NCFA Canada | Nov 2, 2018

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Transcription of Interview

Intro: Welcome fintech Friday's a weekly podcast brought to you by the National crowdfunding and FinTech Association of Canada and partners.Covering all things fintech block chain be AI and alternative finance.

Manseeb Khan: Today I have an incredible guest today. OK. If you heard of the company Lending Loop I have the CEO today. I got Cato.  Cato thank you so much for sitting down today. I mean I'm very excited to just get the show on the road. I mean we have a very interesting topic and I'm very excited to share with people.

Cato Pastoll: Yeah, I'm excited as well. Thanks for having me on.

Manseeb Khan: So, I guess for just a minute could you just give us a little bit of your background and essentially what Lending Loop is?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah Lending Loop Canada's first marketplace for small businesses to be able to access affordable financing. And then investors people like yourself and myself who want to lend money directly to businesses. So essentially what we're doing is cutting out the traditional intermediaries who will be lending and rather allowing businesses to be able to access financing from regular Canadians who want to lend money to them.

Manseeb Khan: I'm glad that I can be my own little investor and help as many small businesses that I can. So, I mean the topic that I really want to discuss with you today is a topic that many of us probably seen in the media it from blog posts or even from videos would be open banking. So, could you guess a little bit. Tell us what open banking is and I guess how integral and what this means to the bank space?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah. Open Banking can generally cover a lot of different areas or mean a lot of different things. But a high level generally kind of what people are referring to is the ability for people to be able to access banking data or other companies to be able to access your banking data. So, it's likely that you and I and probably the people who are listening to this have a bank account with maybe one of the big five Canadian banks or perhaps the smaller bank and they have a lot of data on transactional history around us. Who we are, our address all types of personal information as well as transactional bank information. Now that information is incredibly valuable and really the theory is that that information should belong to you not actually to the bank and we're open banking is really kind of contemplating is sharing that information or at least giving you the ability to access and share that information that your will. So, if what you say you want to give Lending Loop access to that information. Very seamlessly that you would authorize the banks to give us that information we'd be able to access that in order to provide better products. Products and experiences

Manseeb Khan: Ha. Okay. So, this kind of this really ties into I guess having a digital identity and having a sovereign identity right of we're seeing a lot of people pushing it from individual CEOs like yourself or just other institutions or other I guess organizations pushing for this identity and that having a digital identity would just be one more step closer. Open banking would be one more step closer of having digital identities and having companies in the future actually recognize your digital passport. In a sense, right?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah absolutely. I mean like it or not and, in a capitalist, driven society. Finance and financials are really a core to who you are from an identity perspective not just from a verification or an identification perspective but more importantly kind of makeup. A lot of the pieces of information and how many who someone is. And so, when we think about kind of open banking exactly what you just referenced is true. Now we're talking about layering on financial type information on somebody's personal profile if you want to call it that. So absolutely this is really something that that is. Kind of critical. When it comes to determining what that future of identification and Id profile look like.

Manseeb Khan: I like the aspect of it. You get to pick and choose who you share information and it's a lot like I guess if you have an android phone you can actually go within the apps and then you can kind of like pick and choose what the app can get access to it's kind of interesting of like it's the very similar concept but look more like a broader perspective. Yeah. Lending Loop can have this, this, this, and this but RBC or TD can't have  access to that, So I like that.

Cato Pastoll: That's a really good analogy and yeah, I think one that a lot of people identify with you know even with Facebook being in the news a lot lately. A lot of it is around that and like who get see your information and you get to share that information. You know open banking is basically extending that to the financial realm like who gets to access and see financial data because up until this point it's really only been banks that have been able or allowed to see that. And maybe that is actually to your benefit to be able to share that information with either you know people that you know or other companies that you want to do business

Manseeb Khan: Wouldn't an open banking be a threat to the current banking system now because now what open banking is or what I'm understanding is it's opened up a broader marketplace for people. For customers to just be able to pick and choose and to switch between banks with a couple of clicks right? Like I could switch my mortgage plan if I currently have it with CIBC I can switch it to TD because I've got these better rates, or I want to switch my savings plan from RBC back to TD or whatever so. I guess. Why would banks themselves even. Put their hat in the ring for this and. Why would banks even consider this at all?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah and I don't think that it's voluntary. I think I can do more. More part of a general pressure to provide better experiences to consumers. Banks are an oligopoly in their highly regulated and they're essentially protected by governments in every authority including Canada. Right. So, the banks are incredibly hard to create. They're also an incredibly hard to break down and that's when we think about like why this might happen. Really, it's too people you know to the benefit of the people who use banks so just the regular people. The customers and the businesses that leverage banking services. No, it's in our interest to. Be allowed to access that data. And I think kind of philosophically a lot of people believe that data actually belongs to you not the bank. You know the bank is kind of providing us with that service but at the end of the day. The data that they are leveraging, with the data that we're providing to them you know a lot people can have the sentiment that that belongs to us. Now what that actually means that from imprecations perspective is. You know people who are looking to build better products or better experiences for customers can now do that by kind of treating banks as kind of like your back in infrastructure right. Traditionally you think about banks as you were just describing and as you know that the end to end delivery of a product or service very like the know that they're giving you credit cards they give you mortgages. Well you know the bank doesn't have to not exist if somebody else to provide a credit card or mortgage they can rather just kind of be the backend service provider. where they allow other people, you know other companies to basically be more of that front-end customer facing solution that leverages their infrastructure their data maybe even the technology to be able to deliver some of those solutions. So, you know the reason that we're moving in this direction is because at the end of the day it's of benefit to the customer benefit not just from an experience perspective but also financially you know on average Canadian banks are generating. That to 2x the average ROE of U.S. banks and 3x the average ROE of UK banks. So, when you think about that you know people like yourself and me are actually paying for that and you know it's not surprising to think that policymakers and politicians want to kind of shake that up and actually. Give some value back to customers who are actually using it, the Canadian banks.

Manseeb Khan: Going back to the cell phone analogy it more of a market like it actually a true and true marketplace where we will have like the TD version of an app store and you'll have like financial tech companies like ourselves coming in and just providing all these services right.

Cato Pastoll: In a way I mean many different ways, there are many different ways that it could play out in practicality that that's for sure. One of the ways you know what a bank becomes I think is an interesting question and probably one that we could we could spend a whole hour talking about like what a bank might look like in the future as a result of it. But I think that the underlying thing is that they need to share or open data to people who want access.

Manseeb Khan: And it just makes I mean again I’m probably thinking of this more of a from a fintech standpoint because I'm so much  for team David here. It just makes banks even more like customer centric right.

Cato Pastoll: Yeah, I mean you know. Going on that point about being customer centric or delivering product experiences that are better or cheaper for customers if fintech or financial technology companies are able to do that much better than banks are. And so, as a customer I'm going to win by being allowed or being able to access those services seamlessly you know going back to your point maybe not directly in the interest of the banks but in the long run it's kind of in the overall interest of Canadians.

Manseeb Khan: So how do you see open banking impact. Companies like yourself like being in the loan service industry and giving more customers to get from around?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah. I mean for us you know we're as you mentioned we're in the lending industry if you want to call it about you know we're in the business of kind of connecting investors with small businesses. When you think about what we do at a higher level and really what we're trying to create is a better way for small businesses to access financial services. And the reason is that that that that that particular segment of customers that have been under serviced by traditional financial institutions or traditional lenders. So, you know when we think about what this means for a company like ourselves it's not just about how it applies to you or your lending product or how maybe it makes a loan application was seamless. It also opens up doors of possibilities for us to be able to deliver other products and experiences to those customers who may not have had access to those products or services before.

Manseeb Khan: So, it gives you an opportunity to be more or less a little bit more of a diverse company than just being centric on one part of the banking industry, right?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah. I mean can I just keep harping on that point. You know you want to be customer centric. It allows you to be more customer centric because you're able to access more of the relevant information to your customers and providing them with better access to products and services.

Manseeb Khan: Yeah no absolutely and especially if you have the data to back that up. so, then you can make it very tailored and very niche so that's very incredible. So, I guess since open banking is a very brand-new concept and you're seeing regulations being a little bit more tailored to the country I mean you're seeing places in the EU like they just adopted their second payment services directive. Right. The P2D2 which forces banks to open up the data and regulate the new market right. So, they're making more of a push to the financial tech companies that are allowed to have access to your data has to be actually regulated. have to go have to meet these guidelines, have to jump through these hoops. So, based off just stuff that's is happening in the EU, in Australia recently, you've been seeing in Japan they're slowly getting started. What does open banking regulations look like in Canada and I guess how you would want them to either be similar or different tailored to the Canadian market.

Cato Pastoll: It's a fair question. I think if you look at the progress here generally we're about five to 10 years behind any other authority when it comes to financial regulation. Generally speaking we're in our industry for example were significantly behind new jurisdictions like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. So, I you know I don't think you're seeing the same level of progress here in Canada as you're seeing in other jurisdictions. I think we're going to be much slower to adopt these things. There can sometimes be an advantage to being second or not being first and that advantage can be seeing what goes well and what doesn't go in other jurisdictions. I think like you know thinking about what this might look like. I think. Really you got to go back to who is this benefiting at the end of the day this is about driving value back to consumers. driving  back to people who use banking. Driving value back to small businesses. So, when we think about kind of what that might look like and what regulators need to consider when they're kind of creating new legislation on new frameworks for these businesses to exist or are these policies to exist really, I think the most important thing. To consider in that regard is how is it like who is going to benefit and how is it going to benefit them. I think something that kind of is light touch in terms of what it actually means for  fintech companies what it means to consumers what it means for banks. what one end up being that effective. And we'll probably see a little minor adoption I think I'd rather see us spend some time and create a robust strategy and policy around how we can create really rapid innovation in our banking sector. And I'll kind of give you the flip side of that coin if we don't do that and we don't do a great job of it. International companies that do benefit from open banking do benefit from fintech advancement and changes are likely to come to Canada at some point and kind of dominate the market here. So, you know the incentive is there because I think we've a great opportunity but there's also a massive kind of warning that we're given at risk which is if we're not fast enough to kind of jump into the race and we're going to get beaten by our international counterparts. So, you know that that's something that I really kind of. Think about from a regulatory perspective which is you want to get it right, but you don't want to spend too much time that you end up getting left behind.

Manseeb Khan: Yeah no. I mean traditionally Canadians are very much by the book and they like to stay within the lines. So, it makes sense that Canada I guess like you to mentioned right either becomes second or third or fourth when it comes to fully adopted open banking and just later on hopefully dominate the open banking. We should probably like take our time understand fully and actually. The more information we have the more again data we've collected we can actually move accordingly towards that. I mean and again it's evolved or parish right. If we don't figure out fast enough we're just going to die out and nobody wants that.

Cato Pastoll: Yeah, I mean you look at kind of like what's happening with Netflix. you know Netflix is I think inevitably going to destroy the media industry here in Canada. You know when we think Rogers and Bell, Cogeco you know those companies have been protected by our government for so long. And regulation has been so slow to change, and people have heralded that.  You know on the flip side of that we're now seeing companies like Netflix, US companies that really have no attachment or need to this in Canada. From a from a domestic point of view you know they are solely headquartered in the U.S. Their assets are in the U.S. capital is flowing into the U.S. when we pay on that Netflix bills every month. You know they slowly but surely taking over that industry that was once Canadian. And I think that there's a stark warning that to think about there is a real possibility that that happens in banking or in the financial sector here in Canada. So, I think you know we do need to move pretty quickly because I think if we give the same attitude that we do in the telco industry or in the media industry that's definitely not a good sign. So, while being thoughtful is important taking too long is perhaps even more dangerous.

Manseeb Khan: But on that note it would be kind of funny to us to when we have kids of just of like yeah you know like before all you have to get is a Bell and Rogers and actually have cable. Now  the big three are the big four are like Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu so that be really funny.

Cato Pastoll: Yeah but the problem is. The problem is those companies are Canadian right now. That's like the fundamental challenge that you know people don't talk about that often but that's a lot of capital and a lot of profit that's being sucked out of Canada. I like that really scares me when I think about the future of the Canadian economy. Like I don't think we should put that as lightly as you know as we do great for me at the consumer I'm paying one tenth of what I did on my Rogers Bill. On my Netflix subscription. But at the end of the day like I think we're all kind of losing a little bit as Canadians. And I think that's something that like you know regulators and policy makers really need to pay attention to.

Manseeb Khan: No absolutely because it's I mean doing the show. I got to sit down with amazing CEOs like yourself and just understand the Canadian fintech marketplace a little bit better and it would really suck to see and like the Canadian fintech space just kind of slowly start diminishing because there's so much potential to so much promise and so many companies in the space itself are doing such amazing things. It really sucked to have I guess either American company or an Asian company to come in and just undercut everybody because we don't have the  regulations in place we have the right rules in place because again we took too long to figure it out.

Cato Pastoll: Yeah, you're absolutely right. Like you said there's so much potential here. I think we need to really pay attention to that. Look at the positives like I don't like kind of always being  negative and saying what if you know what if this happens or what if a U.S. company comes to dominate. I think there's so much potential in so many positives here that so much of the right infrastructure. But sometimes I think the speed with the urgency doesn't exist. And I think like that that's the one thing that I think all of us as a community. Both you know the people that use our services as well as other companies in the space I think we could all do a better job of stressing that urgency to push things forward faster and innovate faster. Just kind of for our own benefits as well

Manseeb Khan: I guess. Do you see open banking being a little bit more global? Because I mean the reason I'm asking is because we're going to we're going to hopefully have regulations here in Canada when it comes open bank and you're already seeing this in the EU and you start to see this in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand like you've mentioned. Do you see  a global open banking regulation put in place with a I guess be it a Frankenstein version of some rules and regulations from Canada or some rules and regulations from the EU like do you see a global open banking regulation put in place later on? Once we fully adopted this concept.

Cato Pastoll: It's a good question. It's also a really difficult question. It's kind of one of those things like what comes first that you know the chicken or the egg  that type of thing. And what I mean by that is I think what's going to happen is that there will be no global banking existing and global financial technology services existing before regulation for it actually. Oh, I believe I'll be able to have  a you know quote unquote like the ability to move money seamlessly. Anywhere in the world sooner than I think regulation around how that's going to happen. And I think you can kind of apply that if you look at like Uber and Airbnb and then those types companies that have kind of come before a regulation caught up to them. I think you're going to see the same thing in open banking I don't think that. Companies are going to wait for regulators to create new rules or policies. I think that the innovation is actually going to come out and I think like some of those products services that probably fall on that you know on the edges of the of the categories of banking will probably force the issues for that to happen And that's just kind of my theory on it is I think you know the regulation will tend to lag the innovation. And I think you'll see that in the open banking space as well.

Manseeb Khan: Usually when you think regulation you don't really think innovation. So that's just a very hard balance to how right you because you want to protect investors you want to protect consumers at the same time you don't want to be in last place. So, it's a very hard beam to really balance on.

Cato Pastoll: You end up shooting if you over protect you end up shooting yourself in the right. Like I think the notion there's sometimes a flawed notion that no industry is better than a bad industry and that's very rarely the case. You know like at least having the possibility of making mistakes and learning from those mistakes gives you a better foot hold then simply not doing something because you're scared to try. And I'm sure you know if you see anyone in the startup space or are worked in an overseas company you know they'll give you a similar message which is not trying is definitely much worse than trying and failing. I think you know that's a really difficult message to share with a regulator or a policymaker like that. That's a really scary thing to say to somebody like that but it's definitely true because there's other people in the world who are thinking like that and I think like that that's something that I think we as Canadians have a big thing to overcome going back to what you said about conservatism. You know we are inherently more conservative. And so, getting over that barrier is definitely something that. We have to kind of actively think about.

Manseeb Khan: We definitely have to bite the bullet and understand that like we're really going to have to test and learn especially when it comes to policies and regulations because Open banking is such a new concept. and it's such like you said even when I even mention the whole oh I guess would be like an app store. It might not right because open banking such like a I guess of fluid into a lucid concept that it's going to have to be as fast as I guess changes in a startup like that's  the mentality we are going to have to have. When it comes to open banking because that's how fast and fast paced it's going to become.

Cato Pastoll: Yeah, I mean there's lots of there's lots of variables or unknowns as you said. So, it's not it's not a simple or straightforward answer to this. You know there could be an app store. It could be that a fundamentally changes the way the bank clerk it could even be that banks don't exist at all. You know I wouldn't rule out any possibility. So, you know when we think about what it means for the future of the financial sector or the future of banking I think we have to be open to all possibilities in terms of. What might things look like in 5 10 or 15 years.

Manseeb Khan: So, when you think of open banking one of the first concerns to mind would be the cyber risk and the security risk right because since we want to open up the data and make it accessible for quote unquote all there definitely will be privacy concerns. Could you talk a little bit more on the privacy concerns when it comes to open banking  or why or why not. It might be there, and I guess go  a bit more detail about that?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah. You know if anything I kind of you are the as I least of it's done right. I view it as better for the customer when it comes to things like privacy. Like what it really is you know when you think about it giving people access and the ability to control their own data and whether data goes in it get shared with. Like right now you have very little control over it you know where your data is, how it gets stored, who it gets shared with. Like really, you’re just trusting whoever you're storing that data with. I think we're starting to see that change. You know I think especially Facebook is probably the biggest example of that obviously it's been in the news a lot over the last year. You know they've been under an incredible amount of pressure. To get better and exactly what I just described which is. You know giving people oversight over whether that is how it's managed how it's stored and who gets to access that information. I think there's a similar opportunity here with. Finance and with banking. Where you're giving the customer control over their own data. And for me there's no better way of doing it than giving your, putting the control in the hands of the customer. You know if they choose to give somebody access to that data that's their choice, but they should be fully aware of the choice and fully aware of the consequences of doing that. Right. So, when I think about this I think there's a tremendous opportunity because you know we're really opening up a world that is significantly more transparent than the world that exists today when it comes to data and privacy.

Manseeb Khan: Do you see open banking. I mean again we  did talk about being open and open minded. But do you see open banking going into blockchain and becoming a little bit more decentral, so the security risk gets greatly mitigated?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah, I mean I think that's definitely a case of blockchain now. Do I see that actually happening in the short term? I would say probably not just based on the amount of change that would be required to enter that infrastructure, but I think it does make a case for that type of technology. I think you were talking about the same thing at the end of day which is. Giving that access control privacy back to the individual. And really. Like. Technology is like blockchain technology are really about doing exactly that. So, I can't predict whether or not that you know that's going to happen or whether it's going to happen in the short- medium term but I would say it's definitely something that could play a role in mitigating some of those risks. I also think that you know one thing that is important is. Regulation and policy have a really important role to play there as well. Like in terms of who is allowed to play who go out and access that data. That's really where regulators need to step in and be focused on which is kind of keeping the bad actors out and keeping the good actors. And., I think that that would kind of be like the high-level answer I give to that which is I think there's some opportunity for it, but I think it's going to take time to fully flush out and really for us to determine how it's going to work.

Manseeb Khan: Yeah no I agree with the whole keep the bad actors out and keep the good actors in because that's something that we've been many guest have actually touched on that in the previous episodes because the bad acting like it's as much as it very much sucks you're seeing a lot of bad actors get a lot more notoriety and if not more media exposure when it comes to like spaces like fintech, spaces like crypto and blockchain because it's so new it's revolutionary It's very easy to just really  shit on them because they're just like no like look at all that look all the bad use cases. What about all the great use cases so it goes back to like having policymakers and regulators having a little bit more of a startup mindset just like being a little bit more open of OK like learn how to vet the good actors and how do we keep them how do we make sure that they're being regulated. Also innovative at the same time. so, it's oh boy it's definitely, they are definitely juggling like 15 balls the same time but. But in due time it's very possible.

Cato Pastoll: Yeah there's a lot of balls to juggle like all of the things are double edged swords  right because you know when you're too strict your kind of disincentivized to get active and you end up with only bad actors who are trying to take advantage of gaps in the system. Right.  There’re so many times where you need, you know you can't be too light, and you can't be too heavy. If you are too heavy like I just described, you know you end up with a system whereby only the only people who aren't that to the play are bad actors who will take advantage of gaps or holes. And if you're too light it's kind of like the inverse of as well. Right away you let everybody in. But you really open up the floodgates or you know anyone whether they're good or bad to participate. So, you kind of have to find a balance between being too light and too hard. And that definitely you know it sounds a lot easier than it is in reality it's not an easy challenge for anybody to overcome.

Manseeb Khan: So, I mean I guess I'll throw this to you   I  do you have anything that we didn't cover comes open banking that's either been on top of mind or be it's something that's been keeping you up at night?

Cato Pastoll: No, I think like I mean it's been really interesting conversation, so you appreciate you kind of taking the time and having me on. I think when we look at the future and what this actually means. I think one of the you know one of the things that I always try to remind people is you know reflecting back on how it is actually going to impact me. You know you hear a lot of buzz was thrown out there on a regular basis on AI, blockchain, opened banking, fintech.  But like really like what it means for you as a customer or as a consumer is you end up getting more choice. You end up paying less money. And you end up with better products and services that you can use in your everyday life. That's why that's why fundamentally it's important. So, I think kind of going into the why. like why I should actually care about this. It's probably a conversation that we don't have enough. I think it's easy to kind of get carried away with some of these concepts at a high level but at the end of the day we also should be thinking about who is actually going to be benefiting and why is it important for us. As a society to adopt new ideas or new technologies. And. It's really got to go back to it's got to benefit the people that are using that are the end users of financial or financial sector and not just people like you and me.

Manseeb Khan: More or less believe the hype. It's like the hype real, believe the hype.

Cato Pastoll: Yes. But also understand it.

Manseeb Khan: Yeah OK. Fair enough.

Manseeb Khan: So, what I guess what excites you the most about open banking? We've talked the talk a little bit about. What are you most excited about. Be it if it directly impacts your business or even if it directly impacts you. What are you most excited about when it comes up that open banking?

Cato Pastoll: Yeah, it's giving people choice here. For me I get really frustrated by lack of choice I get you know get frustrated if I can only choose between Rogers and Bell. You know I get frustrated but if I can only choose between one or two banks I think for me the ability to be free and have choice and have lots of different people who are aggressively trying to compete for my business is really great because at the end of the day I win when that happened so I think you know when I think about this I think it's just the possibilities in terms of the different products and services that people will be able to create by getting access to a system that they didn't previously have access to. And being able to play a role in the banking sector where really, they were only you know. Five to 10 real players in Canada that that really were playing any meaningful part and how it took shape.

Manseeb Khan: Cato. So, what would be the best way for people to contact you if they want to pick your brain more when it comes to open banking . Maybe they'll learn a little bit more of Leading Loop what will be the best way to contact you. Do we snapchat, you do we tweet, you can we do we contact you via smoke signals like will be the best way to contact you ?

Cato Pastoll: Yes, smokes signal is probably number one but if you can't reach me by smoke signal then I am on Twitter. so, you can find me on there and also check out. I definitely encourage everyone to check out Lending Loop. It's a really awesome way to kind of use your money to invest in Canadian small businesses. Web sites just lending loop.ca. So, if you haven't checked it out already. I would encourage anyone who is listening to check that out. And yeah, I guess that I appreciate you kind of taking the time. Tweet at me or smokescreen me. If you're looking for me.

Manseeb Khan: Smokescreen would be difficult but whoever you are whoever out there like finds find you through via smokescreen that's  a very special individual for sure. So,  Cato thank you so much for sitting down today. I had. I mean I've learned a lot more open banking then I thought I did. So, this is this has been incredible and I'm very excited to have you on the show again.

Cato Pastoll: So yeah. Great, chatting with you.

Manseeb Khan: Yeah, no worries so on the behalf of the NCFA Canada's leading national and fintech crowdfunding association. I wish you an amazing fintech Friday and weekend.

Outro : you've been listening to fintech Fridays brought to you by NCFA and partners. Tune in weekly for the latest fintech Friday podcast by subscribing to this channel. The National crowdfunding and FinTech Association of Canada is a non-profit actively engaged with social and investment fintech sectors around the globe and provide education research industry stewardship services and networking opportunities to thousands of members and subscribers. For more information please visit and see if a Canada dot org. Oh yea.

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Insights from Jamie Dimon’s 2024 Letter to Shareholders

April 15, 2025

Markets and Economy | April 15, 2025 Jamie Dimon’s 2024 Letter Outlines Global Risks and Advice for Leaders On April 7 2025, CEO Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase published his annual 2024 letter to shareholders (58 page PDF), which is widely read by business and policy leaders around the globe.  This year's edition, his messages are especially urgent.  He describes a world of rising risks, and big decisions ahead with profound implications that stretch beyond simply Wall Street.  Below are 5 insights that fintech founders, investors and Canadian decision makers need to know: 1. The U.S. Dollar’s Strength is At Risk “History has shown that as countries become weaker, their currency loses reserve currency status.” Dimon issued a clear warning that's rarely said out loud by execs of America’s biggest banks.  That is the U.S. dollar’s global dominance is fading because it's strength relies on TRUST in U.S. institutions, alliances, and policy, BUT that trust is now eroding. Last week, the U.S. dollar dropped significantly reaching a 3 year low against major global currencies.  The decline is largely due to the Trump administration's escalating tariffs and trade tensions on imports from several countries, such as China, Canada and European nations.  ...

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Plaid Raises $575M to Scale Fintech Infrastructure

April 14, 2025

Financing | April 14, 2025 Plaid’s $575 Million Series D Signals a Deeper Strategy in Fintech Data and Embedded AI Financial infrastructure provider, Plaid, announced on April 3 2025, that they raised $575 million Series D at a valuation of $6.1 billion valuation led by Frank Templeton, BlackRock, Fidelity, and others including existing investors such as NEA and Ribbit Capital.  While the valuation is significantly lower than it's 2021 peak of $13.4 billion, Plaid's latest round is a story of consolidation of it's role at the heart of embedded finance, and not of decline. Plaid is a backbone of embedded finance with a footprint that spans more than 8,000 apps, including many widely used fintech tools and providers in Canada and the U.S.  For Canadian fintech companies, this raise hints at where industry is heading and who will control its most critical pipes. A Profitable Platform in a Tough Market Unlike most fintech firms still chasing break-even, Plaid finished off 2024 with positive operating margins, strong ash flows and a 25% yoy revenue increase.  In Plaid's letter to shareholders, 2025, CEO and Cofounder Zach Perret explained that it has a usage based billing model where Plaid earns revenue when an ...

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Strengthening Resilience and Leading Through Uncertainty

April 14, 2025

Leadership | April 14, 2025 Why Embracing Uncertainty Can Help Founders Gain Insight (During Chaos) In an economic climate where geopolitical tensions are high and markets volatile with inflation spikes and policy u-turns, founders and innovators that embrace uncertainty can gain an edge.  Uncertainty isn't a side effect of innovation, it's the starting line.  Inspired from Deepak Chopra's recent article on the power of uncertainty, this article looks at the impact of embracing the unknown and how it can sharpen decision-making, unlock creativity, and help build resilience during times of rapid change and uncertainty. Key Actionable Insights 1. Uncertainty Isn't the Enemy...It's the Edge Chopra argues that trying to eliminate uncertainty kills creativity.  When everything is 'the exact same', it breeds complacency.  We've all experienced this.  During some routine periods, a founder may feel that time is passing by very quickly.  Yet during times of great change, novelty, innovation, a founder may feel that time is going by slowly.  Fintech leaders who stay agile during times of ambiguity can separate themselves from those who stall in the face of uncertainty.  Put differently, successful founders don't just survive during chaos, they scan for signals of change/chaos that others can miss, often ...

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Navigating SEO for Effective Crowdfunding

April 14, 2025

April 14, 2025 If you’re running a crowdfunding campaign, visibility is key. Without the right SEO strategy, potential backers may never find your project. Below is a practical, research-backed guide to improving your campaign’s visibility through SEO. 1. Understand Your Audience First Start by knowing who you’re targeting. This helps shape your keywords, content, and messaging. Build a profile of your ideal backer Use keyword research tools like Google Trends or Ahrefs Read forum discussions and questions from your audience The more specific your understanding, the more relevant your content becomes. 2. Focus on Search Intent, Not Just Keywords Group your keywords based on what users are looking to do: Informational: “how to launch a crowdfunding campaign” Transactional: “support [campaign name]” Navigational: “[brand name] Kickstarter page” Use these keywords naturally in: Headings and subheadings Meta descriptions Blog updates and campaign FAQs Image alt text Write for people first, then optimise for search engines. For more insight into how keyword strategy aligns with intent and structure, consider following this website, which outlines foundational SEO practices that support long-term visibility. 3. Build a High-Converting, SEO-Friendly Landing Page Don’t treat your landing page as just a pitch. Make it SEO-ready: Clear, keyword-rich headline ...

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OneVest Closes $20M Series B to Lead Wealthtech

April 11, 2025

Financing | April 11, 2025 OneVest Secures $20M in Series B to Build the Future of WealthTech in North America On January 29, 2025, Calgary and Toronto-based fintech firm OneVest announced the close of a $20 million Series B round, led by Salesforce Ventures and joined by Allianz Life Ventures, TIAA Ventures, and returning backers like OMERS Ventures, Deloitte Ventures, Fin Capital, Luge Capital, and Pivot Investment Partners. See:  OneVest’s Rapid Expansion Powered by a $17M Funding Round led by OMERS Ventures OneVest estimates that $84 trillion of wealth will be passed down from Baby Boomers to Gen X and Millennials over the coming decades, creating a massive opportunity and challenge for financial institutions. OneVest's platform is positioned to offer financial institutions, such as banks, insurers, asset managers and RIAs, a module tech platform to build or upgrade their wealth management services.  Companies ca upgrade outdated infrastructure by plugging in only the components they need, reducing time and cost to market. Amar Ahluwalia, CEO of OneVest: “We are tackling massive challenges in an industry that’s been traditionally slow to adopt new technologies. Having such esteemed investors solidifies our position to reimagine wealth management technology for enterprises across the U.S. and ...

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SEC Issues Covered Stablecoin Statement, Risks Remain

April 10, 2025

Regulation | April 10, 2025 SEC Says Some Fully Backed, Payment-Only 'Covered Stablecoins' Aren’t Securities On April 4, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a statement that clarified some U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins may not be considered securities.  While the statement was welcomed and creates some breathing room for crypto and fintech projects, the announcement ignited an internal debate at the SEC and many are wondering what's next. Covered Stablecoins The SEC said certain U.S. dollar-backed stablecoins (referred to as 'Covered Stablecoins') are not considered securities if they have all of the following characteristics: Stablecoin must maintain a 1:1 fixed value equal to the U.S. dollar, without fluctuations Each stablecoin must be fully backed by an equivalent amount of high quality assets such as U.S. Treasury bills, cash, or cash equivalents that can be redeemed on demand. These assets must be held in custody and verified regularly No expectation of profit - cannot be promoted as an investment or marketed in a way that leads buyers to expect profit from simply holding the token See:  U.S. Senate Moves to Regulate Stablecoins No voting rights, control over the issuer, or shares in any profit or management decisions (no governance) ...

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Data Shows Tariffs Are Threatening Early Stage Innovation

April 10, 2025

Funding | April 10, 2025 Regulation Crowdfunding Markets Show Tariffs Straining Innovation Economy Regulation Crowdfunding (RegCF) has proven to be a resilient market for early stage entrepreneurs and investors alike.  When uncertainty strikes, it's often traditional venture capital that pulls back, while the community-driven model continues to offer early stage start-ups access to capital allowing them to innovate.  However, just in from Sherwood (Woodie) Neiss, NCFA Advisor and Principal at Crowdfund Capital Advisors, data shows that tariffs are starting to strain RegCF markets - from March 10 to April 9, 2025: RegCF investment volumes declined by 24% (yoy) to just $57.48 million New campaign launches dropped over 40% Number of investor checks also declined by 15% Average capital raise size dropped to $720,000 (from $1.2 million) Sherwood Neiss, Principal at Crowdfund Capital Advisors: “We’re seeing the first real signs of pullback in what has otherwise been a resilient funding ecosystem.  The numbers tell a story not of panic, but of pause. Investors and issuers alike are waiting for clarity—on costs, on policy, and on risk.” Tariffs Introduce New Risks for Early-Stage Companies In a volatile environment where U.S. tariffs are levied one day, and then paused the next, founders must now face ...

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Trump’s Tariff Pause Leaves Canada in the Cold

April 10, 2025

Economy | April 10, 2025 Trump Temporarily Halts Tariffs for Most Countries But Keeps Pressure on Canada, Mexico, and China On April 10, 2025, President Trump announced a 90-day pause on most of the newly implemented global trade tariffs after market backlash and political pressure.  The break was extended to countries in Europe, Asia, and parts of South America, but Canada, Mexico, and China are still under tariff pressure. Strategic Pause, Not for Everyone While Trump paused the most recent tariffs for over 75 countries, U.S. tariffs still apply to Canada and Mexico primarily on cars and auto parts (25%), steel (25%), aluminum (10%), and some agricultural products like dairy, grains, and processed foods, and continue to affect cross border trade in manufacturing and farming sectors. Trump's pause also didn't apply to China  In fact, Tariffs on Chinese good were raised to 125%, as China hit back with an 84% tariff on U.S. goods and filed new complaints with the World Trade Organization. See:  Klarna Delays IPO As Markets React to Trump’s Tariffs After the tariff pause was announced, markets surged with the S&P 500 exploding 9.5%, the largest one day gain since World War II, according to Business Insider ...

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Tailscale Raises $230M to Power Identity-First Networking

April 9, 2025

Funding | April 9, 2025 Toronto’s Tailscale Secures $230M and $2B Valuation for Identity-First Networking On April 8 2025, Toronto-based Tailscale announced that they raised $230 million CAD Series C (about $160 million USD), valuing the company at approx $2 billion CAD.  The round was made up of U.S. investors, led by Accel, CRV, Insight Partners, Heavybit, and Uncork Capital, along with some prominent individual investors notably George Kurtz CEO of CrowdStrike (returning investor) and Anthony Casalena CEO of Squarespace.  New funds will be used to grow product and engineering teams, expand globally, and improved support for fast scaling customers. Tailscale - A Shift from IP Addresses to Identity Tailscale was founded in 2019 by former Google engineers Avery Pennarun, David Crawshaw, David Carney, and Brad Fitzpatrick, and officially launched in April 2020 to help users connect devices and apps securely without relying on traditional VPNs, IP rules, or firewalls. Tailscale uses a technology called WireGuard which is easy to setup and lets devices connect directly to each other, safely and privately.  What's unique about Tailscale is its approach to solving networking challenges.  Instead of relying on where a device is located (IP address), it focuses on who or what is connecting. This ...

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