Financial technology remains one of the hottest sectors in Canada as widespread digital transformation continues to sweep the nation.
Throughout the country, fintechs are innovating a new landscape for Canadians to manage, invest, and spend their money.
Below, we take a look at some of the fintechs making waves in Canada this summer.
Crypto Consolidation
Following ample speculation, Vancouver’s WonderFi formally announced an intention to acquire rivals Coinsquare and CoinSmart in April.
Coinsquare had previously announced plans to acquire CoinSmart for $29 million in cash and shares in 2022, but backed out in January prompting CoinSmart to commence legal proceedings.
From the sidelines, WonderFi spotted an opportunity to bring three crypto-asset trading platforms together.
WonderFi Technologies, Coinsquare, and CoinSmart this month announced the closing of their business combination transaction, creating one of the largest regulated crypto investing ecosystems in Canada.
It was a “transformational transaction” according to WonderFi President Dean Skurka.
The combined platform boasts over 1.6 million registered users and assets under custody valued at $600 million.
With a “firmly established position,” Skurka is excited for WonderFi’s “next chapter as we integrate our million registered users, cross-sell services across our diversified suite of products, and add to our portfolio of innovative products.”
Nuvei News
Nuvei and Plaid this month announced an expansion of their existing global partnership.
The strategic collaboration between the Canadian and US fintechs aims to facilitate a broader range of businesses in accepting bank-based payments across diverse use cases, including recurring payments, payouts, and additional e-commerce verticals such as utilities and B2B.
Recent years have seen an upward trajectory in the demand for bank-based payments from both consumers and merchants, Canada’s Nuvei notes.Bank-based payments have become the third most popular online payment method in the U.S., trailing only behind credit and debit cards. Nearly a quarter of all U.S. consumers are considering bank-based payments for general e-commerce in the next year.
The launch of Nuvei’s Instant Bank Transfer solution seeks to surmount obstacles traditionally associated with bank-based payments, such as the tedious manual entry of account and routing numbers and concerns over online security. The Nuvei-Plaid partnership is also poised to provide real-time transaction risk assessment and reduce return rates through Plaid Signal, a network-based machine learning model.
Nuvei has been making headlines for its partnerships, large enterprise commercial wins and high-profile investors over the past year—among them renowned actor Ryan Reynolds. In April, the Vancouver celebrity Ryan Reynolds unveiled an investment in Nuvei.
Following that, the company announced a strategic partnership with Sylogist, a global software provider for non-profit and government organizations. In addition, the firm welcomed industry veteran Laura Miller to fill the newly formed role of Chief Revenue Officer and Global Head of eCommerce.
And all of these strategic moves come in the wake of Nuvei’s recent acquisition of US rival Paya.
Social Finance
As financial transactions increasingly shift online and social media is the widespread norm, Canadians are being introduced to a dynamic way to manage their money.
Since its inception in Toronto in 2019, Mosea has evolved from a simple tool designed to help university students split bills to a comprehensive financial management app for large groups of friends.
Digital payment apps like Venmo, CashApp, and Zelle have been popular through the US and Europe but Canada has remained reliant on email-based money-transferring. With the introduction of Mosea, Canadians are getting a taste of a modern, chic payments app that mirrors the convenience seen in global counterparts, according to cofounder Aidan Tighe.
At the forefront of Mosea is a bill-splitting feature, which allows up to 20 friends to split bills evenly or by specific amounts. Another feature of Mosea is the ongoing ledger of previous transactions. Forgetting about past transactions or money owed by friends becomes a thing of the past, Tighe says.
Adding more social elements to finance, Mosea enables users to personalize their profiles with a picture, bio, and friend list. As users follow friends, their activity appears on a personalized newsfeed, creating a social media-esque ecosystem around money management. The Explore Page offers the opportunity to search for friends and find suggested people to follow, fostering a greater sense of community.
With its blend of social interaction and financial management, Mosea is emerging as a “Venmo for Canada.” Offering a fun way to navigate financial interactions, the Toronto fintech could become the app of choice for Canadians seeking an intuitive way to handle money.
Credit Inclusion in Canada
25% of Canadians are either unserved or underserved in the credit market, according to TransUnion’s “Empowering Credit Inclusion Global Report.” In some cases this is due to a lack of access to credit through traditional financial institutions.
An emerging development between a US national bank and a Canadian fintech is poised help shape this shifting financial landscape in Canada.
Pathward is set to launch a new line of credit that promises to reshape the consumer credit market. The intent is to offer an accessible line of credit for those consumers whose opportunities have been unduly limited.
Backing this project is Toronto-based fintech Propel Holdings, which went public in 2021. The pair began collaborating last year.
Propel will service the loans through its lending-as-a-service platform. This AI-powered tech takes on an array of tasks including customer service, collections, and applications— allowing Pathward to deliver a new line of credit while mitigating credit risk.
The line of credit will be available through Pathward’s existing distribution channels, with zero fees associated with the product. It’s designed to provide consumers with year-round access to credit where borrowers only pay interest on the amount they draw.
As of late 2022, Toronto fintech Propel operates in Canada through Fora Credit, a “convenient online credit solution for underserved Canadian consumers.”
API Integration Opportunity
Duuo, a division of Co-operators, has unveiled an embedded insurance API for partner integrations.
Established in 2018, Duuo has become notable in the arena of embedded insurance, specializing in partnership distribution and crafting solutions for a range of sectors, including proptechs, fintechs, SAAS platforms, and event management booking platforms.
Designed to cater to the needs of Canadian businesses seeking to enhance the customer experience, Duuo’s API integration could transform the way users purchase insurance. By embedding the insurance purchase journey directly within the partner’s website, app, or platform, it provides a seamless and intuitive user experience.
The launch of Duuo’s Event Insurance marks the first product to be rolled out in this new embedded format. The service will provide event hosts with a unique opportunity to book a venue and secure event coverage concurrently, thereby eliminating needless complications and simplifying the entire process.
Following Event, Duuo by Co-operators will launch their Tenant insurance API next, allowing platforms to seamlessly embed tenant insurance coverage into their existing user journeys, according to a statement from the company.
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