BCTIA and PayPal Canada partner to launch Vancouver FinTech cluster

City of Vancouver

PayPal Canada is collaborating with BCTIA to launch a new FinTech cluster, which the partners hope will establish Vancouver’s first formalized FinTech hub. The hub would include programming to support entrepreneurs in areas like emerging payments, alternative lending, peer-to-peer money transfers, and crypto-currencies.

“There has been a quiet, natural growth in Vancouver’s FinTech cluster for several years.”
– Bill Tam, BCTIA

“We are incredibly excited about this opportunity,” said Bill Tam, BCTIA president and CEO. “There has been a quiet, natural growth in Vancouver’s FinTech cluster for several years, mostly under-the-radar, and through our collaboration with PayPal, we will begin to showcase the possibilities that exist for Vancouver-based technology to significantly disrupt the financial industry as we know it today.”

The BCTIA has made strides in fulfilling its mission of growing the tech community in BC. In July, BCTIA established the HyperGrowth second-stage revenue accelerator program, which included Rentmoola in its first cohort. At the same time, startup-friendly PayPal already set foot in Vancouver with a Control partnership.

“The BCTIA is the right choice of a strategic partner to help us achieve our goal of supporting startups to create powerful digital commerce experiences,” said Alexander Peh, head of market development and mobile at PayPal Canada. “Working together to formalize a FinTech cluster in Vancouver is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen our relationships in BC. We look forward to energizing start-ups in BC by offering them mentorship, giving them direct feedback on how to make money and connecting them with successful start-ups and industry leaders.”

Jessica Galang

Jessica Galang

Freelance tech writer. Former BetaKit News Editor.

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