Canada FinTech Symposium Puts Alberta at the Centre of Canadian Fintech

Two-day conference convenes banks, fintechs, investors and innovators for panels, partnerships and the Northern Lights FinTech Awards.

CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA, October 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Canada FinTech Symposium – Alberta Edition, organized by Prolink Events Ltd., returns to the Palomino Hall, BMO Centre in Calgary on October 7–8, 2026. The two-day conference brings together banks, credit unions, fintechs, payment networks, investors and technology leaders from across Western Canada and beyond.

The Alberta Edition builds on the momentum of the symposium's Toronto edition, held May 20–21, 2026, where national financial institutions, payment networks and fintech founders explored the next phase of Canadian payments and digital finance. Calgary now carries that conversation west, to one of Canada's most active markets for payments, digital assets and financial innovation.

This year's theme is "FinTech Forward: Building a Resilient, Inclusive & Intelligent Financial Future." The program covers AI, open banking, payment modernization, digital assets, credit union innovation and financial infrastructure. It closes with the inaugural Northern Lights FinTech Awards at a cocktail reception on the evening of October 8.

The symposium draws a senior audience: C-suite executives, founders, and heads of payments, innovation, risk and compliance from banks, credit unions, fintechs, payment providers, investors and public-sector organizations across Alberta, British Columbia and the Prairies.

"Alberta is no longer watching Canada's fintech story from the sidelines. It is helping write it," said Rahul Bhatia, Director, Canada FinTech Symposium, Prolink Events Ltd. "After a strong edition in Toronto this May, we're bringing that momentum to Calgary. This year's program puts the people building real-time payments, open banking and digital money in the same room as the institutions that will adopt them, and we're proud to celebrate that work at the first Northern Lights FinTech Awards."

Speakers and Program

More than 50 speakers will take the stage across keynotes, presentations and panel discussions. Day 1 focuses on AI, open banking, payment modernization and digital money, with sessions on the Real-Time Rail, AI and data, development banking, and the road to open banking in 2027. Day 2 turns to digital assets, credit union innovation and financial infrastructure, with panels on cross-border payments, challenger financial institutions, WealthTech and InsurTech, stablecoins and tokenized deposits, and the legal and regulatory rulebook for Canadian fintech.

Confirmed speakers include representatives from Interac Verified^®, Proof, Mastercard, Visa, Scotiabank, Payments Canada, Digital Commerce Payments, BDC, Concentrix, Paysend, Transactix Financial, Tetra Digital Group, Zafran, SpendTheBits, Olympia Trust, Walnut Insurance, Flora, Veem, Finofo, Innovation Federal Credit Union, Canadian Bitcoin Consortium and many others.

Sponsors and Partners

The 2026 Alberta Edition is supported by Platinum Partners Interac Verified^®, Transactix Financial and Zafran Security, and Bronze & Panel Partner Mastercard.

Additional partners include Digital Commerce Group (Exhibition Partner and Payments Innovation Award Category Partner), ShiftConnect (Award Category Sponsor and Exhibition Partner), Andersen (Presentation Partner), Concentrix (Coffee Sponsor), Paybilt (Lanyard Partner) and IBS Intelligence (Strategic Research & Knowledge Partner). Panel Partners include BDC, Payments Canada, ABCorp, Symend, Woveo, Tetra Digital Group and Kerne. IAMTN is Media Partner and FinTech Calgary is Community Partner.

Zafran Vice President Tyrone "Ty" Emi will deliver a keynote, "The Hidden Cost of Modernization: Rethinking Risk as Canadian Finance Rewires Itself," exploring how Canadian financial institutions can manage risk as real-time payments, open banking and agentic AI reshape the sector.

"Paysend is proud to participate in the Canada FinTech Symposium alongside our partner, Visa Direct, as we continue driving innovation in cross-border payments and embedded financial services," said Jairo Riveros, President, Americas & Head of Strategy, Paysend. "Canada's fintech ecosystem is rapidly evolving, and collaboration between fintechs, financial institutions and payment networks is critical to building faster, more seamless global money movement experiences for businesses and consumers alike."

"Stablecoins, tokenized deposits and real-world assets are moving from pilots into regulated Canadian finance. The question now is whose infrastructure they settle on," said Ali Abou Daya, CEO of Transactix Financial. "At Transactix, we built and operate sovereign financial infrastructure so that the answer is 100% Canadian. Alberta and Calgary have been at the forefront of supporting blockchain technology, from innovation in the energy sector to a growing fintech community. At CFTS Calgary, we look forward to taking that conversation to the institutions, regulators and builders."

Paybilt brought Interac e-Transfer^®, Canada's most popular and trusted payment method, to retail checkout, giving brands access to 24 million active Interac users with instant disbursements and data-rich dashboards.

Exhibition Hall

The exhibition hall in Palomino A–H and the prefunction area at the BMO Centre gives delegates direct access to the companies shaping how Canadians pay, bank, borrow and invest. Exhibitors include:

Interac Verified^®
Zafran Security
Visa Direct and Paysend
Digital Commerce Group
ShiftConnect
RPass (Powered by Remitbee)
SpendTheBits
SAIT
Canadian Securities Administrators
Innovation Federal Credit Union
Scribe National
Concentrix
IBS Intelligence
FinTech Calgary
TechConnect
Fortis Compliance Shield Partners
DevEngine

Northern Lights FinTech Awards and Cocktail Reception

The inaugural Northern Lights FinTech Awards recognize the companies and people driving financial innovation in Canada. Winners will be announced at a cocktail reception at the BMO Centre on the evening of October 8.

Awards are presented in ten categories:

Fintech of the Year
AI in Financial Services
Stablecoin & Digital Assets
Payments Innovation
Banking Excellence
WealthTech / Investing
Insurance Technology
Cybersecurity & Digital Trust
Lending & Credit
Fintech Founder of the Year

Entries were scored against published criteria: innovation, impact, customer and market value, execution, and clarity of evidence. Under the program's "recognition you earn, not buy" principle, a company that sponsors a category cannot win it.

Registration

Delegate and Premium passes are available at www.canadafintechsymposium.com.

About Canada FinTech Symposium

Canada FinTech Symposium connects financial institutions, fintechs, investors and technology leaders to accelerate innovation in Canadian financial services. The Alberta Edition focuses on payments, AI and digital assets in Western Canada. Learn more at www.canadafintechsymposium.com.

About Prolink Events Ltd.

Prolink Events Ltd. is a Calgary-based conference organizer producing B2B events for Canada's fintech, health technology and energy sectors, including Canada FinTech Symposium, Canada HealthTech Innovation Symposium and EnergyTech Symposium. Bridging Possibilities.

Media Contact:
Prolink Events Ltd.
info@canadafintechsymposium.com

Rahul Bhatia
ProLink Events Ltd
+1 403-383-0513
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