Kirk Simpson, Peter Carrescia team up to raise $6.5 million CAD with an idea to disrupt the digital identity space
OMERS, Wittington, and Round13 have all backed Qui Identity.
FinTech
FreshBooks secures $100 million USD debt facility from BMO, J.P. Morgan
With fresh funds, FreshBooks wants to continue global expansion, strategic acquisitions.
ZayZoon raises $25.5 million to expand its earned wage access business across the US
ZayZoon’s earned wage access model never caught on in Canada, but took off south of the border.
QuadFi uses AI to make it easier for Canadian newcomers to obtain financing
The B Corp aims to give immigrants a boost with low-interest loans.
F|T: The FinTech Times – Clearco, Coinsquare cut staff as Portage launches new late-stage fund
Plus: Caisse needs to explain its risky bet on crypto lender Celsius.
Clearco cuts a quarter of staff amid “significant headwinds”
Clearco called the cuts “necessary” and “prudent.”
BC securities regulator alleges Blok Technologies, former execs misrepresented share sale in 2018
BCSC claims Blok violated the Securities Act.
Portage Ventures rolls out new late-stage FinTech fund, aims to raise up to $1 billion USD
Amid downturn, Portage sees chance to fund FinTech firms reluctant to take valuation hit.
Coinsquare lays off 24 percent of staff amid turbulent crypto market, shifted focus to regulation
The cuts follow hiring sprees that took place across the crypto space last year.
Crypto custodian Balance completes SOC 2 audit to increase customer confidence
Balance joins growing list of crypto firms becoming SOC compliant.
F|T: The FinTech Times – The bottom fell out of Canadian FinTech
Plus: Former Coinbase manager arrested for insider trading.
The bottom fell out of Canadian FinTech funding in Q2 2022
Q2 2022 saw a dramatic 70 percent drop in FinTech funding YoY.
Borrowell launches credit building program for renters
The program allows users to self-report rental payments.
F|T: The FinTech Times – A Caisse of bankruptcy
Plus: Stripe cuts internal valuation by 28 percent.
EQ Bank latest bank to join Flinks’ open banking environment
Another bank signs an open banking deal with a FinTech firm as Canada’s system is underway.