Market Overview- FinTech Hosted by Interac @ TechTO HQ
Market Overview: FinTech Hosted by Interac
A 2-hour deep dive on FinTech moderated by Christian Lassonde, Founder and Managing Partner at Impression Ventures. The day will feature a market outlook and a review of several innovations leading the way.
Agenda
1:00 - 1:20pm : Arrivals & Networking
1:20 - 1:50pm: Research presented by Christian Lassonde, Founder & Managing Partner at Impression Ventures
1:50- 2:00pm: Peer Discussion
1:50 - 2:35pm: 3 x Startups Presentation in-line with trends discussed in the research
2:35 - 3:00pm: Fireside chat hosted by James Lucas, Lead, Innovation Alliances at Interac
Featured Speakers
Christian Lassonde is the Founder and Managing partner of Impression Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investing in Seed and Series A deals in the financial technology sector including Wealthsimple, Sensibill, Brim Financial, Symend and many more!
James Lucas is the Lead of Innovation Alliances at Interac, where he drives strategic partnerships with emerging ecosystem players, financial institutions, and acquirers to advance opportunities in payments, verification, and secure transactions. With over a decade at Interac, he’s helped evolve the company from a debit network into a key pillar of Canada’s payment system. James has led major initiatives, including transit open payments and portfolio growth with top financial institutions. He works to ensure Interac stays at the forefront of financial innovation. Outside of work, James enjoys Toronto’s sports scene and spending time with his wife, two dogs, and young son.
Josh Green is the co-founder and co-CEO of BorderPass, a Toronto-based legal tech startup transforming the immigration experience for international students. With a background in law and a passion for accessible systems, Josh is rethinking how borders should work in the 21st century. Prior to founding BorderPass in 2020, he worked at Green and Spiegel LLP, a prominent Canadian immigration law firm, where he served as a Labour Market Impact Assessment Team member, Immigration Case Analyst, Student-at-Law, and eventually as a Barrister and Solicitor from 2019 to 2021. Under Josh's leadership, BorderPass has partnered with institutions like Centennial College to provide international students with legal-level services, realistic expectations, and guidance throughout their immigration journey, including pathways to post-graduation employment and permanent residency.
Michael Shum is the co-founder and CEO of Cascade, a fintech platform streamlining and simplifying debt processes using technology. With over 15 years of experience in finance and technology, he has a background in investments and data science. Prior to Cascade, Michael served as Chief Investment Officer at Accial Capital, a private debt fund focusing on early-stage FinTech and non-bank lenders in emerging markets. He also held the role of CIO at LenddoEFL Capital and was a portfolio manager in EM fixed income at HSBC. Michael holds a Master's degree in Data Science from UC Berkeley and an undergraduate degree in International Business from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
Big Thanks To Our Sponsor
We are grateful to the team at Interac for supporting the FinTech Market Overview
Research for this market overview will be presented by Impression Ventures
We are officially part of Toronto Tech Week 2025, a weeklong citywide collection of events to connect and celebrate the builders. June 23 → June 27, 2025 | torontotechweek.com.