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Knowlton Thomas

Toronto’s HomeStars Taps Perch for Digital Financing Feature

May 24, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

HomeStars this month announced a partnership with Perch, a fellow Toronto company working to disrupt the real estate industry.

Through the new partnership, HomeStars offers a refinancing option to Canadian homeowners looking to make home renovations, repairs, or improvements. Homeowners can now receive cash based on the equity in their homes and use these funds for home improvement projects.

Last year 8 million homeowners visited HomeStars, which is Canada’s largest network of verified and community-reviewed home service professionals, to get help for their next home improvement project. The company was founded in 2006.

“It’s been a difficult year for Canadians, with the volatile housing market and economic pressures making purchasing newer homes less accessible and forcing many Canadians to stay in their homes longer,” says Shir Magen, CEO of HomeStars. “This partnership will allow homeowners to increase the value of their homes and make the much-needed improvements to their homes.”

The 2021 HomeStars Reno Report reported that 20 percent of Canadians needed financial assistance to execute home renovations, and many put off home improvements due to the daunting costs associated.

“This is a great opportunity to provide Canadians with an alternative to financing to give them continued comfort in their homes and live in a space they’re proud of,” Magen added.

The much younger Perch is a technology platform offering homebuyers and homeowners the financial insights they need to build wealth through real estate.

“Perch’s analytics help Canadians get pre-approved for their mortgages and give them insights to understand exactly how much they can afford,” explains Alex Leduc, Founder of Perch.

Partnering with HomeStars, an anchor on the scene, just made sense.

“We saw a connection to the HomeStars online home services platform,” he said. “Together, we can help homeowners reach their goals faster.”

Perch, which raised a $1 million seed round last year, is known for tools like Pathfinder, Canada’s first web-based tool that offers an instant mortgage rate quote online using predictive modelling for accuracy.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: HomeStars, Perch

Shopify Makes Accepting Crypto Easy for Merchants with Latest Integrations

May 20, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

Crypto.com announced recently that Shopify merchants can now enable Crypto Pay on their online storefronts, giving customers more ways to make their purchases.

Founded in 2016, Crypto.com is an exchange app offering 250 cryptocurrencies to 50 million customers across 90 countries. Crypto Pay allows merchants to receive cryptocurrencies instantly from a global base of users with zero transaction fees.

“Providing more customers and merchants the ability to engage in commerce using cryptocurrencies is a priority for Crypto.com,” said Kris Marszalek, Chief Executive Officer of Crypto.com. “We are incredibly excited to integrate into Shopify, and to bring this capability to even more customers and merchants around the world.”

Through Crypto.com Pay, customers can pay with more than 20 tokens, including BTC, ETH, CRO, SHIB, and even DOGE.

“We’re happy to welcome Crypto.com to help Shopify merchants provide an additional fast and convenient way for customers to pay for their online orders,” said John Lee, Lead of Blockchain Ecosystem at Shopify.

Last month, Shopify struck a similar integration deal with Strike, a digital payments platform built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network.

“Our growing blockchain ecosystem demonstrates our commitment to supporting merchants with alternative payment methods on their storefronts, helping to further expand what’s possible in commerce,” Lee added.

“We’re proud to partner with Shopify to provide merchants with a cheaper and faster way to accept US dollars using Bitcoin technology,” Jack Mallers, CEO of Strike, said in April. “The Lightning Network is a global payments network that lowers costs, enhances speed, drives innovation, improves financial inclusion, and brings the power of choice to consumers and merchants.”

In a similar vein, crypto acceptance is also gaining steam amongst non-profit organizations too.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Crypto.com, Shopify, Strike

Toronto’s Requity Homes Closes Seed Round to Expand Rent-to-Own Program

May 19, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

Requity Homes has closed a $1.2 million pre-seed round of funding.

The Toronto-based real estate platform says the early financing will fuel its growth as the company scales its approach to creating an alternative path to home ownership in Canada.

The financing round was led by Boardwalk Investment with participation from Highline Beta, Conconi Growth Partners, and several angel investors. Founding partner of Highline Beta Ben Yoskovitz was appointed to Requity’s board of directors.

Requity Homes was founded in Toronto in 2020. The company operates a rent-to-own program that empowers Canadians to get one step closer to home ownership by allowing them to rent and save for their dream home with the option to purchase at a guaranteed price.

“Requity Homes is a new innovative way to help Canadians reduce barriers to home ownership,” said Sam Kolias, President of Boardwalk Investment Limited and CEO of Boardwalk REIT. “It allows investors to partner with home buyers, helping bridge the gap between renting and owning a home.”

Requity Homes offers a steppingstone to home ownership for families that are not mortgage ready today due to credit history, lack of down payment, or self-employment.

“With the rising cost of home ownership, it has become increasingly out of reach for many families,” said Amy Ding, CEO of Requity Homes. “At Requity Homes, we are offering a fair and flexible alternative path to home ownership by introducing more innovative financing options to an underserved market.”

Leveraging robust underwriting technology, Requity Homes can assess aspiring homebuyers’ future mortgage capability. When clients are ready, they can buy back the home at a predetermined price and become a proud homeowner. The program helps to bridge the gap between renting and owning by giving renters the price security and certainty to save towards ownership.

The program is currently available throughout Northern Ontario with plans to expand into Western Canada by end of 2022.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Requity Homes

CanadaHelps and CarbonX Unlock Donation by Crypto for 86,000 Charities Across Country

May 18, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

Canada’s largest platform for donating and fundraising online today announced that it now accepts donations of cryptocurrency in support of any of Canada’s 86,000 registered charities. [Read more…] about CanadaHelps and CarbonX Unlock Donation by Crypto for 86,000 Charities Across Country

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Canada Learning Code, CanadaHelps, KPMG, Version One Ventures

Nuula, Walnut Prioritize Health and Peace of Mind with Latest Feature for Business Owners

May 17, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

Toronto-based Nuula is a financial technology startup focused on providing small businesses with tools and capital to succeed.

The Canadian company has partnered with Toronto neighbour Walnut on a wellness feature that gives small business owners access to life insurance, meditation programs, and online fitness classes for under $10 per month. [Read more…] about Nuula, Walnut Prioritize Health and Peace of Mind with Latest Feature for Business Owners

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Nuula, Walnut Insurance

Major Tech Event Collides with Canada’s Fintech Hotspot

May 16, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

The Collision Conference is returning to its first in-person event in two years, marking Toronto’s Enercare Centre June 20 through 23.

The tech event will be the largest international gathering in the city of Toronto since prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, with more than 30,000 attendees expected to convene in Canada’s fintech hotspot. [Read more…] about Major Tech Event Collides with Canada’s Fintech Hotspot

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Blossom, Trulioo

What Does Open Banking Mean in Canada? The Government is Still Trying to Decide

May 13, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

The notion of “Open Banking” has been taking the financial sector by storm recently.

Indeed, we have not observed such buzz over a term in the industry since “Fintech” itself was coined.

As with all financial terms, the first question anybody asks is “What the heck does it mean?” [Read more…] about What Does Open Banking Mean in Canada? The Government is Still Trying to Decide

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Plaid, QuadFi, Relay Financial

PwC’s Abraham Tachjian is Canada’s Open Banking Lead

May 12, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

The federal government recently tapped a known fintech leader to lead development in establishing Canada’s open banking system.

The Department of Finance Canada named Abraham Tachjian, director of digital banking at PwC Canada, as “the open banking lead,” a handle which he relishes online. [Read more…] about PwC’s Abraham Tachjian is Canada’s Open Banking Lead

Filed Under: News Tagged With: PwC

Flow Looking Dapper as It Launches $725 Million Ecosystem Fund for Web3

May 11, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

Flow, a Web3 platform powering games, apps and digital assets this week announced a $725 million Ecosystem Fund.

This new fund—the largest ecosystem backing of its kind—is designed to boost innovation and growth across the Flow community. It is backed by several investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, and Liberty City Ventures. [Read more…] about Flow Looking Dapper as It Launches $725 Million Ecosystem Fund for Web3

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Flow

Impression Ventures Launches $64 Million Fund Targeting Seed-Stage Fintech

May 10, 2022 by Knowlton Thomas Leave a Comment

There is a new financial technology fund in Canada.

Impression Ventures recently raised $64 million to launch Impression IV, the Canadian venture capital firm’s fourth fintech fund. Supported by both Bank of Montreal and CIBC, the Toronto- and Montreal-based Impression says that IV will invest “in seed-stage firms in the US and Canada that are leveraging technology to disrupt and enhance the delivery of financial products and services.” [Read more…] about Impression Ventures Launches $64 Million Fund Targeting Seed-Stage Fintech

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Brim Financial, Fraction, Impression Ventures, Wealthsimple

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  • Toronto’s HomeStars Taps Perch for Digital Financing Feature
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