Open banking / fintech niche in Canada In Canada, one niche segment might lie with people who have recently settled in the country. Canada has one of the world’s highest immigration rates and welcomed about 500,000 people in 2022. Of these, 60 percent were between 20 and 39 years old—the age group more likely to use fintech products. Many immigrants also come from Europe and countries such as China and India, where digital banking is more common, so they may be more open to using innovative banking offerings than many Canadians. As one fintech leader pointed out, “In other countries with more digitization, people no longer use cheques. Here, we still have huge volumes of them.” (In 2023, 28 percent of total Canadian payments values were classified as paper-initiated payment items, such as cheques.)
Fintechs might also find success in offering financial services that often are not available to new immigrants, such as credit facilities, or setting up an onboarding process that makes it easier for those who are new to the country to open an account. Lack of an established credit record or address can complicate newcomers’ access to financial services.