Canada

The country's six largest lenders are approaching their strongest capital position since 2013, leaving them with enough resources to pursue acquisitions, buy back shares or build from within. That has the chiefs of Canada's big banks weighing options.

Rob Paterson didn't seem to fit the script of a go-to banker for the pot industry — he barely drank and hadn't smoked a joint since his university days. But three years since taking on his first marijuana customer, that's just what the CEO of Alterna Savings & Credit Union has become.

Until the technologies provide significant savings, cryptotokens threaten financial stability, and the risks of open access to central bank balance sheets are worked out, retail CBDCs are a long way off, writes Collin Canright, a fintech consultant.

Canada's financial consumer watchdog will strengthen its supervisory and enforcement teams, modernize its supervision approach to monitor banks more proactively, and enhance consumer information after reviewing bank sales practices.

A motivating speech from a female executive at the Ogilvy ad agency 15 years ago helped steer Denise Pickett to new heights at American Express. As did having a family willing to move to the U.S. from Canada.

This year, as PaymentsSource honors The Most Influential Women in Payments, a new pattern has emerged. This year's list recognizes the contributions of entrepreneurs who took their ideas directly to market, showcasing new ways of handling business in an industry that is forced to quickly adapt to rapid changes in technology and global culture.

It still surprises Debbie Gamble that a chance summer job she took at a bank turned into nearly a 30-year career leading to her current post influencing Canada’s payments technology at Interac, the national debit system.

Foreign inflows are distorting Canada's already constrained housing market and aren't the kind of investment the country needs, the chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada said.

Ant Financial’s Alipay is working with the Canadian payments processor Motion Pay Technology to push Ant's geographic reach in North America.

Money launderers are opportunists and the real estate sector is a weak link when it comes to regulation, writes Jay Ryan, an executive vice president at Accuity.