MerchantLink · merchantlink.ca · Toronto

The loyalty infrastructure
banks have yet to build.

MerchantLink connects Canadian banks to 1.29 million small businesses — enabling card-linked loyalty rewards at the merchants where cardholders actually spend. No POS changes. No open banking dependency. Live today.

Request Bank Briefing → View Live Demo ▶ See How It Works

1.29M

small businesses in Canada locked out of bank loyalty programs

ISED · 2024

72%

of Canadians hold a rewards credit card

Payments Canada

↓22%

travel redemptions in 2024 — shift to everyday spending

J.D. Power · 2024

The Problem

Bank loyalty programs were built for airlines and hotels. Not for where Canadians actually spend.

The integration bar is too high for SMBs

Onboarding a merchant into a bank loyalty program requires dedicated technical integrations, legal negotiation, and significant ongoing support. The economics only worked at enterprise scale. Small businesses never had a path in.

Cardholders earn nothing at everyday merchants

Loyalty cards earn points at airlines, national hotel chains, and big box retailers. The dry cleaner, the neighbourhood restaurant, the local service provider — nothing. J.D. Power's 2024 data shows satisfaction falling as cardholders shift toward everyday spending.

Banks know the gap. They lack the infrastructure to close it.

Building SMB onboarding, catalog management, and geo-offer distribution from scratch is a multi-year, multi-team undertaking. MerchantLink is that infrastructure, available now — not in three years.

Redemption Model

Zero POS changes. Works today.

The card-linked statement credit model means even the most technologically unsophisticated SMB can participate. The consumer experience lives entirely inside the bank's existing loyalty app.

Step 1

📱

Cardholder Activates

Consumer taps offer inside their bank loyalty app

→

Step 2

💳

Pay Normally

Consumer pays with their bank card. No coupon. No POS change.

→

Step 3

⚡

Transaction Triggers

Card network fires an event. MerchantLink matches it against activated offers.

→

Step 4

💰

Credit Posts T+2

Bank posts statement credit. Merchant receives full standard card payment.

Business Model

The AdWords Model
for Bank Loyalty

MerchantLink operates the way Google's AdWords/AdSense network works — except the distribution channel is bank cardholder loyalty apps, not search results. MerchantLink is invisible to consumers. The bank relationship is never disrupted.

Role Mapping

AdWords

Google

MerchantLink

Publisher

Websites

Publisher

Banks (cardholder apps)

Advertiser

Businesses

Advertiser

SMB Merchants

Platform Requirements

28 functional requirements.
Three modules. Phase 1 ready.

Full specification in the Business Requirements Document v1.0.

🏪

Merchant Onboarding

MO-01–10

MO-01Business registration & profileMust
MO-02KYB verification (BN lookup)Must
MO-03Shopify / Square / Lightspeed OAuthShould
MO-04Manual service + SKU entryMust
MO-05Offer creation wizardMust
MO-06Bank program selectionMust
MO-07Bank approval + status trackingMust
MO-08Merchant analytics dashboardMust
MO-09Automatic POS catalog syncShould
MO-10Aggregated customer insightsShould

🏦

Bank Integration

BI-01–09

BI-01REST offer submission APIMust
BI-02Bank approval workflow callbacksMust
BI-03Offer activation trackingMust
BI-04Transaction event webhookMust
BI-05Statement credit instruction APIMust
BI-06Settlement reconciliation reportsMust
BI-07OAuth 2.0 / OIDC authenticationMust
BI-08Multi-bank adapter patternMust
BI-09FCAC open banking read accessShould

📍

Marketplace Engine

ME-01–06

ME-01Geo-based offer surfacingMust
ME-02Offer ranking algorithmMust
ME-03Configurable market segmentationMust
ME-04Category filtering + preferencesShould
ME-05Offer deduplication logicMust
ME-06Cross-merchant personalizationNice

System Architecture — 5 Layers

Layer 1

Consumer Layer

TD MyRewardsRBC AvionScene+BMO RewardsCIBC AventuraWhite-labelled · MerchantLink invisible

Layer 2

Bank Integration

OAuth 2.0 / OIDCOffer Distribution APITransaction Event WebhookStatement Credit APIT+2 Settlement

Layer 3

MerchantLink Core

Onboarding EngineCatalog ManagerOffer ManagerGeo MarketplaceAnalyticsPIPEDA Governance

Layer 4

Merchant Integration

Shopify OAuthSquareLightspeedToastManual / CSV Upload

Layer 5

Merchant Layer

🧺 Dry Cleaners🍕 Restaurants✂️ Hair & Beauty☕ Cafés💪 Fitness1.29M eligible Canadian SMBs

Canadian Open Banking

Today's loyalty play is tomorrow's
open banking moat.

MerchantLink delivers immediate value via statement credits — no FCAC dependency required. But early bank partners are building something more valuable: the merchant supply layer for when Consumer-Driven Banking enables commerce use cases.

Now · 2026

Phase 1 — Loyalty Marketplace Live

MerchantLink launches with card-linked statement credits via existing bank infrastructure. No open banking required. SMB merchants onboard to bank loyalty programs for the first time. Cardholders earn rewards at local businesses. The bank gains merchant supply and program differentiation immediately.

2027 · FCAC Phase 1

Open Banking Data Layer

The FCAC Consumer-Driven Banking framework (enshrined in Budget Implementation Act 2024) enables richer data access. MerchantLink integrates FCAC-compliant transaction enrichment feeds. Merchant catalog data becomes sharper. Offer personalization improves. The merchant network already built in Phase 1 becomes significantly more valuable.

The real prize is the merchant network itself.

The early wins — redemptions, new customers, merchant retention — are excellent proof points. But the strategic value of the pilot is what it builds in the background: a live, structured, verified merchant network with catalog data, offer history, and redemption signals. That network is the supply-side asset that makes MerchantLink uniquely valuable when Canadian open banking enables commerce use cases. No competitor will replicate years of merchant relationships in the window between FCAC Phase 2 going live and the market locking in its infrastructure choices.

Sample Pilot · M6G · The Annex

What onboarding looks like on the ground.

Sample merchants from The Annex neighbourhood in Toronto — illustrating how registration, offer creation, and redemption work in practice. Actual pilot geography and scope are defined with the bank partner.

🧺

Trendy Laundromat & Dry Cleaners

598 Bloor St W · M6G · The Annex

10% credit · new cardholders

Laundry · Dry Cleaning · Self-Serve · Open Late

🧹

The Dry Cleaners

650 Dupont St · M6G · Christie Pits

15% back on first visit

Dry Cleaning · Shirt Laundry · 24hr Service

🍕

Pizza Pizza — Bloor W

558 Bloor St W · M6G · The Annex

Double points Fri–Sat

Pizza · QSR · Takeout · Delivery

Onboarding Target

<2 days

From merchant registration to first live offer visible in the bank's cardholder app

Minimum Pilot Duration

90 days

Live redemption data recommended before scaling or expansion decisions are made

Platform Uptime

99.9%

Offer matching engine and merchant activation pipeline availability — monitored continuously, reported to the bank monthly

Cardholder Data

Zero stored

MerchantLink processes transaction signals in real time and retains no cardholder PII — ever

Business Model

Four revenue streams. SaaS at the core.

Sold to banks as B2B SaaS. Transaction-based revenue aligns incentives with platform usage.

🏦

Bank SaaS License

Annual or monthly license per bank partner for platform access, API integration, and dedicated support.

🏪

Merchant Subscription

Tiered monthly subscription. Basic free. Premium tier unlocks advanced analytics and multi-bank distribution.

⚡

Transaction Revenue

Per-redemption fee or percentage of statement credit value on successful offer activations.

📊

Data & Analytics

Aggregated market intelligence reports sold to bank partners and merchants as a premium tier.

Risk Register

Known risks. Documented mitigations.

MerchantLink is designed to deliver standalone value independent of any single risk scenario materializing.

Risk

Mitigation

Open banking timeline slips

FCAC delays Phase 2

Platform delivers standalone value via statement credits today. Bank APIs are sufficient for Phase 1. Open banking is an accelerant, not a dependency.

Merchant data quality degrades

Stale catalogs, inactive offers

POS integrations provide automatic sync. Lightweight maintenance UX. Merchant health scoring to flag stale profiles and trigger re-engagement.

Incumbent players enter Canadian SMB market

Cardlytics, Figg, Valuedynamx

Speed and local focus are the moat. All three incumbents are US-centric and enterprise-focused. First-mover merchant network creates a data and relationship barrier that cannot be replicated quickly.

Consumer adoption lower than expected

Offer engagement rates

Contractually require bank to place offers in primary loyalty navigation. Offer surfacing prominence is a bank deployment decision, not a platform constraint.

Fraud and abuse at SMB level

Redemption gaming

Transaction verification via card network events. Redemption caps per consumer per merchant per period. Bank fraud monitoring remains in place throughout.

Roadmap

Two phases.
Each one builds the next.

Phase 1 is live and generating value before open banking is a commercial reality. Phase 2 multiplies that value as the FCAC framework matures.

Now · Available at Launch

Loyalty Marketplace Expansion

Banks gain a live SMB merchant marketplace using card-linked statement credits via existing infrastructure — no open banking required. Cardholders earn rewards at local businesses today.

Merchant onboarding portal live
Bank integration API layer
Geo offer surfacing in cardholder apps
Statement credit settlement T+2
Zero POS changes required
Pilot-ready from day one

2027 · FCAC-Dependent

Open Banking Data Layer

Richer merchant catalog data integrated into bank offer discovery via FCAC-compliant transaction enrichment feeds. The merchant network built in Phase 1 becomes significantly more valuable as data quality improves.

FCAC read access integration
Transaction enrichment feeds
Enhanced offer personalization
Merchant catalog intelligence
Cross-merchant consumer signals
Phase 1 merchant network fully leveraged

Request a Briefing

Build the merchant network before
the starting gun.

Banks that pilot MerchantLink now are positioning for open banking before Phase 2 goes live. We're seeking one first Canadian bank partner. Tell us who you are and we'll follow up directly.

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The loyalty infrastructurebanks have yet to build.