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
Flinks Expands Banking Development and Managed Services
October 15, 2026 | Market Activity | Banking Infrastructure, Embedded Finance, Open Banking and Consumer-Driven Finance
Flinks Launches Banking Development and Managed Services to Expand Embedded Finance
On October 15, 2026, Toronto fintech Flinks launched Professional Services and Managed Services to help banks and fintechs develop financial products and operate the technology supporting them. The expansion takes Flinks beyond financial data connectivity into building and maintaining banking capabilities, including payment integrations, account switching and embedded financial services.
Majority owned by National Bank of Canada, Flinks reports connectivity to more than 15,000 financial institutions and serves clients including EQ Bank, National Bank and Wealthsimple. The new offerings formalize work Flinks has already performed for institutional customers, combining project development with ongoing responsibility for integrations, technical support and service operations.
How Payment APIs Could Help a Canadian Bank Win Deposits
In an October 15 company article, Flinks Chief Revenue Officer Eddie Beqaj describes a project involving an unnamed Canadian bank and one of its business customers. The bank already supports account transfers, bill payments and Interac e-Transfer through its APIs. Its customer operates a software platform that collects payments from many organizations, but the money arrives through different channels, making it difficult to match payments with invoices.
The bank wants to connect those payment services directly to the customer's software so collections can flow through one banking relationship. That would simplify reconciliation for the customer while giving the bank an opportunity to attract and retain substantial commercial deposits. The payment technology already exists. Flinks' role is to make it work inside software the bank doesn't control.
Flinks says it completed a paid discovery phase and assigned a team to develop the integration. Its commercial value will depend on whether the software customer directs meaningful payment activity and balances through the bank.
There is a useful Canadian comparison. Dream Payments embedded payment capabilities into business software using J.P. Morgan's banking infrastructure. Dream provides payment execution and related controls within software applications. Flinks is helping a bank connect its existing payment services to a commercial customer's platform. Both approaches bring banking functions into applications businesses already use, although they serve different objectives.
Flinks Wants the Development Contract and the Operating Relationship
Professional Services covers the work required to turn a banking capability into a product customers can use. Flinks helps define the business case, designs the integration and supplies developers to build it. The company incorporates security and regulatory requirements during development rather than leaving them until implementation.
See: Canada Open Banking Commercialization Roadmap
Managed Services covers the work that follows launch, including partner onboarding, accreditation, consent management, technical support and service commitments. Flinks has brought its existing Flinks Outbound infrastructure into this offering. Institutions sharing financial data with external providers can use Flinks to manage those connections instead of maintaining separate integrations and operating relationships with every recipient.
Client requests helped drive the decision to formalize the services. Eddie Beqaj, Chief Revenue Officer, Flinks:
"Our clients kept bringing us ideas that weren't on anyone's roadmap, including ours."
Beqaj also cites work with a major Canadian bank to transfer customers' Interac e-Transfer contacts and bill payees when they switch accounts. Preserving those payment arrangements removes a practical obstacle to changing banks, particularly for customers with recurring payments and established recipients. The example connects to a larger question explored in NCFA's open banking intelligence hub. How can financial data portability lead to easier account switching and greater competition when customers still have to move their payment relationships?
Talking Point
Flinks is moving beyond banking connectivity to build and operate financial services for its clients. The opportunity is to turn custom bank projects into lasting customer relationships, but the real measure will be whether Flinks can reuse its technology across clients without repeatedly rebuilding the same integrations.
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
 |  |  |
|---|---|---|
 |  |  |
Ramp Hits US$60B as Canadian Fintech Competition Grows
October 15, 2026 | Insight | Fintech Funding, Embedded Finance, Payments Infrastructure
Ramp Raises US$1.85 Billion at a US$60 Billion Valuation, Intensifying Competition With Float and Venn in Canada's Business Finance Market
On October 15, 2026, New York fintech Ramp announced US$1.85 billion in financing at a US$60 billion valuation, less than three months after expanding its corporate cards and financial operations platform into Canada. Ramp now serves more than 85,000 businesses and reports over US$2 billion in annualized revenue. Its growing financial resources raise the stakes for Canadian competitors Float, Venn and others, particularly as corporate cards, payments and expense software increasingly compete for the same business customers.
Ramp already sells more than corporate cards. Its platform combines spending controls, supplier payments, accounting automation and financial software, with new AI services extending its reach. The financing gives Ramp substantial resources to expand those products and compete for larger accounts, while Canadian fintechs face decisions about pricing, customer acquisition and which financial services they can profitably provide.
Ramp's Revenue and Customer Growth Support a US$60 Billion Valuation
Dragoneer Investment Group led the primary financing round, with Thrive Capital, Founders Fund, Sands Capital and Avenir Growth as co-leads. Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan also participated. Ramp's valuation has risen from US$44 billion in June, when it raised US$750 million, bringing total equity financing to approximately US$5 billion.
Ramp reports more than US$275 billion in annualized purchase volume, up 175% year over year. Its enterprise customers generating over US$100,000 in revenue for Ramp increased 113%, indicating greater adoption among larger businesses. Ramp earns revenue through interchange, software subscriptions, interest and other services.
Ramp's US$60 billion valuation implies a valuation-to-annualized-revenue multiple below 30x, based on its reported revenue run rate of more than US$2 billion. That reflects substantial investor expectations for continued growth. Ramp also reports positive cash flow, although it hasn't disclosed sufficient financial results to establish sustained profitability.
See: KPMG H1 2026 Shows Canadian Fintech Capital Concentrating
More than half of Ramp's customers use at least two products, and one quarter use three or more. That gives Ramp opportunities to increase revenue from existing accounts while making its platform more useful to finance teams managing several functions. The company has also expanded into accounts receivable automation, AI spending controls and model cost management.
Its Router.com service selects AI models based on cost and performance, while AI Token Spend Management tracks spending across providers, teams and models. Eric Glyman, Ramp's co-founder and co-CEO, described the company's ambition in the financing announcement:
"AI opens up much more of the work it takes to run a company."
Greater product adoption may improve revenue per customer and retention, but investors will ultimately need evidence that those gains justify the company's development costs and valuation.
Ramp Challenges Float and Venn on Pricing and Customer Retention
Ramp expanded its Canadian platform in July 2026, offering corporate cards, expense management, reimbursements, bill payments and accounting integrations. Peoples Trust Company issues its Canadian Visa cards. The platform supports CAD spending and virtual USD cards, giving eligible businesses another option for managing domestic and international expenses.
Ramp's Canadian eligibility requirements include a minimum C$25,000 across connected bank accounts. Businesses registered in Quebec and the territories aren't supported, nor are sole proprietorships and unregistered businesses. The restrictions narrow Ramp's initial addressable market and leave opportunities for providers serving those customers.
Toronto based Float competes directly in corporate cards, expense management, bill payments and business accounts. In June, it raised C$85 million in Series C financing to expand its AI finance capabilities and Canadian distribution. Float reports more than 7,500 business customers. Venn competes through corporate cards, multicurrency accounts, foreign exchange and international payments, targeting businesses that need banking and spending tools across currencies.
Ramp's reported customer adoption across multiple products points to a competitive challenge beyond fundraising. When one provider manages cards, expense controls and supplier payments, customers have more reasons to stay. A Canadian fintech offering only one of those services may need to demonstrate stronger functionality, better pricing or savings large enough to justify using another provider.
Ramp's capital could also give it more flexibility to bundle products or invest in customer acquisition. If that leads to lower software prices or more aggressive sales offers in Canada, competitors could face pressure on margins and acquisition costs.
See: CIX Names 14 Canadian Startup Award Winners for 2026
Float and Venn's opportunities lie in the customers and financial requirements they can serve better, including Canadian banking services, domestic payment needs and businesses outside Ramp's current eligibility rules. Local presence has commercial value only when it delivers something customers will pay for or gives them a compelling reason to stay.
For Canadian fintech founders, the choices are increasingly specific. Expand into more financial services, concentrate on a profitable customer segment, or supply payments, integrations and risk controls to larger platforms.
Talking Point
Ramp's US$1.85 billion financing gives an established Canadian market entrant greater resources to compete for corporate spending and financial operations customers. Can Canadian fintechs earn and retain more revenue from each business customer without matching the capital demands of a US$60 billion competitor?
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Top Crypto Exchanges by Volume: Crypto Market Prices and the Web3 Social Networks Behind the Trading Crowd
Oct 15, 2026 | Cryptocurrency, Digital Assets, Crypto Exchanges, Market Analysis
Searching for top crypto exchanges by volume is a sensible way to find active venues, but it is a poor way to finish an exchange comparison. A volume number describes recorded turnover during a chosen interval. It does not tell a reader whether the pair they need is deep, whether the displayed price is executable, or whether the venue's terms fit their country and use case. This article looks at the gap between a busy platform and a usable market. It is not a platform ranking or a recommendation to deposit funds.
A Volume Table Is a Map, Not a Verdict
Volume counts transactions over a specified period, commonly in a quote currency. Activity can improve price discovery and provide more observations, but the number is affected by pair mix, spot or derivatives coverage, fee incentives, and the data provider's method. Two valid rankings can disagree simply because they count different things.
The top crypto exchanges by volume page is useful for making a shortlist. Before reading an order as a recommendation, check the interval, products included, quote currency, and venue coverage. A venue's total may include markets that a reader cannot access, or a product that is irrelevant to the intended task.
Execution lives at the pair level. A venue can be busy overall while a smaller asset has a wide spread and a thin book. The reverse is possible too: a modest venue may be the active place for a particular local-currency pair. Daily turnover is a record of past activity; depth and spread describe what is available near a price now.
The timing gap matters. A 24-hour volume figure and a spread observed this minute are different snapshots. A listing, service interruption, or regional session change can alter the relevant market between them. Record access times, and treat the lack of pair-level timestamps as a real limitation rather than filling it with an assumption.
A city analogy is useful here. A crowded city does not mean every street is open or easy to reach. Aggregate volume describes the city. The route that matters is the actual pair, product, order size, and time of day.
Consider a reader who wants to exchange a less widely traded asset for a local currency. A venue can sit near the top of an aggregate table because its major pairs and derivatives markets are active, yet the relevant local pair may have only occasional trades. The displayed total has not become false; it simply answers a different question. The reader needs to see the current bid and ask, the amount available close to each, the fee schedule, and any transfer or account restrictions that apply before treating the ranking as useful evidence.
This is where a small test order is sometimes discussed, but it is not a universal answer. Fees, withdrawal conditions, eligibility rules, and asset-transfer risks may make a test impractical or expensive. The broader point holds without one: a platform-wide figure should lead to pair-level research, and the details that determine execution should be current when the decision is made.
Why Prices Do Not Share One Clock
When a market moves, one venue may print a new trade before an aggregate page catches up. Market makers and arbitrage can narrow the gap, but they do not remove delays, fees, transfer constraints, or regional frictions. Differences can become more visible during fast conditions.
Comparing crypto market prices with a venue quote starts with matching the asset and quote currency. Then identify each number: last trade, bid, ask, midpoint, index, or derivatives mark. A $100 last trade beside a $99.60 bid and a $100.40 ask is not the same observation as a $100 midpoint.
Consider an illustrative snapshot. An aggregate index reads $99.80, while a venue's last trade is $100.30. The venue currently bids $99.90 and asks $100.40. That gap may simply be a trade near the upper edge of a spread. It deserves more scrutiny when it persists across several liquid venues, widens as the market moves, or prevents execution near the displayed quote. Even then, the observation is stronger than any untested accusation about its cause.
Price differences also change how a volume figure should be read. A large total in a pair that repeatedly trades away from other references may call for questions about methodology, concentration, and extraordinary-condition handling. It does not justify declaring that a venue is manipulating prices.
What the Online Trading Crowd Adds
Trading communities influence attention long before an analyst writes a conclusion. A useful discussion may locate an outage notice, explain a technical change, or point to a user report that can be checked. The same social momentum can turn a ranking into proof by repetition: people choose a venue because it appears popular, and the popularity then becomes part of the story.
The phrase web3 social networks covers posts, group chats, live conversations, and creator-led communities. Their strongest use is often discovery and debate. A good contribution names its source, separates fact from opinion, and makes room for correction. A repeated referral code, screenshot, or confident price target does not become independent evidence simply because more accounts repeat it.
Online chatter can improve research when it leads to a service notice, a documentation update, or a detailed report with reproducible steps. It becomes harder to assess when incentives are hidden. Affiliates, project teams, market makers, and ordinary users can all emphasize a venue for different reasons. The answer is not to dismiss every comment; it is to make the incentive part of the reading.
Use sentiment to find questions. If many users mention withdrawal problems, check the venue's status page, terms, incident notices, and whether the disruption is regional or platform-wide. If a community celebrates volume, ask which pairs produced it and whether those pairs are relevant to the reader's task.
Crowd activity can be especially misleading when people share the same screenshot. A volume badge, a single trade print, or a price chart can spread quickly through a group, making one observation look like many independent reports. Look for different kinds of evidence instead: a timestamped status notice, a pair-level order book, a record from another venue, or documentation that explains a product change. Agreement becomes more meaningful when the sources are not all repeating the same original image.
A Pair-First Review Before Relying on a Ranking
For preliminary research, work through the following order. It keeps a single market metric from doing the work of an entire due-diligence process.
- Name the activity. Spot purchase, derivatives hedging, fiat conversion, custody, and simple market observation have different requirements.
- Read the ranking rule. Note the interval, products counted, reporting currency, and data coverage.
- Open the relevant pair. Inspect spread, visible depth, trade frequency, and the order size that actually matters.
- Match price labels. Compare like with like: last trade to last trade, midpoint to midpoint, or index to index.
- Review operations separately. Fees, deposits, withdrawals, custody, verification, service status, and support are not contained in a volume total.
- Check access conditions. Eligibility varies by country, entity, account type, and product. Use current official terms.
- Write down the unknowns. Public data may not reveal internal controls or the conditions that will exist during a stressed market.
The highest total may be useful for observing a busy market. Another venue may offer the relevant pair, local access, or clearer operating terms. The right conclusion depends on the use case and evidence, not on the position of a row in a table.
For comparison writing, it also helps to keep an awkward result in the note rather than smoothing it away. A high-ranked venue may have the pair but a spread that is wider than a reader expected. A lower-ranked venue may show better visible depth at the moment, yet have conditions that require additional verification. Reporting both observations is more useful than forcing them into a single winner. Markets change by the minute; an honest comparison identifies the measured conditions and leaves room for them to change.
What Volume Leaves Outside the Frame
Volume says little about custody, account security, legal protections, tax treatment, or operational continuity. A venue can report substantial activity while its policies change, a product becomes unavailable, or access differs by region. Public rankings also update on their own schedule.
See: The Rise of the Web3 Nomad: Women Thriving in Decentralized Workspaces
Liquidity is conditional. A tight spread in calm conditions may widen during news, and an order book that looks deep can thin as a larger order consumes visible levels. Compare the depth near the relevant price with the intended order size and urgency. Visible orders can also be cancelled, so a screen is not a promise of execution.
The careful takeaway is modest: use volume to locate research targets, then inspect the pair, the price definition, the operating terms, and the applicable rules. An aggregate ranking cannot establish that a venue is appropriate for a particular person or transaction.
FAQ
Does the exchange with the most volume always offer the best price?
No. The relevant price depends on the pair, quote currency, side of the market, order size, fees, and execution time. A high-volume venue can be competitive in one market and less useful in another.
Can reported volume show whether an exchange is safe?
No. It describes market activity, not custody arrangements, cybersecurity, legal compliance, solvency, or customer protections. Those questions need separate evidence and can vary across entities and jurisdictions.
Why might an exchange and an aggregate market page show different prices?
They may use different venues, intervals, currency conversions, and price definitions. A last trade can also sit away from a current bid or ask. Compare methodology before calling the difference an error.
How should I treat a social-media claim about an exchange outage?
Treat it as a lead. Check the venue's official status page, timestamps, independent reports, and which product or region is affected. Do not share credentials, keys, or urgent instructions based on an unverified post.
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Dext Payments Launches in Canada for Small Businesses
October 14, 2026 | Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure, Embedded Finance, SME Finance
Dext Launches Supplier EFT Payments in Canada, Connecting Accounting Workflows With Payment Execution
On October 5, 2026, Dext launched Dext Payments in Canada, allowing small businesses and accounting firms to approve and pay supplier invoices and employee expenses directly within its bookkeeping software. The service connects invoice processing, approvals and payments for eligible QuickBooks Online and Xero customers across Canada, including Quebec. Dext reports that Canadian users processed more than $2 million in payments during beta testing.
The launch extends Dext's role from preparing financial records to executing supplier payments. It's an opportunity to earn additional revenue from existing customers, but the business case isn't automatic. QuickBooks and Xero already manage outstanding bills, and many businesses have established banking arrangements. Dext must demonstrate why bringing payment execution into its software is worth the additional cost.
Why Pay Suppliers Through Dext Instead of QuickBooks or Xero?
Dext already captures invoices and receipts, extracts financial information and sends records to accounting software. With Payments, users bring outstanding bills back from QuickBooks Online or Xero, organize them into payment runs, obtain approvals and submit payments within Dext. The service also tracks payment status and connects payment information with the accounting records businesses use to manage their finances.
QuickBooks Online and Xero already manage supplier bills, but managing a bill isn't the same as sending money to a supplier. QuickBooks Canada's standard bill payment workflow focuses on recording payments, while Xero supports payment file exports for submission through online banking. Dext Payments adds the ability to initiate Canadian EFT payments, manage approvals and track payment status within its existing bookkeeping platform. For accounting firms handling payments across multiple clients, that can reduce reliance on separate banking processes.
Canadian customers can pay suppliers using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), Interac and Bill Pay. The service also supports eligible international payments and employee expense reimbursements, although Canadian payroll payments aren't included. Dext provides the software interface, while its partnership with Airwallex supports the underlying payment infrastructure. This arrangement allows Dext to offer supplier payments without building its own payment network, demonstrating how fintechs can add financial services to existing business software.
The strongest use case may be accounting firms managing payments for several business clients. Instead of coordinating approvals through email and separate banking systems, accountants can administer payment runs alongside the records they already process in Dext. For a business that's satisfied with its existing accounting and banking arrangements, however, the additional software step needs to deliver measurable time savings or better payment controls.
Melissa Jackson, an accountant at Oxford Milkway in Woodstock, Ontario, describes the firm's experience:
"We've now processed more than 178 successful payments, covering 660 distinct bills."
The experience points to Dext's opportunity among firms with substantial invoice volumes, although wider adoption will depend on how the service compares with existing payment processes.
Dext Payments Pricing and the Cost of Switching
According to Dext's Canadian pricing, Payments costs C$20 per client monthly on an annual subscription, in addition to the required Dext software subscription. The price includes 20 Canadian EFT supplier payments each month. Additional EFT payments cost C$0.90 each, while Interac and Bill Pay transactions cost C$1.50 from the first payment. Taxes and applicable international payment charges are extra.
For a business making 50 Canadian EFT supplier payments monthly, the Payments add-on would cost C$47, including 30 additional transfers at C$0.90 each. Grouping multiple invoices into one supplier payment could reduce transaction charges, particularly for businesses making frequent payments to the same suppliers.
Businesses should compare their existing payment fees, approval process and reconciliation workload before adding another service. The QuickBooks Online and Xero integrations also have different reconciliation requirements, so payment execution within Dext doesn't mean every accounting step is automatic.
Accounting Firms Give Dext an Established Payment Channel
Dext says more than 12,000 accounting and bookkeeping firms and 700,000 businesses worldwide use its software. Part of IRIS Software Group since 2024, Dext has an established customer base for introducing payment services. Accounting firms that already process client invoices through Dext can add payment management without moving those client relationships to a separate financial operations platform.
See: Float Raises $85M to Build AI Business Finance Stack
Toronto based Plooto already combines accounts payable automation with supplier payments, while Float offers bill payments alongside business spending controls. Dext's opportunity lies in reaching customers through its existing bookkeeping software and accounting firm relationships. Whether that distribution advantage converts into payment volume will depend on pricing, controls and the amount of work businesses actually save.
The Canadian market offers plenty of room to improve payment administration. Payments Canada's 2026 research found that 37% of surveyed SMEs identify payment delays as a significant challenge. 2026 Canadian payments analysis also documents the growing use of electronic transfers and the rollout of Canada's Real-Time Rail. For businesses managing suppliers, better payment visibility and approval processes can be as valuable as faster settlement.
Talking Point
Can Dext win meaningful SME payment volume by serving accounting firms, or will businesses prefer to keep payment execution within their existing accounting and banking services?
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Visa Cuts Credit Card Fees for More Canadian SMEs
October 14, 2026 | Market Activity | Payments Infrastructure And Money Movement, SME Finance And Business Banking, Regulation And Policy
Visa Expands Small Business Interchange Discounts as New Card Network Charges Approach
On October 14, 2026, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) confirms expanded Visa interchange fee reductions for Canadian small businesses starting October 24. Visa is raising the annual Visa sales threshold for its discounted merchant program from C$300,000 to C$750,000 and lowering several interchange rates. Tens of thousands of additional businesses could qualify, creating potential savings for merchants and new opportunities for payment processors to compete on price.
Interchange is the fee paid by a merchant's acquiring institution to the customer's card issuer. It's one component of what businesses pay to accept credit cards. CFIB welcomes the Visa changes but warns that separate network charges could reduce the savings merchants ultimately receive.
Visa Raises Merchant Eligibility to C$750,000
Visa measures eligibility using annual Visa sales volume rather than a business's total revenue. Merchants processing less than C$300,000 annually can continue to qualify for discounted interchange rates, while those processing between C$300,000 and C$750,000 become eligible for the discounts for the first time. Existing participants also benefit from lower rates on several types of domestic consumer credit transactions starting October 24.
Visa is reducing interchange rates for several consumer credit card categories, including in-store, online and tokenized online transactions. The table below compares the previous and new rates for eligible small merchants, based on Visa's October rate schedule.
Visa Small Business Interchange Rates Effective October 24, 2026
| Eligible Visa credit transactions | Previous rate | New rate |
|---|---|---|
| Classic, Gold, Platinum — in store | 0.77% | 0.70% |
| Classic, Gold, Platinum — online | 1.30% | 1.20% |
| Classic, Gold, Platinum — tokenized online | 1.25% | 1.15% |
| Visa Infinite — in store | 0.99% | 0.89% |
| Visa Infinite — online | 1.55% | 1.45% |
Rates apply to eligible Visa consumer credit transactions. Network fees and payment processing charges are additional.
The biggest savings could go to businesses qualifying for the discounted program for the first time. Consider a merchant processing C$500,000 annually in eligible in-store Visa Classic, Gold and Platinum credit transactions. Previously above Visa's C$300,000 eligibility ceiling, the business could move from the standard 1.25% electronic interchange rate to the new 0.70% small merchant rate. That would reduce annual interchange costs by C$2,750, assuming all those transactions qualify and the savings are passed through by its processor.
Canada's Card Fee Reductions Have Taken a Decade
Canada's credit card fee reductions began with voluntary Visa and Mastercard commitments targeting a national weighted average interchange rate of 1.50% in 2015. The target fell to 1.40% in 2020. In 2023, the federal government reached new agreements with Visa and Mastercard to reduce interchange fees for qualifying small businesses. The lower rates took effect in October 2024, covering eligible in-store and online credit card transactions.
See: Canada's SMBs Deserve Better Banking
The October 2026 change expands that program for Visa merchants and cuts several individual rates further. Mastercard's small business threshold remains C$175,000 in annual Mastercard sales, compared with Visa's new C$750,000 ceiling. Visa's higher threshold allows businesses with greater card sales to continue to qualify for discounted interchange rates, although the actual savings depend on each network's rates and the merchant's transaction mix.
Canadian credit card payments reached 11.6 billion transactions worth C$1.02 trillion in 2025, according to the figures covered NCFA's 2026 payments analysis.
Will Lower Visa Interchange Reach Merchants?
How Credit Card Payments and Fees Flow
Interchange is only one part of what Canadian businesses pay to accept credit cards.
Customer
Pays C$100
→
Merchant
Accepts card
→
Acquirer
Processes payment
→
Card Network
Routes transaction
→
Card Issuer
Authorizes payment
Simplified authorization flow. Settlement and merchant funding follow separate processes.
Where Merchant Payment Fees Go
Interchange
Paid to the card issuer through the acquiring system.
0.70%
C$0.70 on C$100
Network Fees
Charged by the card network to acquiring institutions.
Varies
Separate from interchange
Acquiring Fees
Charges for processing, payment acceptance and related services.
Varies
Depends on provider and plan
What the merchant pays: Interchange + network fees + acquiring and processing charges. Lower interchange reduces one cost component, but the final savings depend on the merchant's pricing agreement.
Illustration uses the 0.70% Visa small merchant interchange rate for eligible domestic Classic, Gold and Platinum in-store credit transactions effective October 24, 2026. Actual merchant fees vary.
For merchants: Ask your processor for a breakdown of interchange, network fees and processing charges. Your effective processing rate is the total fees paid divided by your card sales.
A reduction in interchange doesn't automatically reduce every merchant's payment processing bill. Network assessments, acquiring services and processor margins also contribute to the total cost. Under interchange plus pricing, merchants can generally identify underlying interchange charges separately. Flat rate and bundled arrangements may require a pricing review before merchants benefit.
CFIB also warns that Visa and Mastercard are expanding separate network fees charged to payment processors. According to Moneris's network fee schedule, Mastercard's revised charges take effect in October 2026, while Visa plans a comparable US$0.018 per transaction fee beginning in April 2027, as reported by CFIB. Processors may pass these costs to merchants, potentially offsetting some interchange savings. The net impact will depend on transaction volume, existing fees and each merchant's processing agreement.
For business owners, the practical next step is to review annual Visa sales volume and confirm eligibility with their payment provider. Comparing processing statements before and after October 24 can reveal whether lower interchange rates are being reflected in actual charges. Merchants should also review network fee notices and the terms of their acquiring agreements.
Payment Fintechs Can Compete on Pricing Transparency
The rate changes also affect the economics of merchant acquiring. Payment processors and facilitators must update their pricing systems, account for different card categories and explain the results to customers. Providers that make those charges easier to understand have an opportunity to build trust and retain merchants who are comparing payment services.
See: Stripe vs PayPal vs Adyen in Canada: 2026 Guide
Canadian fintechs serving small businesses can go further by combining payment acceptance with fee analysis, accounting and reconciliation. Competition is already expanding through providers such as SumUp's Canadian merchant offering. The opportunity for established processors and newer entrants is to show businesses what they're paying, where savings are available and how their services compare.
There are consequences for the other side of the transaction as well. Interchange is revenue for card issuers, including banks and fintechs offering credit card programs. Lower rates on qualifying transactions affect those economics, while acquirers and processors must decide how to compete for merchants without weakening their own margins.
Talking Point
Visa's expanded program gives more Canadian small businesses access to lower credit card interchange fees, while payment providers face renewed pressure to demonstrate value. Will greater pricing transparency and competition among payment fintechs help merchants capture more of the savings?
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Canadian Banks and Telecoms Launch CSAFE Fraud Exchange
October 14, 2026 | Market Activity | Cybersecurity and Fraud, Digital Identity and Trust, Payments Infrastructure
EnStream Connects Confirmed Fraud Intelligence Across Canadian Banks and Telecom Networks
On October 14, 2026, EnStream launched the Cross-Sector Anti-Fraud Exchange (CSAFE) with major Canadian banks and telecom providers, creating a shared platform for identifying repeat fraud across institutions. Members contribute confirmed fraud information that other participants can use during account opening, authentication and transactions. The exchange gives financial institutions a wider view of known fraud activity, with the potential to stop repeat attempts before customers lose money.
Bell, BMO, CIBC, Desjardins, National Bank, RBC, Rogers, Scotiabank and TELUS are the nine founding participants. EnStream, owned by Bell Mobility, Rogers Communications and TELUS Communications, operates the exchange. CSAFE is available now following an earlier pilot involving CIBC and Rogers, and its organizers are inviting additional organizations to participate.
CSAFE Connects Fraud Records That Banks Cannot See Alone
Criminals often target several organizations, taking advantage of the fact that one provider may have little visibility into fraud detected by another. A bank sees account activity and money movement, while a telecom provider has a different view of mobile devices and communications networks. CSAFE connects cross-sector intelligence so participating institutions can identify repeat fraud using information already confirmed elsewhere.
See: SLC Digital and Tracer Labs Partner on SIM Identity Layer
Members contribute confirmed fraud records to EnStream, which combines, standardizes and enriches the information through its platform. It also assesses whether records remain relevant as circumstances change. Each institution uses the resulting intelligence within its own fraud controls, allowing members to strengthen decisions without replacing their existing systems.
A provider may already have effective tools for detecting suspicious account activity but still miss fraud previously identified by another institution. National Bank's Sardine fraud controls is an example of the investment Canadian banks are making in their own detection systems. CSAFE adds a separate source of intelligence that could help participating institutions make those systems more effective.
The CIBC and Rogers pilot provided the foundation for expanding the exchange to other institutions. EnStream describes the pilot as demonstrating the value of sharing confirmed fraud intelligence between sectors. CSAFE's launch is an infrastructure milestone, with its wider financial impact depending on adoption and operating results.
Canada has a substantial fraud problem. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recorded approximately C$351 million in reported losses during the first six months of 2026. Investment fraud accounted for C$139.6 million, followed by significant losses involving phishing and impersonation. The centre estimates that only 5% to 10% of fraud is reported, leaving much of the problem outside official loss figures.
Can Canadian Fintechs Join the CSAFE Exchange?
CSAFE begins with large financial institutions and telecom providers, but EnStream explicitly welcomes additional organizations from finance, technology and other industries. That opens a potential route for fintechs, payment service providers, digital wallets, credit unions and identity technology companies to participate. Membership requirements, pricing and technical access arrangements will determine how practical that opportunity becomes for smaller providers.
For fintech operators, access could improve fraud prevention at several important points in the customer relationship.
- A payment provider might recognize a previously confirmed fraud pattern before authorizing a transaction, while a digital banking platform could strengthen checks during account opening
- Participating firms could also contribute intelligence from fraud identified in their own services, making the exchange more useful as membership grows
See: Canadian Fintech Tuhk Raises US$6M Seed Round
Access also has competitive implications. Large banks can invest heavily in fraud analytics and draw on extensive customer activity, while smaller fintechs often work with fewer transactions and more limited internal fraud histories. Shared intelligence could help narrow that gap and allow independent providers to compete more effectively on customer experience, pricing and service. The terms of access will determine whether those benefits extend throughout Canada's financial technology market.
There are opportunities for technology suppliers as well. Fraud analytics providers, identity specialists and systems integration firms could help participants incorporate shared intelligence into existing operations.
Accurate Fraud Records Are Critical to CSAFE's Success
As more institutions join CSAFE, the accuracy of shared fraud records becomes increasingly valuable. EnStream says the exchange operates under a defined governance framework, while each participant remains responsible for its own fraud decisions. Clear rules for accessing, updating and correcting records will help protect legitimate customers from mistaken account restrictions and payment interruptions.
For banks and fintechs, reliable intelligence could reduce fraud losses and investigation costs while making digital services safer for customers. The wider opportunity is to strengthen fraud prevention across Canada's financial system without adding unnecessary friction to everyday banking and payments.
Talking Point
CSAFE creates a common source of confirmed fraud intelligence for Canada's largest banks and telecom providers, with opportunities for additional organizations to participate. As more financial services operate across banking, payments and communications networks, shared fraud protection could become increasingly valuable infrastructure. Will Canadian fintechs gain practical access to CSAFE on competitive terms, allowing the entire financial sector to benefit from stronger fraud prevention?
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
Manulife Launches AI Platform for Insurance and Wealth
October 13, 2026 | Market Activity, Artificial Intelligence and Data, InsurTech, Wealth Management
Manulife Connects Insurance and Wealth Management AI Through Shared Infrastructure
On October 13, 2026, Manulife launched a new enterprise AI platform to help teams build, deploy and manage artificial intelligence applications across its global insurance and wealth management operations. The platform allows employees to reuse approved AI solutions while applying consistent security and governance processes across different businesses and markets. For the Canadian insurer, the opportunity is to expand successful AI applications without rebuilding the technology and approval processes for every deployment.
The launch builds on Manulife's existing AI investments, including its Microsoft partnership and enterprise platform pilot announced in July. Manulife estimates that its AI initiatives generated $300 million in business value by the end of 2025, through operating cost reductions, additional revenue, fraud prevention and handling business growth more efficiently. The insurer aims to increase that cumulative value to more than $1 billion by 2027.
One AI Platform for Insurance and Wealth Management Operations
Manulife's platform provides a common environment for developing and operating AI applications. Developers and data scientists can adapt solutions that have already passed security, risk and governance reviews rather than repeating those steps for every application. The platform also supports choosing AI models according to the complexity of the task, helping teams manage processing costs and energy consumption.
Three existing applications are being integrated.
- The Singapore Sales Agent helps sales teams retrieve information and prepare for customer conversations
- Intelligent Document Processing reads documents and extracts information for use across the business
- In the United States, Quick Quote speeds up preliminary life insurance assessments by automating parts of the underwriting process
Together, these applications show how shared infrastructure can support different business functions while allowing teams to adapt tools to their own operational needs. The commercial value comes from making successful applications easier to deploy elsewhere. Insurance and wealth management businesses regularly process documents, review applications, retrieve information and support customers through similar administrative tasks. Reusing those capabilities across multiple operations could reduce development costs, improve service times and allow employees to concentrate on more complex work.
Manulife Builds on Microsoft and Existing AI Results
Manulife's expanded Microsoft partnership established much of the technology foundation before October's formal platform launch. The agreement covers Azure, Foundry, Copilot and AI agent management capabilities. Manulife also announced plans to extend Microsoft Copilot to more than 30,000 employees, giving its teams access to AI tools within existing enterprise systems.
Manulife had already reported a 30% increase in developer productivity, while its US Quick Quote application automated nearly half of preliminary underwriting assessments and reduced average turnaround times from days to minutes. In Canada, Manulife also has automated eligible life insurance approvals in as little as two minutes. These earlier applications provide a foundation for expanding AI into additional business processes.
Shared development tools could shorten the time required to introduce new services, while common controls may reduce duplicated technical and compliance work. For Manulife, success will depend on whether more business teams can use AI effectively and deliver improvements in service, operating costs and customer experience.
What Shared AI Infrastructure Means for Canadian Insurtech
Manulife's approach reflects a broader approach in how financial institutions may adopt AI. Rather than developing separate applications for every department, insurers and banks are investing in shared platforms that connect AI tools to existing systems and business processes. This creates opportunities for specialized technology providers that can solve industry problems while working within the infrastructure financial institutions already operate.
Vancouver-based insurance automation company Quandri develops software for renewal servicing and insurance brokerage operations. Its specialized approach demonstrates how industry expertise and workflow integration can create value alongside enterprise technology. As insurers expand their AI platforms, fintech suppliers that offer reliable integrations, strong insurance data capabilities and measurable operating improvements may find new opportunities to compete.
Toronto-based Fisent Technologies offers another example through its BizAI platform, which turns unstructured documents and other information into data that existing enterprise workflows can use. Its work across banking, insurance and wealth management highlights demand for AI tools that handle real operational requirements, not simply generate responses. Large insurers may develop common AI infrastructure internally while continuing to benefit from specialized external applications and technology partners.
See: Fisent Company Profile: BizAI Growth and Enterprise Adoption
Governance is also becoming part of the competitive proposition. Financial institutions need to understand how AI applications access data, interact with existing systems and support decisions affecting customers. Those considerations connect with the broader technology dependencies discussed in this OSFI frontier AI analysis. Suppliers that combine useful applications with reliable controls and straightforward integration can help institutions expand AI adoption across regulated operations.
Talking Point
As insurers invest in shared AI platforms, will the greatest competitive advantage come from owning the infrastructure, or from the specialized applications that deliver better services and outcomes for customers?
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
| | |
|---|---|---|
| | |
