Weekly FinTech & Financial News
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April 13-17, 2026
Top FinTech Updates this Week
🤝 Interac and Kijiji, Toronto-based P2P marketplace collaborated to introduce Interac Verified solution to the Kijiji platform, giving users a secure, trusted way to verify who they are before they message, post an item for sale, meet or make a purchase
🤝 Wealthsimple, a Toronto-based wealthtech platform partners with X (formerly Twitter) for direct stock trading via social media
💰 Flora Fertility, Calgary and US-based fertility insurance platform provider, raised USD$5M in seed funding
💼 AppDirect, US-based FinTech which helps firms buy, sell, and manage recurring tech services acquired PartnerStack, Toronto-based partner relationship management (PRM) software and a network of business-to-business (B2B) partners provider
💼 Aryza, a global provider of E2E AI-enabled automation software across the credit & debt lifecycle, acquired Umbrella Tech, Toronto-based voice-based agentic AI platform for the financial services industry
💼 Cohere, Toronto-based enterprise AI platform is in talks to merge with German AI player Aleph Alpha GmbH
🚀 Sezzle, US-based BNPL provider launched its Virtual Card in Canada, powered by Marqeta, the global modern card issuing platform
🚀 Capfluence, Toronto-based growth platform for financial advisors officially launched in Canada
🌟 DoBusiness.com, Vaughan-based enterprise banking software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider received PSP membership from Payments Canada
🌟 Canada’s Real-Time Rail progresses through advanced testing, participant onboarding, and operational readiness in 2026 Q2
Top Financial Institutions Updates this Week
💰 RBC plans to deploy up to $1B in the coming years to bolster investments in Canadian companies and also plans to launch a growth fund to help companies scale in Canada
🚀 CIBC launched a new digital tool designed to make it easier for Canadians with mortgages coming up for renewal
🚀 Scotiabank launched Scotia Intelligence, a unified enterprise approach designed to accelerate the Bank's AI evolution and equip employees with secure, scalable data and AI capabilities
🚀 Rogers Bank, Toronto-based banking platform launched Rogers Red Partner, an integrated point-of-sale (POS) and credit card program
🤝 BMO partnered with Quantum Industry Canada (QIC) and the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE), strengthening the bank's engagement with leading quantum research, industry and policy organizations
🤝 FUTR, Toronto-based AI-powered consumer finance platform and EQIBank, Roseau-based digital bank entered in a binding letter of intent and launched AI-Agent-native digital banking joint venture
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Kijiji chose to work with Interac because of the trust Interac Verified solutions already carry in the Canadian market – built on the same network that financial institutions and governments rely on to help verify identity. Kijiji users with accounts at participating financial institutions can verify their identity through Interac® verification service. Later this year, a second path is expected to become available, giving users the choice of document verification with liveness checks against accepted forms of government-issued ID. | Interac
The Amex Agentic Commerce Experiences (ACE)™ Developer Kit is a framework that provides technical specifications to bring American Express-issued Cards and Membership value into AI-powered interactions with trust and control. Designed for flexibility and interoperability with existing and emerging protocols, the ACE Developer Kit will enable intent-driven transactions with end-to-end visibility across the commerce lifecycle through Amex’s closed-loop network. And, Amex Agent Purchase Protection, is an industry-first commitment to protect Card Members from registered agent error, as it build the foundation for agentic commerce to scale with transparency, accountability and confidence. | Fintech Finance News
The approval of DoBusiness.com reflects the increasingly diverse makeup of Payments Canada membership. The inclusion of specialized enterprise SaaS providers alongside existing members is a clear sign of the evolving payment landscape. | Payments.ca
In Q1, we successfully completed user acceptance testing (UAT). In February, we launched a series of non-functional testing that continues through Q2 and currently pushing the system to its limits in three testing areas: Performance: Ensuring the speed and scalability of the RTR to handle millions of transactions within seconds | Resilience: Proving that the RTR can maintain continuity even under the most adverse and unexpected scenarios | Security: Validating the system stability, safety and long-term resilience to meet Canadians’ expectations of a trusted and secure payment system. | Payments.ca
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It enables users to get a personalized estimate and special rate in minutes, showing what their payments will be should they choose to switch their mortgage to CIBC, while providing a seamless self-serve experience in just a few easy steps. The digital switch tool is available to all Canadians on cibc.com and provides an estimate within minutes without affecting one's credit score. | CIBC
Through its collaborations with QIC and CQE, BMO is participating in early‑stage, structured ecosystem partnerships focused on knowledge‑sharing, workforce development and dialogue across academia, industry and policy communities. These engagements support BMO's long‑standing approach to personalizing client experiences, augmenting team expertise and process automation, while contributing to the emergence of applications of quantum technologies that will impact the delivery of financial services. | BMO
Issued in October 2025, the purpose of the bond is to help drive success and growth for Indigenous-owned businesses and Indigenous communities. The Indigenous Bond is issued pursuant to BMO's Framework, which aligns to BMO's Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, for a thriving economy, a sustainable future, and stronger communities.The Framework defines eligible assets across eleven green, four social, and three transition categories and each category contributes to advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and solving global challenges across sustainability and economic empowerment. | BMO
Scotia Intelligence unifies the capabilities, platforms and governance needed to deliver AI securely and at scale for employees and clients globally. Scotia Navigator brings at scale Assistive AI capabilities for employees and is integrated into the Bank's workplace to enhance day-to-day work. It supports more informed decision-making, faster development lifecycles and enables teams to build and deploy custom AI assistants, including agents purpose-built for research and analytics, within a secure, governed environment. | Scotiabank
RBC did not provide further details ahead of the launch of the fund, but it will be similar to a venture capital fund alongside the direct equity investments that RBC already makes in Canadian companies. The bank plans to expand RBCx – its technology and innovation banking unit led by former OMERS Ventures managing partner Sid Paquette – from largely a banking and debt financing lending facility to include venture capital investments. | The Globe and Mail
The Canadian-first program enables small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to save thousands of dollars on transaction fees and attract and retain more customers through accelerated cash back. The Rogers Red Partner program includes: Market-leading savings with Rogers Red POS; Extra cash back for customers; Discounts on Rogers Sports & Media self-serve radio and digital audio advertising; Increase customer awareness; Rogers business customers receive up to 3% cash back value and Rogers Red World Elite Business Mastercard cardholders will gain peace of mind with exclusive access to 24/7 legal advice and Cyber and ID Theft restoration services through My Friendly Lawyer and Cyberscout. | Rogers
The proposed transaction combines FUTR's private, consumer-controlled AI Agent App, secure data vault, and the FUTR Foundation's FUTR Token rewards engine with EQI's global banking infrastructure, payment rails, lending, custody, treasury, and digital asset trading infrastructure. Under the proposed structure, FUTR is expected to progressively expand its core capabilities adding digital banking functionality including multi-currency accounts, card products, yield, stablecoin, crypto lending, and digital asset trading into the FUTR Agent App, subject to applicable regulatory approvals across relevant jurisdictions. The Joint Venture is also expected to enable the broader rollout of the FUTR Agent and associated data vault and rewards solutions through EQIBank's client ecosystem. | Newsfile Corp.
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The round was led by ManchesterStory, with participation from Slauson and Co., TruStage Ventures and BDC Capital, Marathon Fund, Adara Venture Capital and angel investors. The company intends to use the funds to expand access to reproductive care across the U.S. market, with Canada to follow. | FinSMEs
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Revolut Business launches GlobalHire to accelerate international expansion for UK businesses
GlobalHire is a new all-in-one platform integrates Employer of Record (EoR) services directly into the Revolut Business ecosystem, enabling UK-based businesses to hire, onboard and pay international talent without the traditional barriers to hypergrowth. GlobalHire enables fast hiring globally, moving candidates from contract to onboarded in just 2-5 days. | Revolut
Starting to roll out to customers across the UK from today, AIR moves beyond the traditional chatbot. It acts as an intelligent assistant, deeply embedded in Revolut's ecosystem. Key highlights include: Intelligent financial management; Comprehensive lifestyle companion and Uncompromising privacy. | Revolut
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It guides users to make a trade on Wealthsimple by clicking on the stock-ticker symbol or “Cashtag” as mentioned. The feature, is called a “pilot integration,” came alongside a broader product launch of Cashtags, which allows users to track financial data for stocks and crypto tokens. For existing Wealthsimple customers with the app downloaded, clicking on a Cashtag (a trading symbol beginning with the price tag symbol) will redirect them to their Wealthsimple app. Non-Wealthsimple users will be taken to the app’s sign-up page. | BetaKit
The equity round saw participation from the Broadbent Group, Good & Well, AgeTech Capital, Deokali Capital, Eventi Capital Partners, and Flow Capital. Common Wealth plans to use its Series A capital to expand distribution, invest in product development—including AI—and grow its team. | BetaKit
The fund will focus on financing sustainability initiatives, such as the energy transition, economic resilience and the development of more inclusive infrastructure, as well as social projects that promote community well-being and reduce inequality. Guided by a clear mandate, the fund’s responsible portfolio management team will focus its investment decisions on issuers whose practices and commitments are aligned with the fund’s objective. The fund will draw on a sustainability assessment framework based on leading market standards to identify investable sustainable initiatives. This framework makes it possible to verify the credibility of issuers and the quality of financed projects. | Desjardins
Capfluence, Toronto-based growth platform for financial advisors officially launched in Canada
Capfluence is the first end-to-end business development platform built specifically for Canadian financial advisors. It is already working with some of the largest wealth management firms, banks, and insurance companies in the country. Capfluence is relied on by firms and teams across Canada to grow their books of business, increase assets under management, attract top advisors, and build a trusted brand. | LinkedIn
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The acquisition significantly expands Aryza's Agentic Collections & Recoveries intelligence, integrating human-like conversations into its existing conversational AI and digital collections platform, Aryza Engage. Featuring hyper-realistic voices and advanced speech analytics, Umbrella Tech enables organisations to automate collections, customer service, and compliance journeys with accuracy, speed, and multilingual support in over 100 languages worldwide. | PR Newswire
This launch enables eligible Sezzle Canada shoppers to use Sezzle at participating merchants, both online and in-store, unlocking new growth opportunities for merchants. The Sezzle Virtual Card provides retailers with a seamless way to capture incremental sales by meeting consumers wanting to pay over time at checkout whether on mobile, online, or in-store with no additional integration required. | Globe Newswire
This partnership will provide access to capital to more than 202,000 Canadian small to medium sized businesses (SMBs), offering fast, flexible revenue-based financing from Liberis through an easy-to-navigate application that starts within the Elavon merchant portal. With minimal paperwork and rapid disbursement, SMBs can secure the funds they need to support growth, manage cash flow, or invest in key initiatives like inventory, marketing, and expansion. The solution is powered by Liberis with pre-population, enabling Elavon to offer a branded funding experience directly through its merchant platform. SMBs in Canada can benefit from: Fast, flexible funding options; Access to capital for eligible small businesses, leveraging Elavon's merchant data; Fast application and disbursement with minimal paperwork; Seamless integration within Elavon's existing merchant portal and Funding for key business needs including inventory, tax payments, marketing, expansion, and cash flow. | Business Wire
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With a focus on early-stage enterprise startups, Mistral already has a track record of investing in wild rose country, including investments in Calgary’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered architecture platform Bidaya AI and academic admissions coaching platform Youthfully. The firm has staff in Toronto, British Columbia, and the Montréal area. | BetaKit
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Citing government and industry sources, the German government would be willing to become a key customer of a combined company, part of a push to provide digital public services. Germany and Canada were already collaborating closely in the field. | Reuters
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AppDirect says the deal will help it create “the unified subscription commerce platform for partner-led growth.” The strategic acquisition unites PartnerStack’s network of more than 138,000 B2B partners and PRM offering with AppDirect’s marketplace infrastructure, giving businesses a single platform to launch, run, and scale partner-led growth. | BetaKit
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