Leading Canadian point-of-sale (POS) platform Flexiti Financial raised an oversubscribed CAD$6.25 million (USD$5 million) convertible debt offering; they will use the capital to accelerate growth and improve technology; according to Flexiti Financial Founder and CEO Peter Kalen: "Retailers across Canada are looking for unique solutions to increase sales and maintain customer loyalty in a highly competitive and shifting market. Flexiti Financial's POS lending platform has become an important tool in their sales arsenal, and this investment will help us better serve our retail partners while managing our growth across Canada." Source
Alex Tapscott has raised $20 million for NextBlock Global, an investment firm investing in projects selling cryptographic tokens; he now has plans to list the company on the Toronto Stock Exchange; Tapscott is also the co-author of "Blockchain Revolution," which he wrote with his father, Don Tapscott, last year; with the IPO listing of NextBlock Global he hopes to further accelerate adoption of ICOs and blockchain. Source
Canadian securities regulators released what they call a staff notice on "cryptocurrency offerings"; Coindesk reports on the notice, "With the offerings that we have reviewed to date, we have in many instances found that the coins/tokens in question constitute securities for the purposes of securities laws, including because they are investment contracts."; this has now become a trend in the market as the US SEC released a report and Chinese regulators released a statement about how they view this emerging capital raising method; the statement also covers companies looking to set up funds and encourages a regulatory sandbox to be created. Source
VersaBank is a digital only Canadian bank and has created a cryptocurrency vault similar to a safety deposit box; the bank shared that it has signed two memorandums of understanding with a cryptocurrency exchange and a crypto fund; the new vault called VersaVault is expected to roll out in June. Source
OnDeck has been one of the leaders in online small business lending for many years. What many people may not...
The marketplace lending platform has facilitated over $7 million dollars in financing to small businesses in Canada; it currently has over 9,500 investors; Auto-Lend will allow investors to automate investing on the platform through pre-set or customized strategies. Source
Finn.AI provides personal banking and financial management services powered by artificial intelligence; it links with banks to offer customers advice and communicates information through a range of channels including Amazon Alexa, Facebook Messenger and WeChat; Jake Tyler provides details on the company and reports on its advantages through bank partnerships. Source
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has published their annual report sharing that they are monitoring P2P lending, digital crowdfunding and online advisors; to date the OSC has supported 38 fintech companies with the OSC LaunchPad; the LaunchPad was created for businesses that don’t fit neatly under existing regulation. Source
Under the pilot project in partnership with Lending Loop the Ontario government will be providing $3 million in loans to...
TransUnion’s innovation lab is entering its third year and is now planning to expand in Canada and India; participants get...