Addressing Canada’s speed of financial innovation

We have a podcast double feature for you this week, featuring two different conversations from the recent Elevate FinTech stage, which was programmed by BetaKit.

Combined, I think they provide a pulse check on the state of financial innovation in Canada, and where it intersects with competition, government policy, and the nation’s underbanked. For both conversations, it seems like the key metric is speed.

“Regrettably, I don’t think we’re very good, to be honest, at collaborating with FinTechs, or collaborating with the private sector more broadly on solving for policy issues.”

Julien Brazeau
Department of Finance

First up, we have my fireside chat with Koho CEO Daniel Eberhard and chief banking officer Peter Aceto about the FinTech scaleup’s journey to becoming a licensed bank. The pair lays out what that regulatory process looks like, as well as the benefits for the company and its customers (note the promise regarding savings rates). 

But there are risks as well. If you’ve ever heard Eberhard speak before, you know he cares a lot about product velocity. Koho has split itself into banking and tech divisions in the hopes of getting the benefits of both without a drag on the other. Pay attention to how much time and attention Eberhard is willing to give the banking license process, and what might make the company pull out.

Next up is a conversation moderated by BetaKit’s Josh Scott on financial inclusion and the barriers to it in Canada. This panel features some familiar Canadian FinTech names like Borrowell co-founder and COO Eva Wong, and Manzil founder and CEO Mohamad Sawwaf, but the special guest might be Julien Brazeau from the Department of Finance, who was in “violent agreement” over some of the issues those founders noted about Canada’s speed to innovation. 

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Brazeau notes during the panel that the original intention with open banking was to be a “fast follower” on developments in other countries, and six years is far too long for anyone to consider fast. When challenged by Sawwaf on the role the feds could or should be playing in aiding access to modern financial services, Brazeau provided the quote at the top of this article.

Admitting you have a problem is the first step in solving the problem, and it’s much better than the zombie discourse found on other corners of the internet. But how to solve it, then? 

Let’s dig in.

The BetaKit Podcast is presented by Uber Canada: driving positive change for riders, drivers, and communities across Toronto.

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The BetaKit Podcast is hosted by Douglas Soltys & Rob Kenedi. Produced & edited by Darian MacDonald. Feature image courtesy Elevate.