In Canada, a handful of institutions control the financial services infrastructure, the rails and the rules. That structure provided us the stability we have today, but has stifled growth and innovation, limiting consumer choice. Canadaâs financial backbone is something we should be proud of. Its stabilityâmade up of well-regulated institutions, strong capital requirements and a cautious approach to riskâgot us through the 2008 crisis, the pandemic and more recent geopolitical shifts relatively unscathed.
It is also part of the reason we are now paying the price with a slow pace of change.
Our once-innovative financial sector, home to the worldâs first ATM and pioneers of debit and e-transfer, is starting to lag. Real-time payments remain a promise, not a reality.
Canadaâs financial innovation is stalling, and the longer we delay, the less we grow.
Stability at the cost of progress
For emerging FinTechs and startups, the hurdles are high: slow onboarding, unclear regulations, and limited access to core banking functions.
As a result, companies like Zum Rails, a Canadian FinTech founded in Montreal, expanded successfully into the US thanks to a more responsive regulatory environment and agile banking ecosystem. After raising C$10.5 million in a Series A round in 2024, CEO Miles Schwartz relocated the company to Miami in September 2024 to lead its U.S. expansion. He cited a âlarger, more competitive FinTech landscape and banks eager to innovateâ as key advantages the U.S. offers over Canadaâs more centralized banking system, which is dominated by five major banks. These factors made scaling toward âunicornâ status far more feasible in the U.S. market.Â
As a technology executive, I believe FinTechs deserve banking partners who are disciplined, transparent, and committed to the long term.
Those who exist to provide regulated banking infrastructure and access to the rails, with no channel conflict. Weâre not trying to own the consumer relationship; weâre here to support the innovators doing things differently, often in areas the bigger players overlook.
This includes challenger banks, payments startups, wealthtechs, and insurtechs, to name a few. What they all have in common is a need for a partner who understands both innovation and compliance and can help navigate the balance between the two.
Canadaâs regulatory system is principle-based: weâre given broad guardrails, but not necessarily a detailed map.
We need to engage regulators proactively, not reactively. We canât wait to be told whatâs allowed: we need to ask, clarify, and collaborate. Thatâs how we earned trust and maintained a strong compliance-focused relationship.
What needs to change
If we want to build a more modern, competitive financial system in Canada, we can start by accelerating payment modernization, continuing to broaden infrastructure access, fixing ambiguity in the regulatory framework, enabling open banking, and pushing for more collaboration between banks, FinTechs, and regulators.
A large part of this acceleration falls to government, and it is encouraging to see legislation on the next phase of the open banking framework included in the forthcoming federal budget. Itâs crucial that industry players work with government to keep momentum going and catch Canada up with the global market.
FinTech isnât fringe. Itâs core infrastructure, and our economy canât afford to keep treating it like an experiment.
This isnât just about faster payments or better apps; itâs about creating a financial system that reflects how all people live and work today. Itâs about giving consumers more choice, making businesses more productive, and supporting Canadian innovation so it can thrive right here at home.
The bottom line
The future of finance in Canada wonât be built by one big bank or one shiny app. Itâll be built by an ecosystem, one that fosters and values collaboration over competition, agility over bureaucracy, and outcomes over headlines.
Weâre proud to play our part in that system. Weâre proud to work with innovators. And weâre committed to pushing the conversation forward, because Canada shouldnât be playing catch-up.
The idea is simple: to power the next wave of established financial institutions in Canada and doing so by building the infrastructure, partnerships, and trust frameworks that allow them (the traditional players) to evolve without losing what got them to where they are now (stability and security). Weâre not innovating just to shake things up, weâre building a space where banks and credit unions can feel confident trying something newâand stay connected to Canadiansâ real needs.
The future of finance isnât about breaking what works, itâs about expanding on it so we can deliver the innovative and scalable financial products that Canadians need to succeed in a digital world.
John Landry is President and CEO of Peoples Group, bringing 28 years of international financial services leadership across banking sectors in the U.S., Canada, Australasia, and Europe. Founded in 1985, Peoples Group is a trusted Canadian financial institution that works alongside challenger banks, FinTechs, brokers, and merchants to foster a more dynamic and competitive financial ecosystem.