Toronto ranks fourth in leading fintech centre of future: Survey

The Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) and a leading U.K. think tank Z/Yen conducted a global survey on trends and innovations in financial services that ranked Toronto as one of the leading fintech centres in the world.

The survey that was conducted at the end of 2016 saw responses from over 300 individuals, who are working in the financial centers across the globe. The report was commissioned by the TFSA and produced by the Z/Yen Group. It was conducted via two online questionnaires as well as desk research and informal interviews with experts in the industry. Toronto was rated as the fourth leading fintech centre of the future.

The survey titled ‘Trends and Innovations in Financial Services’ has listed the current leading fintech centres worldwide where London tops, followed by San Francisco, New York, Singapore, and Toronto. While in the list of leading fintech centres of the future, Toronto stands fourth after San Francisco, New York, and London.

“Toronto is the second largest financial centre in North America, and Ontario has the second largest concentration of technology companies. This unique ecosystem has created a perfect environment for a promising international fintech hub to emerge,” Janet Ecker, TFSA President, and CEO, stated.

The study examined various present trends and innovations in areas of financing services like fintechs and ranked how the financial centres are faring with the innovations that are taking place. Also, the survey noted cyber security as the key area of fintech.

“We’re seeing that Ontario’s cyber security industry is also beginning to be recognized worldwide. Canada ranks 4th in the world as a cyber security hub based on the volume and number of deals,” Ecker added.

In the survey, the banker publication ranked Toronto as the 8th most important global financial centre according to their yearly International Financial Centre ranking. The survey also ranked Toronto as 2nd largest financial centre in North America by employment. Also Toronto has been home to host globally recognized accelerators and incubators including Communitech, MaRS, OneEleven and DMZ who was ranked 3rd globally and 1st in North America as a leading university-based incubator.

The factors that make Toronto a leading fintech centre include very strong government support, low cost of accommodation, great cultural diversity and plenty of available capital.

Established in 2001, the Toronto Financial Services Alliance is a unique, public-private partnership dedicated to growing Toronto region’s financial services cluster and building it as a ‘top ten’ global financial services centre.