Why Interac Is Betting on Calgary's Innovation Ecosystem

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Calgary's innovation ecosystem is being shaped by an unlikely mix of players - and Interac, the infrastructure behind how Canadians move money, is one of them.  As a longtime partner of Platform Calgary, Interac has a front-row seat to what's changing in Fintech, and what it takes for startups to build lasting trust in an AI-driven market. We asked the Interac team to talk about ecosystems, trust, and why focus matters more than ever.

Interac’s Vision 

What drives your organization’s commitment to supporting startups and innovators?
 

We don't innovate alone. The best ideas come from collaboration when corporations, startups, students, researchers, and ecosystem partners are working on the same problems from different angles. Innovation is not a solo act, and that belief shapes how we show up in the community, not as a funder writing checks from the sidelines, but as a participant in the work itself.

Supporting innovators also keeps us honest about where the market is headed. New technologies, new business models, shifting customer expectations - these are the forces reshaping financial services, and founders are almost always the first to feel them before the rest of the industry catches on. Staying close to that energy is one of the best early-warning systems we have.

How does your team approach working with founders and scaling companies? 

We stay hands-on. That means sitting on pitch panels, showing up at startup events, and advising founders as they scale - not just handing out advice, but rolling up our sleeves on projects where our expertise genuinely adds value. Being part of the startup community means showing up consistently, not just when it's convenient. That consistency is what builds real relationships, the kind that outlast a single event or news cycle.

Our relationship with Platform Calgary and Calgary Innovation week 

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Thought Leadership & Industry Perspective  

From your experience and field of expertise, what trends or challenges are you seeing in your industry that startups should be paying attention to right now? 

Three things stand out:

1.  Ecosystems carry more weight than ever 
   

The first is the growing weight of ecosystems. Innovation is increasingly ecosystem-led, not product-led. The strongest breakthroughs are emerging through partnerships, shared infrastructure, and interoperability rather than standalone products built in isolation. Founders should be asking where they fit within larger ecosystems, and how they create value alongside other players rather than trying to out-build them.

2. Trust is a competitive advantage 

The second is trust as a competitive advantage. As AI increasingly shapes how customers discover, decide, and buy, data quality, transparency, governance, and brand representation are moving from back-office concerns to front-line differentiators. Startups that build trust into their products from day one, rather than bolting it on later, will be far better positioned as the ecosystem matures and scrutiny increases.

3. Focus matters more than speed 

Finally, as AI makes execution easier, strategic focus becomes the harder and more valuable skill. The question is shifting from what you can build to what is worth building, and why. Nearly anyone can ship something fast now. The best innovators still balance ambition with focus. In a world full of opportunities, clarity about the specific problem you're solving, and where you can uniquely win, is what separates lasting companies from clever demos.

Collaboration with Platform Calgary 

Why was partnering with Platform Calgary a natural fit for your organization?  

We share a conviction that innovation thrives when communities, founders, corporations, and institutions pull in the same direction. Platform Calgary has built a strong environment for connection, collaboration, and entrepreneurial growth, which makes it a natural home for ecosystem-focused work. The partnership lets us contribute our expertise while learning from entrepreneurs, investors, ecosystem builders, and emerging talent. 

How does this partnership align with your values or goals in supporting Calgary’s innovation community? 

It maps directly to our broader goal of strengthening Canada's innovation ecosystem through collaboration and knowledge sharing, wherever that innovation is happening . Calgary has a legitimate shot at becoming a global innovation leader, and backing local founders is part of getting there. Both organizations are focused on the same outcome: building the conditions that help innovators experiment, grow, and create real impact, not just headlines.

Advice for Founders 

What’s one piece of advice you’d share with founders just getting started? 

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1. Watch the Global Market, Build for Your Market

Watch the global market, but build for your market. That's a lesson we've lived out ourselves through our own Agentic Commerce work.

2. Move in Phases, Not Wholesale

Agentic commerce is moving fast globally — new protocols, big-tech partnerships, and bold predictions are emerging every quarter, and it would be easy to import someone else's playbook wholesale and call it a strategy. Instead, we took a phased, proof-of-concept approach, testing one question at a time: what does trust actually look like for Canadian consumers, issuers, and merchants specifically, not just in theory, but in practice. Each phase built on the last, turning global signal into local conviction.

3. Local Conviction Over Global Signal

That's the advice we'd leave founders with: don't wait for a perfect global blueprint to hand you the answer, because it never will. Move in phases, learn fast, stay honest about what's working and what isn't, and build for the market you actually serve. The founders who win aren't the ones who moved first globally -  they're the ones who understood their market best.

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Interac

Interac empowers Canadians to transact digitally with confidence by providing payment and value exchange services. In helping to develop the future of money movement in Canada, security is at the core of everything we do. We help keep Canadian customers safe and secure when transacting. With nearly 300 financial institutions connected to our network, Canadians choose Interac products over 20 million times a day on average to exchange money. Interac champions workplace culture, community, and corporate citizenship. We are proud to be one of Canada’s leading and most trusted financial brands. Learn more: Interac.

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Platform Calgary

Platform Calgary is a non-profit, member based organization. Our mandate is to bring together the resources of Calgary's tech ecosystem to help startups launch and grow at every step of their journey, from ideation through to scale. . Find out more: Platform Calgary.

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