2026 Canadian Finance Summit

Rewiring Canadian Finance: Canada’s investing landscape is being reshaped by higher-for-longer rates, new product wrappers, and AI-driven personalization. In this fireside, Som Seif will share what innovations actually matter (vs. hype), how Canadian portfolios evolve over the next decade, and the tradeoffs between broader access, transparency, and risk.

Stablecoins vs Real-Time Payments: Will Canada’s Real-Time Rail define the 24-hour economy, or will tokenised money become the preferred settlement layer? This debate focuses on liquidity economics, compliance programmability, cross-border efficiency, and finality. The future may not be either-or, but the commercial implications of each are profound.

How Fintech Programs Get Off the Ground: Behind every successful card, lending, deposit or payments program is a complex partnership between fintechs, banks and infrastructure providers. This session explores how products actually get launched and scaled, from sponsorship and compliance to operations, economics and long-term program management.

Turning Analytics into Action: Financial institutions have invested heavily in data, analytics, and AI, yet turning those insights into timely, relevant customer action remains a significant hurdle. This session explores the gap between technical capability and real-world execution across personalization, acquisition, and engagement. Our panelists will discuss how leading organizations are overcoming constraints in technology, compliance, and operating models to move beyond the hype and deliver meaningful customer experiences.

Rewriting the Rules of Credit: The traditional bureau score was built for a thinner-data economy. Today’s lenders deploy cash-flow analytics, alternative data, AI-assisted underwriting, and consortium intelligence. Speed has increased. So have losses in unexpected tiers. This panel examines how to expand access without underwriting illusion and how collections and recoveries are evolving in parallel.

Fireside Chat: In this fireside chat, Tangerine’s CEO will share her perspective on the future of banking. The conversation will cover changing customer expectations, where innovation is reshaping the industry, and how banks can balance speed, simplicity, and trust in the years ahead.

Where AI Is Actually Delivering ROI: Artificial intelligence is replacing manual layers across servicing, disputes, underwriting, compliance review, and fraud operations. The hype cycle has passed. The economics remain. This panel examines where AI is reducing cost and risk, where it is failing, and what it takes to move from pilot to production.

Model Risk and Governance in an AI-Native Institution: AI systems now generate decisions, escalate cases, and draft communications. Regulators are sharpening expectations around explainability, third-party model oversight, and documentation. Boards are asking new questions. What does defensible AI governance look like in practice?

Embedded Finance and the Fight for Distribution: Financial services increasingly appear inside platforms that are not banks. Embedded lending, cards, and payments promise scale, but margins compress and ownership blurs. Who owns the customer? Who carries the risk? And does embedded finance create distribution leverage or channel conflict?

The Quiet Reinvention of Treasury: Corporate treasury is being rebuilt around APIs, virtual accounts, and 24/7 liquidity tools. Real-time settlement and programmable money are collapsing the distinction between payments and cash management. The back office is becoming strategic.

Fraud in the Age of Generative AI: Deepfake voices, synthetic identities, and automated social engineering are industrialising fraud. At the same time, AI-driven defence promises detection at machine speed. This session explores the AI-versus-AI arms race for financial security.