Weekly FinTech & Financial News
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Top Financial Institutions Updates this Week
🤝 Prospera Credit Union, a Surrey-based credit union rolls out Interac verification service in partnership with Caspian One Open Data, Canada-based open banking platform for FIs
💰 CIBC Innovation Banking provides growth financing to Vector, a US-based workflow automation provider in the logistics industry
💰 The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) commits another $200 million to startups building tech for legacy industries
🚀 RBC creating greater access to banking services for Indigenous Peoples with no monthly fee bank account now available for First Nations, Inuit and Métis and Monthly Advantage Banking account fees are waived for newcomers during their first year in Canada
🚀 WestJet and RBC introduce the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for Business, a business travel credit card that instantly provides primary cardholders with top-tier airline status
🤝 Manulife Canada and CENTUM Financial, Vancouver-based mortgage networks deepen strategic partnership to better protect Canadian homeowners
Top FinTech Updates this Week
🚀 Interac launched the Interac Youth Council to represent Canadian voices, drive meaningful impact at one of the country’s leading FinTechs, and opened applications for new members to join
🚀 Addy, Vancouver-based real estate investment platform launched "Marketplace for Alternative Investing"
🤝 SingleKey, Toronto-based residential leasing solution leverages innovative credit solutions from Equifax Canada to empower renters and landlords across Canada
🤝 Feds sign new agreement with Cohere, a Toronto-based AI firm to explore AI uses within government services
🤝 Fig, Toronto & Montreal-based digital lender dedicated to simplifying the borrowing process partners with Flagright, US-based AI-native, no-code platform for transaction monitoring and AML compliance for real-time transaction monitoring and AML compliance
🤝 Trufla, Calgary-based data intelligence for insurance brokers and Clementine, a Toronto-based RPA implementation firm break the BMS barrier with seamless email-to-activity automation
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Prospera Credit Union, a Surrey-based credit union rolls out Interac verification service in partnership with Caspian One Open Data, Canada-based open banking platform for FIs
Interac verification service is now live across the country for Prospera's members via its partnership with technology provider Caspian One Open Data. Key to this initiative is Caspian’s Open Data ecosystem which acts as “a conduit” between financial institutions and third-party service providers. | Open Banking ExpoRBC creating greater access to banking services for Indigenous Peoples with no monthly fee bank account now available for First Nations, Inuit and Métis and Monthly Advantage Banking account fees are waived for newcomers during their first year in Canada
Key features of no monthly fee Day to Day Banking that are available to Indigenous clients include: 12 debit transactions of any kind per month; No minimum balance requirement; Unlimited e-Transfers; Unlimited Virtual Visa Debit transactions (online purchases); Unlimited self-serve electronic funds transfers; Unlimited public transit debits (on participating transit systems); Free online cheque image viewing. There are also a number of other no-cost banking services available at RBC. Monthly Advantage Banking account fees are waived for newcomers during their first year in Canada, to give them a head start on getting settled. | RBCWestJet and RBC introduce the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard for Business, a business travel credit card that instantly provides primary cardholders with top-tier airline status
This business credit card promptly awards primary cardholders Silver status* with WestJet Rewards, offering them the fastest way to earn WestJet points and maximize travel rewards. As the only RBC business travel Mastercard, cardholders will also have access to a unique collection of extensive travel insurances including trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance. | RBCTD uses AI to simplify, empower, and elevate human experiences
TD view AI through a lens that enables them to empower colleagues and drive more personalized experiences so that they meet customers where they're at and where they’re going. Layer 6 – a in-house AI development and research lab that TD acquired in 2018 – has developed tools that are already enabling colleagues to harness data to help make real-time decisions that support customer financial well-being, with everything from proactive fraud alerts to personalized investing insights. Also, TD developed relationships with community and key innovation organizations – such as Vector Institute, Creative Destruction Lab, and Plug and Play – to gain insights, collaborate and share best practices on how to make our digital offerings more accessible and equitable. | TDThe Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) commits another $200 million to startups building tech for legacy industries
Consistent with its $250M predecessor, the federally-funded Crown corporation’s second Industrial Innovation Venture Fund will back companies at the Series A stage and beyond in AgTech, advanced manufacturing, and food tech, as well as startups building tech for industries like mining and oil and gas, including robotics, AI, and industrial software products. | BetaKit -
Interac launched the Interac Youth Council to represent Canadian voices, drive meaningful impact at one of the country’s leading FinTechs, and opened applications for new members to join
The Interac Youth Council is a diverse group of young leaders aged 16-24, representing various backgrounds and regions across Canada. Each member brings unique talents and perspectives to the table, working together to shape the future of Canadian fintech. Through their collaboration and insights, they play a vital role in guiding the direction of Interac and ensuring that the next generation’s voice is heard in the evolving financial landscape. | Interac -
Feds sign new agreement with Cohere, a Toronto-based AI firm to explore AI uses within government services
The memorandum of understanding (MoU), jointly signed by federal AI minister Evan Solomon and government transformation minister Joël Lightbound, formalizes the government’s intention to deploy AI tools across the public service “to enhance operations” and to bolster Canada’s “commercial capabilities in using and exporting AI.” This builds on Cohere’s previous collaboration with the feds, announced in June. That partnership focused on AI research and safety, particularly collaboration on AI research with the Canadian AI Safety Institute (CAISI). | BetaKit -
Trufla, Calgary-based data intelligence for insurance brokers and Clementine, a Toronto-based RPA implementation firm break the BMS barrier with seamless email-to-activity automation
This collaboration brings brokers a powerful solution—email-to-activity automation that captures every client message and logs it into the Broker Management System (BMS) client file through seamless Robotic Process Automation. Now, with Clementine’s flexible RPA layer, every email sent through Trufla’s platforms can be tracked—with a workaround that logs critical outbound messages directly into the BMS as activities. | Insurance-Canada.caManulife Canada and CENTUM Financial, Vancouver-based mortgage networks deepen strategic partnership to better protect Canadian homeowners
It aims to introduce new retirement savings opportunities for CENTUM agents, building on CENTUM's long-standing offerings of Manulife's flexible mortgage lending options and trusted insurance protection. Leveraging CENTUM’s trusted mortgage advice and Manulife’s expertise across Wealth and Asset Management, Manulife Bank and Affinity, this partnership helps provide comprehensive mortgage and financial protection for families and homeowners, securing their futures with confidence. | ManulifeQuickFacts, a Nova Scotia-based SaaS platform for insurance brokers expands commercial line with 51 New IRCA Auto Comparisons
51 IRCA Auto comparisons, now available across our platform with full national coverage. These comparisons are specifically designed for front-line commercial brokers, who often manage a wide variety of coverages and provider-specific rules. By clearly laying out the differences between offerings, the Auto comparisons give brokers instant access to the details they need to confidently present the right options to clients, without having to memorize every guideline or hunt for exceptions. | Insurance-Canada.caWestland Insurance, Surrey-based P&C insurance brokerage firm acquires Paul Ayotte Insurance Brokers Ltd., Saskatchewan-based personalized and comprehensive insurance solution provider
The addition of PAIB reflects Westland’s strategic focus on growing its presence in Ontario and bringing greater value to clients within their local communities. With strong national P&C solutions, bringing PAIB into the Westland family further strengthens the organization’s capabilities across Canada. | Insurance-Canada.ca -
Addy, Vancouver-based real estate investment platform launched "Marketplace for Alternative Investing"
Through the new app system, investors can hold multiple wallet cards, with each one being tied to an Exempt Market Dealer, granting access to their unique investment opportunities. Additionally, Dealers will now manage their own wallet cards, which can speed up payouts. Meanwhile, a Legacy Card will hold a user’s past investments (and manage active distributions from said past investments). Initially, market dealers Atlas One Digital Securities and Equivesto Canada have joined the platform, with more dealers slated to onboard soon, according to the FinTech. | Fintech.ca -
Fig, Toronto & Montreal-based digital lender dedicated to simplifying the borrowing process partners with Flagright, US-based AI-native, no-code platform for transaction monitoring and AML compliance for real-time transaction monitoring and AML compliance
Fig utilizes Flagright’s real-time transaction monitoring, AML screening, customer-risk scoring, AI forensics, and case management workspace to strengthen financial crime controls as it scales personal loan services across Canada. | Fintech Finance News -
Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (Ciro) shut down some of its systems last week after identifying a "cybersecurity threat"
Critical functions remained available and real-time equity market surveillance operations continue as normal. However, some personal information of member firms and their registered employees appears to have been affected by the breach. | Finextra -
CIBC Innovation Banking provides growth financing to Vector, a US-based workflow automation provider in the logistics industry
Vector helps enhance connectivity for global brands by optimizing communication and increasing transparency in logistics. Its platform helps unite suppliers, carriers, and customers in one spot, and simplifies collaboration across the supply chain. CIBC Innovation Banking’s support will enable to scale our platform, innovate faster, and deepen the value we provide across global logistics operations. | CIBC Innovation Banking -
SingleKey, Toronto-based residential leasing solution leverages innovative credit solutions from Equifax Canada to empower renters and landlords across Canada
These new solutions can help improve housing accessibility, financial literacy, and credit transparency, giving renters more control over their financial future while providing landlords with better risk management tools. SingleKey will leverage three unique Equifax solutions: Credit Health, Rental Credit History, Global Consumer Credit File. | Business Wire -
Dayforce, Toronto and US-based HR management software firm advanced privatization talks with US-based PE firm Thoma Bravo
Dayforce indicated that these talks concern a potential acquisition of Dayforce by Thoma Bravo for $70 USD per share, valuing the Toronto and New York Stock Exchange-listed technology company at more than $11 billion USD ($15.3 billion CAD). | BetaKitVendasta, Saskatoon-based business-to-business SaaS firm launches AI agents to bring “enterprise-grade” automation to small businesses
Vendasta wants to reposition itself as an AI customer acquisition and engagement platform for resource-strapped small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Vendasta wants to give those businesses access to “enterprise-grade AI automation” with its revamped platform. This includes through new AI agents that it claims can handle different SMB customer acquisition and retention tasks autonomously to help clients grow without the need to expand their headcount. | BetaKitMastercard and Alloy, a US-based identity and fraud prevention platform provider launch enhanced identity and fraud prevention solution to streamline onboarding
The new Mastercard Alloy joint onboarding solution will leverage identity verification and open finance to streamline the end-to-end onboarding process while combating fraud. The Mastercard Alloy joint onboarding solution provides a consistent identity risk strategy and onboarding experience across channels. Alloy intends to leverage Mastercard's best-in-class global digital identity verification capabilities and suite of open finance-powered account opening solutions to help financial institutions and FinTechs manage fraud and identity risk and secure account funding throughout the customer lifecycle. | PR Newswire
