Vancouver fintech firm grows point-of-sale business

Progressa specialty credit company Alternative Credit Fund

Vancouver fintech firm grows point-of-sale business

Vancouver-based financial technology firm Progressa is in the process of growing its point-of-sale finance business Progressa Connect, and it has announced last week that it has made an alliance with specialty credit company Alternative Credit Fund.

The partnership will facilitate a $13-million forward flow whole loan purchase program to support the growth of Progressa Connect, the direct-pay lending platform announced.

“Coming off the heels of an $84 million debt and equity fundraise, the Company plans to utilize this new facility from the Alternative Credit Fund in tandem with its existing whole loan sale securitization facilities in order to securitize a wider net of monthly receivables and drive down its blended cost of capital,” Progressa CFO Kiya Hushyar said.

Read more: Vancouver-based fintech venture acquires massive $84m funding tranche

Fintech deals across Canada have reached record numbers during the first half of the year, according to KPMG International's August “Pulse of Fintech” report.

“Evolving customer expectations, recent changes stemming from the 2018 federal budget, as well as expected changes coming via the review of the Federal Financial Sector Framework (including the Bank Act), are clearly spurring increased activity in the Canadian fintech sector,” KPMG national industry leader for financial services (Canada) John Armstrong said.

“There were more than 50 deals in the first half of 2018 alone. That is almost as many as we saw in all of 2017, the busiest year on record for Canadian fintech.”

The first two quarters of the year saw approximately $263 million invested in fintech venture capital, mergers, and acquisitions nationwide.