Canada’s fintech story is entering a new chapter.
After a decade defined by challenger banks and consumer apps, the next wave of innovation is happening deeper in the stack — in compliance, infrastructure, automation, and the financial plumbing most users never see. These companies aren’t trying to replace banks. They’re trying to make the system work better.
The startups below reflect that shift. Some are building tools for finance teams under pressure to do more with less. Others are rethinking how money moves across borders, how risk is managed, or how individuals organize their financial lives. All are early, privately held, and operating in spaces where small product wins can unlock outsized impact.
Here are 10 Canadian fintech startups to watch in 2026.
Chimoney
Founded in 2020 by Uchi Uchibeke, Toronto’s Chimoney is building the first passport and payment infrastructure for AI agents and humans. Originally focused on cross-border payments, Chimoney pivoted in late 2025 to address the AI agent economy, providing licensed wallets, W3C digital identity, and policy controls for autonomous agents and Users.
As one of the few companies with both Canadian MSB and Bank of Canada PSP licenses, Chimoney offers a regulated financial infrastructure integrated with Interledger Protocol with support for 20+ stablecoins. Positioned at the intersection of payments, identity, and AI, Chimoney is one of Canada’s most forward-thinking fintechs to watch in 2026.
Finofo
Finofo is an AI-native accounts payable automation platform built around documents rather than ERP dependencies. The platform ingests and understands invoices, purchase orders, receipts, packing slips, and supporting documents the moment they arrive, then automatically classifies, matches, routes approvals, posts to accounting systems, and pays vendors.
Headquartered in Calgary, Finofo was co-founded by Prateek Sodhi and Charles Maranda in 2023 and has raised $5M to date, including a pre-seed round in August 2023 and a $3.3M seed round in June 2025. As mid-market finance teams face growing pressure to scale with leaner teams, Finofo’s document-first, AI-driven approach positions it as a challenger to legacy AP systems heading into 2026.
FriedmannAI
Toronto-based FriedmannAI is an AI-native financial planning platform built for advisors operating in regulated environments. The platform helps financial and insurance advisors model, visualize, and explain complex decisions across retirement, insurance, tax, corporate, and estate planning, while maintaining transparency and auditability.
Founded by CEO Michael Dutra, a 15-year wealth management veteran, and CTO Ameen Neami, an experienced engineering architect, FriedmannAI embeds compliance features such as audit trails and structured reasoning directly into its workflows. As regulatory scrutiny and client expectations rise, the company is positioning itself as an AI-first planning platform for advisors heading into 2026.
Karla
Karla is building an autonomous, privacy-first money co-pilot for busy professionals seeking financial peace of mind in less than two minutes a day. Founded by Basil Eleftheriades, Robin Gray, and Winston Wu, Karla has grown to over 10,000 users in under a year, helping them manage spending, saving, investing, and credit—without micromanagement.
As financial anxiety continues to affect Canadians’ well-being, Karla delivers a real-time financial digest directly to users’ phones, functioning as a personal CFO in your pocket and easing financial stress as demand for trusted guidance grows.
Vancouver’s Opal provides modern corporate cards and spend-management tools designed for high-growth companies. The platform gives finance teams real-time visibility into spending, automated controls, and streamlined reporting.
Founded in 2024 by Alex Steele and backed by serial fintech entrepreneur Ian Crosby, Opal has gained traction among startups and scaleups seeking alternatives to legacy expense tools. As organizations prioritize cash discipline, governance, and financial visibility, Opal’s focus on control and transparency could help it stand out in Canada’s competitive spend-management market in 2026.
Propra
Propra is an AI-native property management platform built around accounting as the system of record. Founded in Calgary in 2021 by Al-Karim Khimji and Craig Adam, the platform focuses on trust accounting, reconciliations, and financial reporting for operators managing real-estate rental and/or condo portfolios in addition to operational tools.
In 2025, Propra sharpened its positioning as a fintech company, emphasizing financial automation over traditional proptech features. As regulatory scrutiny increases and operational efficiency becomes critical, Propra’s accounting-first, AI-enabled platform positions it as essential financial infrastructure in Canada in 2026, with expansion into the United States to follow.
Purelend
Purelend is redefining mortgage operations for brokers and lenders. The platform automates the chaotic document review process, handling everything from organization to income verification—tasks that have traditionally taken hours or days of manual work.
Founded by Neo Financial alumni Wayne Kainu, Lucas Scheer, and Sebastien Hiscock, the Calgary-based startup launched its platform in late 2025. As the mortgage industry seeks to modernize outdated workflows and improve speed-to-funding, Purelend’s AI-driven efficiency makes it a fintech to watch in 2026.
SimpleHedge
SimpleHedge is developing software to make financial risk management more accessible for small and mid-sized businesses. The platform simplifies hedging strategies related to interest rates, foreign exchange, and market volatility—capabilities traditionally reserved for large enterprises.
Founded and led by Calgary’s Mark Hlady, the agri-fintech raised a $4M seed round led by Tall Grass Ventures. As volatility remains a defining feature of global markets, demand for practical, easy-to-use risk management tools could increase, making SimpleHedge a fintech to watch in 2026.
Trusty
Founded in 2023 by Randy Frisch, previously co-founder of Uberflip, Trusty helps individuals organize, store, and securely share important personal information, assets, and end-of-life wishes. Positioned as a complement to traditional estate planning, Trusty applies modern fintech design to a fragmented and often overlooked process.
The company raised a $1M pre-seed round in 2025. As digital assets proliferate and intergenerational wealth transfer accelerates, Trusty addresses a growing consumer need heading into 2026.
Tuhk
Tuhk (pronounced “tuck”) is building embedded finance infrastructure that allows platforms and marketplaces to integrate financial products directly into their software without becoming regulated financial institutions. The Toronto-based fintech emerged from stealth in 2025 with a $6M seed round.
Its API-driven approach supports payments, lending, and financial workflows for B2B platforms. As embedded finance becomes a core monetization strategy for vertical SaaS companies, Tuhk is well positioned to quietly power the next wave of fintech-enabled software in 2026.
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