This week, we’re talking with Canada’s newest fintech unicorn, Koho.
Earlier this year, Koho raised $130 million CAD as part of its quest to move from challenger bank to an actual bank.
“I think that we will look back on prediction markets the same way we look back on altcoins and … NFTs.”
The company is nearing the end of its 5-year journey to secure a Schedule 1 banking licence, which CEO Daniel Eberhard claims will help Koho offer more competitive lending and savings rates to everyday Canadians.
With the company having recently achieved one major milestone and on the precipice of another, it seemed like a good time to check in. And this convo is wide-ranging, covering the increasing amount of international competition flooding into the Canadian financial space, the lack of participation in new payments infrastructure from the Big Six banks, and all the new features Koho has launched or plans to launch in its ever-expanding portfolio—including maybe a Koho telco?
We also talked about one feature Koho does not plan to launch: prediction markets.
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To Eberhard, prediction markets are techwashing what amounts to gambling, which could lead to a bunch of negative downstream social effects. It’s a principled stance you’d hope to see from someone about to run a bank, and it’s not the only candid moment Eberhard offers. I prompted him to reflect on lessons learned from this decade-plus journey, and Koho’s CEO and founder had a lot to share.
So what has Daniel Eberhard learned as Koho approaches the end of the beginning?
Let’s dig in.
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Recorded and edited by Toronto Podcasts.