Ontario’s financial services regulator (FSRA) and Fintech Cadence have announced a new partnership to foster fintech innovation in Ontario.
This one-year partnership is supported “through FSRA’s Innovation Office.”
It will empower and support fintech startups “to identify opportunities and address barriers to help them bring innovative financial products and services to the province while maintaining consumer protection.”
Stephanie Appave, Director of FSRA’s Innovation Office:
“We are here to help foster responsible innovation in Ontario’s financial services sector. In this highly competitive global economy, it is essential for regulators, like FSRA, to understand regulatory barriers and challenges to innovation that are being faced. This partnership is a step forward in ensuring that we remain accessible and connected to the innovation ecosystem.”
The collaborative efforts between FSRA and Fintech Cadence “bring together FSRA’s unique vision as a regulator supporting innovation and Fintech Cadence’s financial technology sector-specific expertise.”
Layial El-Hadi, Executive Director at Fintech Cadence:
“It has long been in Fintech Cadence’s DNA to work with regulators to support innovation and provide connectivity between regulators and founders looking to bring solutions to the market. This is why a partnership with FSRA is a significant development and a win for the fintech innovation ecosystem. It is with pleasure that we can work with FSRA to ensure startups and innovative products are built responsibly. We look forward to seeing these kinds of partnerships grow in the future and regulators being part of the support ecosystem across all fintech verticals and regions.” –
The partnership additionally provides an opportunity “for fintech startups to learn more about and access FSRA’s Test and Learn Environment (TLE).”
TLE projects are custom designed to :facilitate experimental business activities, which would typically be constrained by sector regulations.”
TLEs provide a real-market environment and safe parameters, “affording innovators a limited-time opportunity to test their products or services confidently while ensuring consumer protections are in place.”
FSRA continues to work on behalf of all stakeholders, “including consumers, to ensure financial safety, fairness, and choice for everyone.”
Fintech Cadence is a non-profit organization established in 2017 that is dedicated to the Canadian fintech community “by providing multiple initiatives from coast to coast.”
Their mission is to advance the financial system “for the better through a three-tier mandate of educating fintech talent, supporting early-stage startups, and fostering collaboration amongst Canada’s fintech ecosystem of financial institutions, VCs, incubators, accelerators and universities.”
