The PayPod

What happens when your favourite ride-sharing, shopping or accounting app starts offering a debit card, credit line or instant payment feature? Welcome to the era of banking in disguise - where financial services are no longer delivered by “banks,” but by the apps Canadians already use every day. The rise of embedded finance is redefining who controls the customer relationship in banking. Retailers, tech platforms and service providers are embedding payments, credit and savings products seamlessly into their experiences, blurring the line between commerce and banking. 
This panel brings together innovators from fintechs, sponsor banks and payment platforms to unpack how this trend is reshaping Canada’s financial landscape. We’ll explore the infrastructure powering embedded finance, the regulatory implications of “invisible banking” and the new economics of partnerships that allow non-banks to become financial service providers. As the boundaries of banking dissolve, one question emerges: who really owns the future of money: the bank, the brand or the app? 
SPEAKERS: 
Shirley Hsu, GM, Payments, FreshBooks
Timothy Morris, Chief Banking Officer, Neo Financial
Rojin Nair, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, VoPay International Inc.
Daljit Singh, Head, B2B Payments & Partnerships, EQ Bank
MODERATOR:
Dina Vardouniotis, CEO, Payments and Partnerships

This episode is an important conversation around financial crime prevention in a rapidly evolving landscape. Experts from Feedzai and top financial institutions explore the paradigm shift toward unified decisioning, emphasizing advanced fraud controls and the deployment of actionable risk intelligence. 
Panelists  examine the role of industry collaboration and trust in combating fraud effectively, particularly at the point of account opening. The discussion also addresses future-facing topics and emerging risks, including the security and regulatory implications of stablecoin transactions and the challenges and opportunities presented by open banking.
Speakers: 
Elizabeth Tripp, Director, Fraud Management, CIBC
Aaron McAllister, VP Fraud Threat Management, Scotiabank
Geoff Morton, VP Fraud Management, Royal Bank of Canada
Moderator:
Jas Anand, Value Engineering & Sales Enablement Lead, Feedzai (at the time of recording)

We are entering the era of agentic autonomous fnance, where AI agents are transitioning from simple digital assistants to active financial participants. As these agents begin to negotiate, transact, and manage complex workflows independently, the financial system faces a critical shift in how it handles identity, trust, and control. Traditional credential-based models and manual approval chains are no longer sufficient for the high-velocity, machine-to-machine (M2M) commerce of the future.

This panel brings together global leaders in payments, banking, and autonomous systems to explore the "next frontier" of finance. We will discuss how tokenized assets, cryptographic trust, and agent-aware payment rails will build the secure foundation required for machines to safely participate in the economy and how Canadian institutions and regulators can prepare for this autonomous shift.

Guests:
Aviva Klein, Independent Consultant
Nate Soffio, Head, Reusable & Agentic Identity Products, Prove
David Tax, Senior Manager, Payments Strategy & Innovation, TD Bank Group
Mike Ward, CEO, Mica
Moderator: Michelle Beyo, CEO & Founder, Finavator

Supported by regulation and fueled by innovation and investment, open banking has fundamentally reshaped the UK's financial landscape, establishing it as a global leader and a vibrant hub for fintech innovation. This panel will explore the concrete experiences of three UK-based fintechs that have successfully leveraged this framework, drawing out key takeaways and discussing their potential applicability to Canada’s open banking journey. 
SPEAKERS
Paulo Barbosa, COO, Banfico
Mark Hewlett, Director, Business Development, Ebury
Dean Morrison, Chief Strategy Officer, Shaype
MODERATOR
David Prodger, Deputy Head of Mission, British High Commission

This summer on The PayPod, we're bringing you some of the most popular and best reviewed sessions, from the deep dives and breakout stages at The 2026 SUMMIT. We're calling it The SUMMIT Summer series.
This session brings together industry leaders to demystify the Real-Time Rail (RTR) onboarding journey for system participants. The panel will discuss options for connectivity and settlement, the questions participants need to ask to best fit their business model and how to prepare for the RTR.
RTR onboarding isn’t just about getting connected. It’s about making the right decisions early so that the RTR becomes a foundation for customer value, business growth, scale and trust.
Speakers: 
Lorna Godin, Senior Director, Everyday Payments, CIBC
Kristi Lewis, VP, Marketing & Industry Relations, Paramount Commerce
Aaron Walker, Director, RTR Participant Services, Payments Canada
Moderator: Michele Poole, Founder, DeepPoole Advisory