As Paramount Commerce heads into 2026, the focus is on turning a strong year of delivery into an even bigger leap forward for pay by bank innovation and merchant value. Building on 2025’s momentum in smarter payment experiences, real-time payouts, and strategic partnerships, the team is doubling down on technologies and strategies that simplify payments, reduce costs, and unlock new growth for businesses across Canada. From product innovation to market expansion, our leadership team is energized by the opportunities ahead and shares what they are most looking forward to in the coming year.

Check out what they said:

Dave Roe - Chief Operating Officer: In 2026, we’re focused on delivering more than just payments. By building unique, value-driven solutions and features, we’re strengthening our existing relationships and forming new ones as we expand into additional verticals and markets.

Sereena Boparai - Chief Revenue Officer: This year, I’m excited to see how the launch of RTR will reshape the payments industry, from how money moves to how quickly businesses get paid. For us, the focus is execution: simplifying payment journeys while expanding into eCommerce, billing, and collections, so paying and getting paid feels faster, easier, and more reliable for everyone.

Izabela Wakabayashi - Chief Financial Officer: For 2026, I'm excited about continuing to grow key partnerships, building out an FP&A team, and the likely regulation of online gaming in Alberta.

Lanya Peng - Chief Product Officer: As we look toward 2026, we are excited to build upon our success as a leading Canadian Interac® provider and evolve into a scalable, multi-rail 'pay by bank' platform. With a robust product roadmap and a disciplined focus on execution, we are uniquely positioned to deliver immense value to our merchants. Our priority remains clear: achieving industry-leading completion rates through providing a premier payment flow for our merchants and consumers, building developer-first integrations, and leveraging AI-driven risk decisioning to ensure world-class fraud prevention.

Jodie Struthers - Chief Information Security Officer: This year, we’re on a reminder for a real shift in security where human expertise, boosted by AI, makes our defences stronger, privacy is treated as the most important security feature, and GRC Engineering helps innovation move faster, not slower.

Sam Kawsarani - VP of Product Management: This year, I’m really excited to see what real-time rail will actually mean for Canadian businesses. Faster payouts, smoother cash flow, and settlements that actually keep up with day-to-day operations. It’s going to be a game-changer. I’m also encouraged by the momentum behind open banking in the federal budget and the work around CAD stablecoins, which is shaping the next wave of settlement and funding models. All of this comes together in the innovation we get to bring to merchants as we grow into a true 360° payment platform in 2026.

Kristi Lewis - VP of Marketing: 2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for our industry. With the upcoming launch of the Real-Time Rail (RTR) and Interac broadening its network access, the barriers to innovation are falling. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of these big moves, driving the next generation of seamless, pay by bank experiences in Canada. 

Holly Uniacke - VP of People & Culture: In 2026, our focus is on building a culture where kindness and high performance coexist to drive business success. I’m excited to grow our team, modernize our people practices, evolve our global employer brand, and leverage generative AI to enhance our work. We are committed to fostering an environment where our teams can do the best work of their lives.

Merrilee Stoll - VP of Project Management: Looking ahead to 2026, I am incredibly enthusiastic about the opportunities awaiting Paramount Commerce. Our core strategy is to accelerate growth through the expansion of our innovative payment solutions into new vertical markets. Crucially, this expansion will be supported by significant enhancements to our onboarding processes, ensuring they are robust enough to meet current demands while positioning us for substantial future growth.

Ryan Westlake - VP of Engineering: Paramount Commerce sees tremendous opportunities ahead for 2026. We’ve achieved major milestones, becoming one of the market's only RPAA-certified pay by bank providers, and scaling bank partnerships and our infrastructure to process volume faster and more efficiently than ever before. By leveraging the secure foundations we established in 2025, we are able to focus on building for the future in 2026, such as incorporating Real-Time Rails and continuing our expansion into new markets.

Shashank Kalidindi - Head of Risk Management: In 2026, our priority is to advance FRAML capabilities by leveraging data-driven insights and responsible AI. By enhancing risk decisioning and transaction monitoring, we will deliver payment solutions that establish best-in-class fraud prevention and regulatory compliance.

‍

Paramount Commerce is on a mission to simplify payments and is Canada’s leading pay by bank partner. Our patented technology is used by millions of consumers and has processed over $100 billion in volume. Offering one-click payments, a robust risk management system, a best-in-class experience, seamless integration, and over 20 years of industry experience, Paramount Commerce creates raving fans of both merchants and consumers. To learn more, visit paramountcommerce.com