Ask a VC: Maor Amar on the state of Canadian fintech

BNPL, Business of Fintech

B2C BNPL changed shopping – can international B2B BNPL players do the same for North American SMBs?

• European firms are scaling globally, with a growing focus on the US B2B BNPL market. Among them, Two is gearing up for a North American launch this year.
• Two’s product lineup remains largely the same across the markets it serves, but it aims to localize its product suite for North American customers upon launch. We explore how.

Business of Fintech, Culture and Talent, Designing new products, Financial Education, Keys to growth

You, me, and the money: How ex-Stripe Emily Luk built a financial management app for couples, Plenty

• Ex-Stripe Emily Luk created Plenty to help couples manage finances together, and the firm has recently seen 8x growth in users.
• When building Plenty Luk prioritized right talent, adapted the firm's business model to cater to its consumer demands, and is helping couples address emotional money topics through the firm's blog, newsletter, and podcast.

Banking, Business of Fintech, Creating win-win partnerships, Partner, Podcasts

“We want this to be a long term relationship, minimum 5-10 years”: Citi’s Chafic Haddad on how the bank chooses fintech clients and builds evolving partnerships

• Citi's Global Head of Fintech Sales Chafic Haddad, shares insights on the bank's fintech strategy, revealing how the bank prioritizes partnering for the long term.
• He shares how Citi enables fintechs to expand beyond home markets, plays the role of both provider and co-creator, and leverages its network across 90+ countries.

Banking, Banking as a service, Business of Fintech, Creating win-win partnerships

What BaaS companies learned the hard way in 2024 — and what’s coming next

• The BaaS landscape has been turbulent for sometime, in today's story we recap at the major hurdles like regulations and narrowing partner bank network in 2024.
• We will also take a look at how these challenges were solved by partner banks and fintechs and what strategies and trends may emerge in the industry in the new year.

Banking as a service, Business of Fintech, Embedded Finance, Keys to growth

Looking back and moving forward: How fintechs will beat back the dark clouds of 2024, capitalize on trends like AI, and build resilient firms in 2025

• Last year was full of uncertainty for the fintech sector. VC winter did not ebb and at the same time regulators closed the parameter around sectors like BaaS, making these firms hyper-focused on compliance.
• In this new year we look at how fintechs fared in 2024 and explore what shifts we can expect from these companies in this new year.