Canada’s FinTech market presents founders with a compelling mix of opportunities and challenges. Navigating this landscape can be demanding, but once entrenched, founders are met with an exciting wave of partnership and product opportunities across a number of sectors.
Maria Riesenberg, Vice President of Market Development at Mastercard in Canada, has a front-row seat to this. In her role, she helps FinTechs and startups navigate an ecosystem that reveals its complexity fast.
“We’re cultivating a network where FinTechs can collaborate, learn, and grow.”
Maria Riesenberg, Mastercard
“The Canadian FinTech ecosystem is a great environment for founders to see their ideas come to life, and the number of success stories are growing,” Riesenberg said. “However, it’s so important for founders to do their research to get a clear picture of the differences between Canada and other markets to understand what will work and what will need to change.”
Being a strategic partner has become a core focus for Mastercard. Through programs like Start Path, the global payments technology company has built a model that’s grounded in providing access, flexibility, and deep operational support to growing FinTech companies.
As regulatory shifts create new opportunities for FinTech innovation, Mastercard has become a trusted advisor for many of the top companies innovating within the Canadian financial services landscape.
The proof is in the FinTechs that brought them in early. Companies like Koho, Neo Financial, VoPay, and Olive have all worked with Mastercard not just as a network, but as a key advisor in the trenches.
Scaling what feels simple
The premise behind Kitchener-Waterloo-based Olive was simple: make giving, saving, and investing a passive outcome of everyday spending. Every time a registered credit card is used, a small amount can be redirected toward a cause, an account, or a future goal.
Olive powers the backend that lets banks and brands embed savings, investing, and giving into people’s daily transactions. The concept had potential, but to grow beyond its early prototypes, the startup needed access to core payments infrastructure, and an institutional partner willing to open that door.
“Olive’s team knew that to truly scale, they needed to work directly with the source of the technology they needed to power their products,” said Riesenberg. “And for them, that solution was our team at Mastercard and the expertise, products and solutions we bring to the table.”
Start Path, Mastercard’s program for high-potential startups, became that entry point.
Olive was one of the first Canadian companies accepted into the program. The early focus was on enabling users to link their cards and interact directly with Mastercard’s systems. But the collaboration quickly expanded into new products and channels within both Olive and Mastercard that hadn’t existed before.
“Our partnership with Mastercard was critical in creating a foundation we could grow from,” said Dave Beaton, CEO, Olive. “The Mastercard team ensured we were set up for success across the business. Being able to establish senior-level connections within Mastercard early in our growth journey helped us break new ground in product innovation we otherwise would not have been able to.”
Through Start Path, FinTech companies gain access to Mastercard’s extensive network of partners, as well as mentorship, co-innovation opportunities, and tailored support to accelerate their growth.
Olive also gained proximity to Mastercard’s technical teams and product planning frameworks that would otherwise be out of reach.
The partnership gave Olive access to Mastercard’s global network, which helped the startup evolve its card-linked B2B engagement platform into a scalable product with national reach. Olive has since expanded into the US market by offering its model through multiple channel partners each focused on unique verticals.
Growth needs allies
With Olive, Mastercard supported them as they shaped their infrastructure and advised on product go-to-market strategies. According to Riesenberg, this is central to Mastercard’s approach to co-creation.
“We look at each partner’s goals and customize the solutions we bring to the table,” said Riesenberg. “Whether it’s through developing tailored card programs, leveraging Mastercard Move for seamless money movement, or offering support on cybersecurity and fraud protection, our goal is to ensure each partnership is mutually beneficial.”
That approach played out again in Mastercard’s work with Vancouver-based VoPay. “Co-creation truly meant rolling up our sleeves and deeply understanding their process to see where we could provide the most value,” Riesenberg said. The two companies developed a streamlined platform for cross-border and domestic transactions that sped up global payments for their customers while building long-term value into the infrastructure.
These hands-on partnerships have become more critical as the FinTech landscape shifts, Riesenberg said. Technologies that once marked the edge of experimentation, like AI, embedded finance, and real-time payments, are becoming baseline expectations. At the same time, regulation is tightening and capital is harder to secure.
“While the path may be more complex, these challenges also present unique opportunities for those willing to navigate them,” Riesenberg said.
By embedding with product teams and pressure-testing new ideas in-market, Mastercard wants to help Canadian startups build for scale, while evolving its own platform in the process.
Further to equipping FinTechs with the right resources from within their walls, Riesenberg says that Mastercard also facilitates connections between FinTechs. Enabling connections within the community and providing FinTechs access to new partners has proven to be a powerful tool and has become central to how Mastercard views its role in moving Canada’s FinTech ecosystem forward.
“We’re cultivating a network where FinTechs can collaborate, learn, and grow.”
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If your company is looking to scale operations and accelerate expansion, learn more about Mastercard’s FinTech programs and resources.
Feature image provided by Mastercard.