FGS and Paytechs of Canada, today co-released an in-depth report on the Canadian Paytech landscape, offering the first ever comprehensive overview of the impact and pace at which technology is driving disruptive change.

The Canadian Paytech Report provides a data-driven view on Paytech in Canada, analysis and deep insights on all participants in the payments ecosystem. The report highlights innovation in the payments space, emerging trends in Canada [and globally], and includes future considerations for tech giants, non-financial companies and traditional financial institutions.

“The Canadian financial services market is experiencing a dramatic increase of fierce competition driven by the availability of new technology. There is sustained pressure coming from consumers and business for the industry to innovate,” says Sue Britton, CEO & Founder of FGS. “With great confidence, I can say that the majority of incumbent companies, given their size, are unaware of the scale and speed of change happening around them, nor are they able to move quickly enough to respond.”

FGS and Paytechs of Canada, the newly formed trade group for Paytechs in this country, wanted to provide information about the Paytech ecosystem to create awareness, conversation and ideas for collaboration. Together they believe, Canada needs more bold moves and less incrementalism by financial institutions to continue to be viable long term and support the acceleration of innovation in Canada. The report aims to shed light on Canada’s current position in the payments ecosystem, and introduce ideas for future opportunities.

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“Payment innovation has and will continue to pave the way for FinTech adoption in Canada. Little is known about the group largely driving that innovation – Paytech,” says Ben Harrison, Partner, Head of Partnerships & Policy at Portag3 Ventures. “We recognize that a lot of great work has been done so far but there’s still work to do. This report gives us a benchmark to start tracking progress at an industry level.”

Highlights of the report include:

• The number of Paytech Companies in Canada has increased by 136% in the last 5 years (2014-2018) and by 233%  in the last 10 years (2009-2018).
  • There are 633 Paytech companies in Canada – including startups, incumbents, tech giants, non-financial entrants and challenger banks.
  • Of these 633 companies, 420 are headquartered in Canada. The rest are Canadian subsidiaries of companies headquartered elsewhere.
  • These 633 companies employ more than 80,000 people in Canada.
• The report analyzed the global tech giants with a Paytech offering and found that 12 out of the 14 tech giants analyzed have a Paytech product for the Canadian market.
• FGS research located public data on 244 deals for a total of $2.86 billion funding into Paytech companies in Canada.
• There have been 28 acquisitions of Paytech companies in Canada since 2010.
• The use of digital, demand for convenience, choice and increased need for access to financial services by all Canadians is driving new entrants to the Canadian market. There are now more than 25 Challenger Banks operating in Canada.

Overall, the objective is to inform Canadians, as well as broad financial and non financial institutions, such as retailers and telcos, on how to adapt and embrace emerging opportunities to stay competitive. FGS and Paytechs of Canada also believe this report will be incredibly helpful for those outside the payments industry, particularly key government stakeholders like the Dept of Finance, and Bank of Canada to understand changes to date and where Paytech is going.

At its core, the FGS, Paytechs of Canada report uncovers a Canadian payments market in the midst of numerous changes, all of which are indicators of positive movement towards innovation. The newly announced Paytechs of Canada is a harmonized voice of Paytechs working to improve payment experiences for Canadians by creating competition and innovation through solutions-oriented advocacy and education.

SOURCE FinTech Growth Syndicate

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