detail to determine exactly how eligibility, credit scoring, fraud checks or other decisions are divided between automation and human oversight.
2. Faster Funding Does Not Replace ABS or Forward Flow
Financeit completed a C$201 million ABS in June while also using VersaBank's real time funding. Those sources of capital can serve different stages of the same lending business. VersaBank can provide funding closer to origination, while securitization can provide longer term institutional capital after loans have accumulated into a larger pool.
Forward flow provides another option. Propel Holdings secured a US$60 million forward flow from Mesirow managed funds for Freshline loans, allowing institutional capital to purchase eligible production as it is originated. Warehouse lenders, forward flow investors, banks, private credit funds and ABS buyers are all competing to fund the period between a lender making a loan and receiving longer term capital.
VersaBank is trying to compress that period. The economic benefit depends on whether the cost of its funding, integration requirements and credit rules are attractive enough to save lenders money or free enough capital to justify adding another funding relationship.
3. VersaBank Is Exporting a Funding Model, Not Just Software
VersaBank has operated versions of its Structured Receivable Program in Canada for more than 15 years. It entered the U.S. point of sale finance market after acquiring a U.S. bank in 2024, giving VersaBank an OCC chartered national banking platform in Minnesota.
VersaBank is doing more than licensing software to ECN. It's using deposits and its own balance sheet to buy qualifying U.S. receivables through a funding model developed in Canada. That lets the bank grow through lending partners without having to build a large consumer lending operation itself.
ECN is now using the faster version in the U.S. VersaBank already had hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. SRP assets, and the wider ECN relationship includes at least US$300 million in expected annual fundings. The real time version gets eligible receivables onto VersaBank's balance sheet sooner.
Faster Funding Only Works if the Economics Hold
Faster funding can help lenders keep more cash available for new loans, but only if VersaBank's price and credit rules beat the alternatives. Lenders already have warehouse lines, forward flow buyers, banks and securitization markets competing for their business, so speed alone won't win the account.
For VersaBank, more U.S. receivables mean more loans and leases earning interest on the bank's balance sheet without VersaBank having to find the borrowers itself. The economics work only if what the bank earns on those assets stays comfortably above its funding costs and credit losses.
Growth can also concentrate risk. A few large partners, weaker loan quality or rising deposit costs could turn faster asset growth into lower returns. ECN is the first U.S. user of the real time version, so the more telling evidence will be whether other lenders adopt it and whether those portfolios perform well as volumes rise.
See: Canada's Private Credit Market
Private credit adds another source of competition for finance companies seeking capital. Canadian institutions already have roughly C$500 billion of private credit exposure, much of it outside Canada, while U.S. private credit funds have become major lenders to businesses and specialty finance companies. VersaBank is entering that competition with a regulated bank balance sheet, a deposit base and a funding system designed to work much closer to loan origination.
Talking Point
Can VersaBank turn a Canadian funding model into a scalable U.S. lending business?
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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TD, Scotiabank Among 21 in USD Stablecoin Venture
September 1, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Digital Assets Blockchain And Tokenization, Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, Cross Border Payments And FX
TD, Scotiabank and Canada’s Emerging CAD Stablecoin Market
On September 1, 2026, TD Bank Group and Scotiabank joined a 21 institution stablecoin venture that plans to form a new company in the second half of 2026. The venture is targeting a USD denominated stablecoin launch in the first half of 2027, followed by a euro product, with other G7 currencies possible later.
The group started with 10 banks exploring a shared stablecoin in October 2025. It now includes Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Santander, Deutsche Bank, UBS and MUFG alongside TD and Scotiabank. Fidelity Investments and WisdomTree put asset managers inside the venture as well, creating potential connections to investment products, tokenized assets and institutional distribution.
The stablecoin isn't live and the group hasn't disclosed the company name or any details. It says the product is intended for wholesale, institutional and retail markets, including cross border payments and digital asset settlement, and is being designed to meet applicable U.S. GENIUS Act and European MiCA requirements.
The banks are entering a US$320 billion stablecoin market as of the end of May 2026. Roughly 98% of stablecoin value is denominated in U.S. If regulated digital dollars become easier for businesses and consumers to hold and use, banks have an economic reason to compete for the deposits, reserves, customer relationships and settlement activity around them.
Why Banks Are Building Stablecoins
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan put a number on one concern in January. Citing U.S. Treasury studies, he said as much as US$6 trillion, or roughly 30% to 35% of U.S. commercial bank deposits, could migrate into stablecoins under scenarios where stablecoin holders can earn interest. It wasn't a forecast that US$6 trillion will leave banks. It illustrated how digital dollars could compete with deposits if customers can earn more elsewhere.
Deposits help fund lending and other bank balance sheet activity. Stablecoin reserves are generally held in cash, short term government securities and other permitted liquid assets. A large transfer from deposits into independently issued stablecoins could leave banks replacing some lower cost deposits with more expensive funding. Issuing or participating in stablecoins gives banks a way to retain more of the economics if customers start holding money onchain.
Europe is pursuing the same opportunity in euros. Qivalis euro stablecoin expanded to 37 financial institutions across 15 countries in May. Bank backed stablecoin ventures are becoming a competitive model alongside independently issued products such as USDC and USDT.
Banks are developing tokenized deposits at the same time. A tokenized deposit remains a liability of the issuing bank. A reserve backed stablecoin is a separate digital claim supported by designated reserve assets. Those differences affect funding, credit creation, redemption and who controls the customer relationship.
TD is already working across both models.
TD Is Active in USD, QCAD and Tokenized Deposits
On August 31, TD completed a Project Agorá payments test using tokenized commercial bank deposits and central bank reserves. TD moved real U.S. dollar funds between two U.S. entities through the Project Agorá platform, with BNY acting as the clearing bank and intermediary.
The test involved 28 central banks and financial institutions, covered 17 transaction scenarios and transferred approximately CHF 800,000 across selected currencies. Project Agorá is examining whether tokenized forms of existing bank money can improve wholesale cross border settlement while keeping commercial bank deposits and central bank money at the centre of the system.
TD also has a direct role in Canadian dollar stablecoins. Stablecorp selected TD in July as primary custodian for the fiat reserves backing QCAD Digital Trust, with the relationship expected to roll out in phases through the third and fourth quarters of 2026.
QCAD is building institutional access from several directions. QCAD bank integration is being developed by Deloitte and Stablecorp for Canadian financial institutions, while VersaBank and QCAD established another Canadian banking relationship earlier this year.
Stablecorp also issued QCAD on Circle's Arc testnet and integrated it with StableFX in May. The QCAD/USDC pair is available in the StableFX sandbox, demonstrating a potential onchain CAD/USD settlement route. Production is expected after Arc's mainnet launch, so this remains development work rather than a live production FX corridor.
Canada now has another domestic model through the CADD stablecoin. Tetra Trust Company, through CAD Digital, launched the 1:1 Canadian dollar backed payment stablecoin in May as Canada's first CAD stablecoin issued by a regulated financial institution.
See: Are Stablecoins Becoming Payment Infrastructure?
TD's activity across QCAD custody, tokenized deposits and the new global USD venture explains why banks may want several forms of digital money. Tokenized deposits can serve customers who want bank money on programmable settlement systems. A CAD stablecoin can support Canadian dollar transactions. A USD stablecoin can connect users to international liquidity, digital asset markets and cross border settlement.
The BankChain Alliance offers another approach. Thirty nine U.S. state banking associations are developing shared blockchain capabilities that could support tokenized deposits, stablecoins and automated settlement while giving participating banks a role in ownership and governance.
Banks are now experimenting with shared stablecoins, individual stablecoins, tokenized deposits and common settlement networks at the same time. The commercial winners will depend on where customers hold balances, which products can reach multiple networks and how cheaply money can cross between them.
Where CAD Stablecoins Fit in a USD Dominated Market
The U.S. dollar begins with an enormous network advantage. The BIS estimates that about 98% of stablecoin value is already dollar denominated. Annual stablecoin transaction volume reached an estimated US$28 trillion in 2025, although the BIS cautions that the number falls substantially after transfers between wallets controlled by the same party are removed and that ordinary payment use remains modest beside established payment systems.
Other currencies have struggled to build comparable liquidity. Only about 0.2% of global stablecoin circulation is euro denominated, even as European banks invest in Qivalis. CAD begins from a still smaller international base.
Canadian businesses still collect domestic revenue, pay employees, manage treasury balances and settle obligations in Canadian dollars. Sending those transactions through USD stablecoins would introduce foreign exchange exposure and conversion costs where a Canadian dollar product could settle directly in CAD.
See: Programmable Stablecoin Payments
Canada has also established a federal regulatory base for the market. Canada's stablecoin regulations now include the Stablecoin Act, Bank of Canada oversight, issuer registration, reserve requirements and redemption obligations, although the Act's substantive requirements are not yet in force.
The Bank of Canada's 2026 Financial System Survey raises a more practical concern. If Canadian businesses rely too heavily on foreign payment systems and foreign controlled stablecoins, more of Canada's payment activity could end up running through systems controlled elsewhere.
TD and Scotiabank can still benefit from joining a global USD stablecoin network. It gives them access to international liquidity, customers and settlement systems. The problem arrives if digital dollars become easy to use while Canadian dollar products remain harder to use for everyday business payments, treasury and settlement.
That risk creates room for Canadian fintechs. Businesses will need ways to convert between CAD and USD, manage liquidity, hold digital assets safely, handle compliance and connect stablecoins to treasury and payment systems without adding unnecessary FX costs.
Talking Point
TD is already working on both sides. It is supporting QCAD reserves, testing tokenized bank money and joining a global USD stablecoin venture. Scotiabank is now part of that international venture too. Canada does not need to match the dollar's global scale, but it does need CAD based digital money that businesses can actually use. Can Canada connect to global digital dollars without making digital CAD an afterthought?
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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India Fintech Talent Strategy: How Scaleups Can Build Teams Before Entity Setup
Sep 2, 2026
India is increasingly relevant to fintech companies for more than market access. It is also a significant source of technology, product, finance, risk, data, and operational talent that global scaleups can integrate into international teams.
India's wider startup ecosystem had more than 2.23 lakh government-recognised startups by March 31, 2026, while the country's digital financial infrastructure continues to expand rapidly. UPI alone processed more than 24,000 crore transactions during FY26, illustrating the scale at which digital financial services now operate in the country.
For a Canadian or international fintech, however, deciding to recruit in India creates a strategic question:
Should the company establish an Indian entity before building a team, or can it begin hiring first and make the larger corporate investment later?
For many scaleups, these decisions do not need to happen simultaneously.
A phased talent strategy can allow a fintech to test access to Indian talent, build an initial team, understand operating costs, and validate its long-term requirements before committing to a full local entity.
Why India Fits a Fintech Talent Strategy
India combines a large technology workforce with an established ecosystem across financial services, digital payments, software development, data, and startup innovation.
This creates hiring opportunities across functions that fintech companies frequently need as they scale, including:
- Software engineering
- Product development
- Data engineering and analytics
- Cybersecurity
- Quality assurance
- Finance and accounting
- Risk operations
- Customer operations
- Compliance support
- Technical support
- Business operations
India's digital payments ecosystem also gives fintech professionals exposure to financial products operating at substantial scale. UPI accounted for 85.5% of India's digital payment transaction volume in the second half of 2025, according to RBI data reported by IBEF.
But the business case for building a team should not begin with the question, "How many people can we hire?"
It should begin with:
Which capabilities should the company own internally, and which of those capabilities can be built effectively in India?
That changes hiring from a cost exercise into a talent strategy.
What Is a Fintech Talent Strategy?
A fintech talent strategy defines which capabilities a company needs, where those capabilities should be located, and how employees will be hired, managed, and integrated into the organisation.
For an India expansion, a useful talent strategy should address five areas:
- Roles: Which capabilities should be built in India?
- Employment: How will workers be legally engaged?
- Operations: How will the India team work with existing teams?
- Economics: What is the total cost of the chosen structure?
- Scale: At what point does establishing an Indian entity make sense?
This is particularly important for fintech companies because many roles interact with sensitive financial data, regulated products, security systems, or customer operations.
Hiring should therefore be considered together with data access, information security, governance, internal controls, and business continuity.
Prioritising the First Fintech Roles in India
The first India hires should solve clearly defined business problems rather than simply expand headcount.
A practical approach is to prioritise functions where the company already understands the workflows and can manage outcomes remotely.
| Function | Why a Fintech May Build It in India |
| Engineering | Product development, integrations, platform infrastructure |
| Data | Analytics, reporting, data engineering and modelling |
| QA | Product testing, automation and release support |
| Cybersecurity | Security operations and technical monitoring |
| Finance operations | Reporting, reconciliation and operational support |
| Customer operations | User support and service delivery |
| Risk operations | Process-driven risk and verification support |
| Product operations | Coordination between technology, product and commercial teams |
Leadership should also identify whether the function is supporting the global business or conducting activity directly in the Indian market.
That distinction can affect entity, regulatory, tax, and Permanent Establishment considerations later.
Can a Fintech Build an India Team Without Setting Up an Entity?
Yes, depending on the type of relationship and business activity.
A foreign fintech typically has several potential models available.
Independent contractors
Contractors may be appropriate for genuinely independent, project-based work.
For example, a fintech might engage a specialist for:
- A defined security review
- A short-term data project
- Product design work
- A specific technical integration
Contractors should not simply be used as substitutes for employees where the actual working arrangement functions like regular employment.
Outsourcing providers
A fintech can outsource a complete function or defined process to another company.
In this model, the external provider typically manages its own employees and delivers an agreed service or outcome.
That is different from building a dedicated internal team.
Employer of Record
Where a fintech wants dedicated employees in India but does not yet have a local employing entity, an Employer of Record India model can provide another option.
The EOR becomes the legal employer in India, while the fintech continues to manage employees' daily responsibilities, goals, projects, and performance.
Local entity
A fintech can establish its own Indian company and employ staff directly.
This generally provides greater long-term control but also introduces ongoing corporate, accounting, payroll, HR, tax, and administrative responsibilities.
Comparing India Hiring Models
The best structure depends on the company's stage and objectives.
| Factor | Contractor | Outsourcing | EOR | Own Entity |
| Dedicated employee relationship | No | Usually no | Yes | Yes |
| Local entity required | No | No | No for EOR employment | Yes |
| Client controls daily work | Limited by independent relationship | Usually outcome-focused | Yes | Yes |
| Local payroll | Not employee payroll | Provider handles employees | EOR handles | Company handles |
| Initial setup burden | Low | Low | Lower than entity | Highest |
| Suitable for testing India | Yes, for genuine projects | Yes | Yes | Possible but larger commitment |
| Long-term large workforce | Limited | Depends on model | Depends on scale | Strongest fit |
For a fintech building an internal product or operations team, the main comparison is often between EOR employment now and direct employment through an entity later.
Why Hiring Can Come Before Entity Setup
Entity establishment is a strategic corporate decision.
Hiring can be an operational decision.
Those decisions may move at different speeds.
Suppose a Canadian fintech has funding to build a six-person engineering and data team in India. It already knows the roles it needs, but management is not yet certain whether India will eventually support 10 employees, 50 employees, or a much larger operation.
Immediately building a company around an uncertain headcount assumption can create unnecessary fixed infrastructure.
A staged approach allows the fintech to answer questions such as:
- Can we attract the skills we need?
- Which Indian locations work best?
- How well does the team integrate with headquarters?
- What compensation and benefits are required?
- What management structure works?
- How quickly will headcount grow?
- Does the economics justify an owned entity?
The business can then make its entity decision using operating evidence rather than projections alone.
Modelling the Full Cost of an India Team
Salary is only one component of India workforce costs.
Finance teams should compare the total cost of different structures.
Relevant categories can include:
- Employee compensation
- Employer-side statutory obligations
- Benefits
- Recruitment
- Payroll administration
- HR systems
- Legal support
- Accounting
- Corporate secretarial requirements
- Entity maintenance
- EOR service fees
- Office or coworking costs
- IT equipment
- Security infrastructure
- Management overhead
An EOR may involve a per-employee service fee, while an owned entity introduces more fixed organisational costs.
The economics can therefore change as the team becomes larger.
Companies comparing these structures can also review State of India EOR 2026 when assessing employment costs, entity considerations, compliance responsibilities, and potential tax exposure.
Why Fintech Hiring Requires Additional Controls
Fintech teams often work within more sensitive operating environments than ordinary remote teams.
The question is not simply whether a developer or analyst can work remotely.
Companies may also need controls around:
Data access
Employees may interact with customer data, financial information, transaction records, or internal risk systems.
Access should be based on role requirements.
Security
Devices, authentication, credentials, source code, and internal platforms require appropriate security controls regardless of where employees are located.
Segregation of duties
Certain finance or payment workflows may require multiple layers of approval rather than giving one employee end-to-end control.
Documentation
Teams should understand who owns decisions, where approvals are recorded, and how processes are audited.
Regulatory boundaries
Hiring someone in India does not itself determine whether the fintech is permitted to offer regulated financial services in India.
Employment structure and financial-services licensing are separate questions.
A company building an India team to support overseas operations should therefore distinguish workforce expansion from market entry.
Employment Compliance for a Growing India Team
India's four consolidated Labour Codes came into effect on November 21, 2025, covering wages, industrial relations, social security, and occupational safety and working conditions.
Companies employing workers directly need processes covering relevant employment requirements, including areas such as:
- Employment documentation
- Payroll
- Applicable statutory contributions
- Leave
- Benefits
- Employee records
- Workplace policies
- Onboarding
- Offboarding
Under an EOR structure, many agreed employer-side administrative responsibilities are handled by the EOR.
However, using an EOR does not remove the fintech's responsibility for how employees access systems, handle information, perform regulated activities, or represent the business.
Does Hiring an India Team Create Permanent Establishment Risk?
Potentially, depending on what the employees do.
An EOR or contractor arrangement does not automatically eliminate Permanent Establishment or wider business-connection considerations.
India's Income Tax Department states that business income of a non-resident can be taxable in India where the enterprise has a Permanent Establishment or business connection, subject to applicable tax treaties.
Indian tax rules also identify activities such as habitually concluding contracts or playing a principal role leading to the conclusion of contracts as potentially relevant to business-connection analysis.
A fintech should therefore obtain appropriate tax advice where India-based personnel:
- Negotiate customer contracts
- Regularly influence contract conclusions
- Exercise commercial authority
- Conduct sales activity
- Represent the company to customers
- Manage significant India-facing business operations
A developer supporting a global product and a senior commercial executive entering contracts on behalf of the foreign company may present very different risk profiles.
When Should a Fintech Establish Its Own Indian Entity?
An entity can become increasingly attractive as India moves from an experimental talent location to a strategic operating hub.
Common indicators include:
- Headcount is increasing substantially
- India is part of the long-term operating plan
- Dedicated local leadership is required
- The company wants greater employment-policy control
- Multiple departments are being established
- Physical infrastructure is growing
- The economics favour direct employment
- The company plans India-specific commercial activity
There is no universal employee number at which every fintech should incorporate.
The decision should consider scale, cost, tax, regulation, employment requirements, business activity, and long-term strategy together.
A Phased India Talent Strategy
A practical expansion sequence can look like this:
Stage 1: Define the capability
Identify the roles that India can support and the business problem each role solves.
Stage 2: Build the first team
Recruit a small number of clearly defined roles using an appropriate employment structure.
Stage 3: Establish operating processes
Implement security, communication, management, documentation, payroll, and performance systems.
Stage 4: Validate the economics
Compare productivity and total employment costs against the original business case.
Stage 5: Forecast scale
Estimate whether the India operation is likely to remain a small global team or grow into a major operating centre.
Stage 6: Review entity strategy
Once the scale and commercial requirements are clearer, evaluate establishing a local entity.
This approach allows a fintech to treat entity setup as a consequence of proven scale rather than a prerequisite for exploring Indian talent.
Managing Employment During the Early Expansion Stage
For fintech companies that want employees in India before establishing their own entity, Asanify provides an India-focused Employer of Record model.
Asanify operates through its own Indian entity and can act as the legal employer while the client fintech retains control over employees' daily work, responsibilities, and performance.
Its EOR support can include:
- Employment contracts and onboarding
- Payroll administration
- Statutory administration
- Benefits and leave management
- Employee documentation
- Ongoing employment administration
- Offboarding
See: Canada Expanding Economic Ties With UAE India And Africa
This structure can be useful for scaleups testing the Indian talent market or building an initial team while their long-term entity strategy remains under evaluation.
Tax, regulatory, financial-services licensing, PE, data, and other business-specific risks should still be assessed separately.
Conclusion
For fintech scaleups, India expansion should start with the capabilities the business needs, not with entity setup.
Companies can first define the right roles, choose a suitable employment model, and validate costs, compliance, and team performance. This gives leadership a clearer view of how India fits into the wider operating strategy.
As the team grows, the business can then decide whether a larger local infrastructure or entity is justified. A phased approach helps keep early expansion flexible while supporting more informed long-term decisions.
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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Foxquilt Pushes Deeper Into U.S. Commercial Insurance
September 1, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity + Insight | Insurance And Insurtech, Embedded Finance, Competition And Market Structure
Toronto insurtech adds E&O as it builds a larger U.S. small business insurance platform
On September 1, 2026, Foxquilt launched E&O insurance in the United States, giving the Toronto founded insurtech its second admitted U.S. product. The initial rollout covers Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, with nationwide availability targeted by the end of 2026.
Errors & Omissions (also called Professional Liability) covers financial losses caused by mistakes or failures in professional services. Foxquilt is targeting consultants, technology firms, beauty and health professionals and other service businesses, adding a different type of risk to the Commercial General Liability coverage already available through its U.S. platform.
Customers, agents and brokers can quote and bind both products through Foxden, Foxquilt's insurance platform. Embedded partners can also place E&O inside marketplaces, networks and other services used by independent professionals. Foxquilt describes the launch as part of its development from a single product U.S. MGA into a multi product commercial insurance business.
Foxquilt Has Been Building Toward a Bigger U.S. Business
Foxquilt was founded in Toronto in 2016 and started testing U.S. expansion years before this launch. It raised C$8 million in Series A funding in 2021 to support hiring, product development and expansion across the U.S. and Canada, followed by a C$12 million Series B aimed at North American expansion, technology infrastructure and a wider product offering.
Its U.S. footprint has since become much more substantial. Foxquilt expanded its small business insurance products into New York as it built agent, wholesale and enterprise distribution. The company now lists offices in Toronto and Charlotte, overall distribution across 50 U.S. states and eight Canadian provinces, and more than 50 distribution partners. Foxden supports direct retail, embedded partnerships, wholesale distribution and MGA syndicates.
E&O adds more value to those relationships because a broker or partner can now place more commercial coverage through the same system. A consultant or software company may need General Liability for property damage or injury claims and Professional Liability for financial losses tied to its work. Foxquilt can serve more of that account without asking the distributor to switch platforms.
The company is also building on its U.S. capacity relationship with Markel. CEO Karim Jamal says “E&O is the first of several strategic additions to our platform”, making today's launch part of a larger product plan rather than a one off filing.
Canadian Insurtech Is Scaling Through Execution
Canadian insurtech funding remains selective. KPMG counted only two Canadian InsurTech deals in H1 2026, compared with 19 AI and machine learning fintech deals. More activity is happening inside underwriting, automation and distribution, where insurers are spending to reduce manual work and get products to customers faster.
NCFA's 2023 Canadian insurtech overview highlighted multi channel distribution, insurer partnerships and automation as important industry trends. Foxquilt is now commercializing several of those ideas through digital underwriting, broker distribution and embedded insurance in the U.S.
KPMG reports that 73% of insurance CEOs see AI as a top investment priority, while 67% expect returns within one to three years and plan to allocate 10% to 20% of technology budgets to AI. Canadian insurers are already applying those investments to underwriting, claims, distribution and customer service.
Canadian companies are selling into that demand in different ways. Quandri raised C$12 million to expand insurance automation across Canada and the U.S., while Manulife has cut eligible life insurance approvals to as little as two minutes using automated underwriting. Foxquilt is working on another part of the market by combining underwriting software, digital distribution and insurance products for small businesses.
The U.S. gives Foxquilt far more room to grow, but execution gets harder. Insurance approvals vary by state, underwriting still has to produce acceptable losses as volume rises, and agents or embedded partners can control much of the customer relationship. Adding products only helps if distributors use them and the business remains profitable.
Talking Point
Can Foxquilt turn one successful U.S. product into a durable multi product insurance business?
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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Solifi Acquires Vancouver Fintech Inovatec
September 1, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity + Insight | Lending Consumer Credit And BNPL, Digital Banking And BaaS, Competition And Market Structure
Vancouver lending software joins a larger private equity backed global finance platform
On September 1, 2026, Solifi acquired Inovatec Systems, a Vancouver company whose cloud software handles digital applications, loan origination and servicing for banks, credit unions, captive finance companies and specialty lenders across North America. Financial terms weren't disclosed. Inovatec brings more than 160 employees and 20 years of lending technology development into a much larger secured finance business.
For Inovatec, the sale provides the scale its founders say customers are demanding. For Solifi, it adds retail automotive, powersports and specialty lending capabilities to a platform already strong in equipment, wholesale, working capital and automotive finance. Canada gets another successful fintech commercialization event, while ownership and future capital decisions now sit with a global company under foreign private equity control.
The transaction arrives in a Canadian market where those outcomes are common. KPMG estimates that nearly half of Canadian acquisition targets across industries are bought by international firms. Canadian companies are active buyers abroad too, completing more than two thirds of their own transactions outside Canada. The question is whether Canada is producing enough companies that can keep scaling into global buyers themselves?
Inovatec Built More Than an Auto Lending System
Vladimir and Danijela Kovacevic founded Inovatec in 2006 with two people. The platform now spans its Propel digital application portal, loan origination software and loan and lease servicing. It supports automotive, powersports, equipment and other consumer and commercial lending, with more than 70 third party integrations across its products.
The software reaches several workflows where lenders spend time and money. Applications can flow from consumers or dealers into credit decisioning and funding, while the servicing system handles payments, collections, customer service and asset recovery. Inovatec says lenders using its AI based funding automation have cut time spent manually reviewing documents by as much as 80%. That's a company reported customer result rather than an industry benchmark, but it shows the type of operating efficiency Solifi is buying.
Inovatec has also kept adding capabilities while expanding in the United States. In August, less than a month before the acquisition, it integrated Fortiro technology to detect altered and AI generated lending documents during origination. The company reports annual SOC 1, SOC 2 and SOC 3 audits along with ISO 27001 and ISO 27018 certifications, requirements that help lending software get through the security reviews of banks and other regulated customers.
The founders described the reason for selling in unusually direct terms. Customers want more products, channels and automation, and “meeting those needs requires scale.” Solifi gives Inovatec access to a much larger product portfolio, implementation organization and international customer base.
Solifi Was Already Buying Its Way Into More Finance
Solifi has dual headquarters in Minneapolis, United States, and Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and sells software to banks, captive finance companies and independent lenders around the world. When TA Associates became its majority investor in October 2024, Solifi had more than 650 employees globally. Thoma Bravo, which had backed the company since 2019, kept a meaningful investment.
The ownership change came with an explicit acquisition plan. TA and Solifi said they intended to expand into adjacent finance markets and new countries through strategic acquisitions as well as internal growth.
That plan started producing deals. In September 2025, Solifi acquired DataScan, an Atlanta area company whose wholesale finance and inventory risk software serves more than 45 major banks and captive lenders. DataScan added floorplan lending, digital inventory audits and field inspection capabilities.
While DataScan strengthened the wholesale side of automotive finance. Inovatec adds the consumer application, credit, funding and servicing work that happens on the retail side. Solifi can now sell across more of the financing relationship instead of relying on separate products for each part.
That makes the Vancouver acquisition easier to understand. Solifi isn't simply adding another software company. Its private equity owners are funding a deliberate expansion across secured lending, and Inovatec brings technology and customer relationships that would take years to reproduce organically.
Canadian Fintech Is Producing Assets Global Buyers Want
The timing fits Canada's current fintech market. KPMG counted US$996.7 million invested across 47 Canadian fintech deals in the first half of 2026. That was down more than 40% from US$1.7 billion across 82 deals a year earlier, while capital concentrated in companies with established scale, specialized technology and clearer economics.
KPMG partner Dubie Cunningham summarized what is attracting capital as “technology, customers, licences or regulated platforms that can accelerate expansion.” Inovatec fits that description closely. Solifi is buying working lending software, a North American customer base, integrations, regulated industry experience and a team that has spent two decades inside automotive and specialty finance.
Recent Canadian sales highlight various versions of the same commercial pattern. Fiserv bought Toronto based Payfare for C$4 per share, with the final acquisition covering roughly C$193.1 million of outstanding shares. Fiserv wanted Payfare's card program management, white label app and embedded finance capabilities. Payfare's situation included customer concentration and financial pressure before the sale, so it isn't a direct parallel to Inovatec.
Robinhood acquired WonderFi for about C$250 million for a different reason. WonderFi's Bitbuy and Coinsquare platforms brought roughly 300,000 funded customers at closing and regulated Canadian crypto access. Robinhood used the acquisition to enter Canada rather than spending years building that position itself.
European payments company Paynt used its 2025 acquisition of Vancouver based E-xact Transactions to expand in North America. E-xact was processing more than C$3.5 billion annually across 50 million transactions, and Paynt made Vancouver a new operational hub. The transactions differ, but the assets being purchased are software, customers, transaction volume, licences, regulatory experience and local distribution.
Foreign Ownership Is Only Half the Canadian Story
Canada isn't simply selling companies while everyone else buys. KPMG's wider M&A data show Canadian firms conduct more than two thirds of their transactions outside the country. The domestic fintech market is also still financing independent growth. Nesto raised C$302 million in its 2026 Series E at a C$1.47 billion valuation, the largest Canadian fintech financing in KPMG's H1 data.
Selling to a larger company can be a good outcome. Founders and investors get paid, employees may get more resources, and Canadian technology can reach customers that would have been costly to win alone. The bigger concern is when Canada keeps building valuable fintechs but too few grow large enough to become global buyers themselves.
Solifi says customers will keep their existing products and support, and that it will continue investing in Inovatec's products. The founders also say clients will keep working with the same team. What Solifi hasn't said is whether Vancouver headcount will grow, where future product decisions will be made, or where new intellectual property will be developed. There is no evidence today of layoffs, office cuts or development work leaving Canada.
Canada's economic return will depend on more than where the shareholder register ends up. Inovatec found the scale it wanted by joining Solifi. Canada's fintech market becomes stronger when more companies can eventually provide that scale themselves.
Talking Point
How many Canadian fintechs can grow from attractive acquisition targets into global acquirers?
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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The Technology and Fintech Innovations Driving the Evolution of Online Casinos
Sep 1, 2026
Betting has been one of our favourite activities for centuries, with people eager to wager on what they predict will happen when dice are thrown, wheels are spun, and so on. For most of human history, it was an extremely low-tech activity that relied on everyone being in the same room. While those games still exist in much the same form, it’s become far easier to engage with them, thanks to the following key innovations.
Different Kinds of Games
A vastly wider range of games represents the biggest change in casinos since they went online. While casinos were always limited due to their physical space in the past, the switch to online sites allowed operators to greatly increase their collection of games. This began with the introduction of more classic games, such as roulette and blackjack, which were usually very similar to the traditional versions.
However, leading game developers have taken our favourites in new directions since then. The Sportaza online casino contains a huge variety of slots, such as Royal Coins by ELA Games, Chicken Road 2.0 by InOut, and 3 Million BC by Betsoft. These games take the tried and trusted slots mechanism from the past and add new themes. Features such as jackpots and bonus rounds have been added to create more varied gameplay too.
In terms of table games, the biggest change has been implemented through livestreaming technology, which allows casinos to host online games with live presentation. A group of 4K cameras is typically used to provide different camera angles that the player can choose from, giving a smooth, uninterrupted view of the action at all times. In some cases, augmented reality is added, meaning that the cards and chips on the screen move between digital and real life. The Google AR & VR page explains how these technologies fit together.
This has led to classic table games being reimagined with new features, such as multipliers and side bets. It’s also given us game shows including Candy Wheel, Football Thrill, and Robin the Fair. These games introduce giant wheels, slots rounds, and other types of props to let players place varied wagers in a live setting.
Live Sports Bets with Cashout Options
The integration of different types of betting on the same site has been another huge change in the way we gamble. Sports betting has always been about wagers placed before the action begins, which are then settled once the final result is known. When online sports betting began, it followed this same process. However, the work carried out to integrate live scores and updates onto the same sites as casinos has allowed sportsbooks to now provide live betting.
This means that fans can bet on games and events as they take place, predicting what happens next based on what they see happening at the time. This has fundamentally changed the way we place sports wagers.
See: Programmable Stablecoin Payments
It works through advanced APIs that integrate live event data. Automated risk engines look at the data and adjust the odds instantly to take into account the flow of the action. The other major change has come with the way that users can choose whether to cash out early. This can be done in those cases where a cashout price is shown during the game, so that users can decide whether it makes sense to accept that price or wait for the event to end.
A Wide Range of Payment Types
Modern players don’t want to wait days or weeks for transfers to go through, which was one of the issues that held back the early online betting industry. Therefore, casinos now put their cashier experience as one of the most important parts of the overall site performance. This can be done thanks to the fact that several fintech innovations have helped make it a lot easier to move funds back and forth.
Digital wallets were among the earliest of the changes that were introduced to this sector, with the likes of Skrill and Neteller proving popular in North America. Canadians have also benefited from the introduction of Interac, which allows almost instant transfers to and from bank accounts. Interac is a decentralized interbank clearing network. In other countries, open banking allows users to easily move funds when they want to gamble.
The Future Depends on More Innovation
The different types of innovation that have led to these changes have made it far easier for people to enjoy online gambling. As the industry carries on growing, we can expect to see more new technology and ideas being used. If you just want to spin some slots or put some chips on the blackjack table, the good news is that innovations in fintech and beyond make this super easy to do from your own home.
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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ChatGPT Ads Hits $1B as AI Enters a Regulated Ad Market
August 31, 2026 | NCFA Insight | Artificial Intelligence And Data, Competition And Market Structure, Data Privacy And Governance
OpenAI built a sizable ad business in under 200 days as regulators scrutinize the digital markets it is entering
On August 31, 2026, OpenAI said ChatGPT Ads reached a US$1 billion annualized revenue run rate in less than 200 days. Tens of thousands of advertisers are using the platform, OpenAI reports more than one billion weekly active ChatGPT users, and ads are available across more than 40 countries through direct sales, agencies and technology partners.
US$1 billion is a run rate, not revenue already collected. At that pace, ChatGPT Ads would produce roughly US$250 million per quarter. That's small beside the companies OpenAI now competes with for advertising budgets, but getting there in less than seven months gives advertisers, competitors and regulators something tangible to watch.
Notably, on the same day OpenAI announced the milestone, European regulators designated ChatGPT a Very Large Online Search Engine under the Digital Services Act. In the United States, the FTC and 22 states sued Amazon over alleged practices in its advertising auctions. Google is already operating under court ordered search remedies after losing a U.S. monopolization case.
OpenAI is building its advertising business in a market where regulators already know how digital distribution, auction rules, data and default positions can concentrate power.
OpenAI Built an Ad Platform in Seven Months
ChatGPT Ads started as a U.S. test on February 9 for adult Free and Go users. Canada, Australia and New Zealand followed in the spring. OpenAI added self service Ads Manager and cost per click buying in May, expanded into the U.K., Mexico, Brazil, Japan and South Korea in August, and is now adding more markets across Europe, India, the Middle East and North Africa.
The product itself has grown just as quickly. CPC and outcome optimized bidding now account for most campaigns, according to OpenAI. Advertisers can use Pixel and Conversions API measurement, product feeds, geographic targeting and custom audiences, while more than 50 technology and measurement partners connect businesses to the platform.
OpenAI says one ecommerce advertiser produced a 3x return on ad spend over 28 days, while one technology partner reported that more than 80% of traffic generated by ChatGPT ads came from new customers. Those are select examples supplied by OpenAI, so they shouldn't be treated as typical campaign performance. OpenAI also says it doesn't yet have reliable performance benchmarks across industries and campaign types.
Back in February, NCFA asked whether conversational advertising could develop into a new route for product discovery. Six months later, OpenAI has a US$1 billion annualized ad run rate, self service buying, conversion tools and tens of thousands of advertisers. Businesses will pay to advertise inside AI conversations, and enough of them are doing so to create a sizable new revenue stream.
Alec Shao, Newegg performance marketing manager, an advertiser on OpenAI's own ads site explains the attraction directly:
“We want Newegg to be part of the conversation when someone is researching what to buy.”
Google Still Owns the Scale, ChatGPT Has the Conversation
OpenAI isn't close to Google in advertising revenue. Alphabet reported US$81.63 billion of Google advertising revenue in Q2 2026. Search and other advertising alone generated US$63.27 billion, up from US$54.19 billion a year earlier.
Meta generated US$59.36 billion of Q2 advertising revenue, while Amazon generated US$19.81 billion from advertising services. OpenAI's roughly US$250 million quarterly equivalent makes clear how much ground separates a fast growing new entrant from established digital advertising businesses.
However, ChatGPT offers advertisers something those numbers don't capture. Search advertising usually begins with a query. Social advertising often begins with interests, behaviour and attention. Amazon can catch a shopper close to purchase. A ChatGPT conversation can contain a goal, budget, constraints, preferences and several rounds of comparison before an ad is selected.
OpenAI says its ad system considers the context and intent of the current conversation, the ad and landing page, advertiser supplied context hints and, when personalization is enabled, selected information from a user's wider ChatGPT experience. Advertiser hints describe relevant conversations, topics or keywords, but they aren't exact match search keywords.
The auction is already becoming familiar territory for performance marketers. OpenAI supports CPM and CPC buying and recommends starting CPC bids around US$3 to US$5. It says eligible ads compete through a relevance weighted second price auction.
Whether a detailed conversation produces a better customer than a search keyword hasn't been established. Advertisers now have enough buying and measurement tools to start finding out.
Regulators May Reach AI Advertising Earlier
Regulators may reach AI advertising earlier than they reached search and social platforms. Google is already operating under court ordered search remedies, while Amazon now faces allegations over how its ad auctions were priced. OpenAI is entering the same commercial territory with regulators already alert to distribution control, auction transparency, data use and platform power.
ChatGPT Ads is still small beside Google, Meta and Amazon, but it reached a US$1 billion annualized run rate in less than 200 days. Regulators may not need to wait for comparable scale before asking how the market works, especially if distribution, data or auction rules begin limiting competition.
Canada Can Test the Channel, With Limits
Canadian advertisers can already create and manage ChatGPT Ads through OpenAI's self service Ads Manager, with a minimum daily budget of C$25. Canadian financial firms face an important limit, though. OpenAI currently generally prohibits financial services ads outside the United States, where approved advertisers can be accepted case by case for products such as credit cards, mortgages, brokerages, insurance, loans and payments.
See: OpenAI Pulls Back From Checkout As Agentic Commerce Expands
OpenAI treats financial services as a restricted category requiring extra safeguards, including enhanced advertiser verification or manual review, and says advertisers may have to prove they are properly licensed.
Financial software, budgeting tools and educational products may have more room to experiment. For firms that can participate, can ChatGPT produce customers at a better cost and with stronger intent than search, social media, affiliates or other channels?
Talking Point
Will regulators act on AI advertising before market power becomes difficult to unwind?
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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