Toronto

Hi. I’m
Tarique.

I sell infrastructure to banks, credit unions and fintechs in Canada and the U.S. Four companies, nine years, and deals that take a year or more to close. I build the pipeline, run the deal, and make the materials when there's nobody else to make them.

Explore my work

Tarique seated casually, wearing a black shirt, jeans and red trainers.

Selected work01 / 06

Meet me in Toronto.

Coffee around Yonge & Bloor? Let’s pick a time and a place.

The wardrobe report · Toronto

Let’s see what Toronto’s wearing.

Check the current weather before choosing what to bring.

Check the local forecast ↗

Book a 30-minute call ↗Message me about coffee ↗

Find your way here

A subway stop or a flight away? I’ll suggest a starting city if I can. Choose how you travel, and Maps will show the route and travel time to Yonge & Bloor.

Your starting point

A starting city may be suggested from your network. You can edit it or choose Use my location.

Transit directions ↗Driving directions ↗

See you around here

Yonge & Bloor

We’ll pick the exact spot together.

Find somewhere for coffee ↗

A few stops away
Next stop: Bloor–Yonge. Coffee after that.
Plan with TTC ↗
A little further out
Find your GO train or bus, then the connection here.
Check GO trips ↗
Making an entrance
Landing at Pearson? There’s a train into town.
Check your arrival ↗UP Express departures ↗

Routes and departures open with the transport provider.

Source & how this works

Weather is checked when you open this invitation.

Data source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, MSC GeoMet, under its Data Services End-use Licence. The Toronto city feed currently uses Pearson observations, not a sensor at Yonge & Bloor. Clothing suggestions are this site’s simple temperature/condition rules, not an official forecast or safety assessment. Conditions may differ downtown or by the time you arrive.

Toronto is my stated base, not a live whereabouts tracker. Yonge & Bloor is a public meeting area.

Opening this invitation checks Vercel’s approximate network city, region and country to suggest an editable starting point. VPNs and mobile networks can make it inaccurate. This feature does not read raw IP addresses or save the suggestion; hosting infrastructure still processes requests. Browser location is requested only when you choose Use my location. It stays in page memory, rounded to an approximate area, and is passed to Google Maps only when you open directions. You can type a place instead. The card uses distance and the browser’s reported accuracy to decide whether to show Toronto or the local meeting area.

Directions and coffee open in Google Maps. TTC, GO Transit, Pearson and UP Express links open the providers’ planners or arrival/departure pages; this site does not calculate live travel times.

Some of the work.

I’ve worked at four fintech companies, helping sell into banks, credit unions and fintechs across Canada and the U.S. The work changes with the product; the thread is finding the right buyers and helping them make a decision.

CanadaUnited States

Banks
Credit unions
Fintechs

Where I’ve worked · most recent first

Brim Financial

Jan 2022 – Sep 2026

Card issuing & paymentsWorked with banks, credit unions and fintechs

Selling issuing infrastructure, often as the only salesperson.

I ran new business at Brim for card issuing and payments infrastructure. The work moved through business cases, third-party risk review, legal and pricing before a signature. I owned the pipeline, proposals, RFPs and diligence packages. I also put together much of the website and sales material we used.

Scale of the commercial work

Multimillion-dollarmulti-year opportunities

Bridging the teams.

I worked with institution teams to understand what needed to change, then brought in the right people at Brim to work through the gaps and questions.

BrimTeams & subject matter experts

My roleBringing the
teams together.

The institutionBusiness buyer & their teams

Connecting the business case to the detail

The institution’s business team needs a case for change. Specialists on both sides need to work through the gaps and questions. My part was to connect those conversations and help the buyer build the business case.

The case for changeSpecialist inputCommercial agreement

Proposals, diligence and commercial terms were different parts of that work. You can explore each below.

A closer look at the work

I led RFP and proposal responses for large retailers, banks and credit unions.

I owned the commercial thread from first meeting through third-party risk review and term negotiation on multimillion-dollar, multi-year opportunities.

I built the sales collateral system from scratch: a pamphlet family, positioning, case studies and website.

Before Brim

Growing a client base, adapting to a changed market, and connecting technical products to business needs.

Jun 2021 – Jan 2022

Financial data & APIsLater acquired by FIS

Early sales for a developer-led data API.

I sold an accounting-data API to lenders and fintechs before the product had a sales playbook. My job was turning a technical product into a credit or underwriting decision the business buyer cared about, and surfacing data-rights and integration constraints before they killed a deal.

What I took from it: start with the decision the data supports, then bring in the people who can answer the technical questions.

Feb 2019 – Jun 2021

Behavioural bankingPersonalized guidance in digital banking

Reworked the proposition after COVID and opened the U.S.

exagens had a product in market and Desjardins as a marquee client. COVID changed what institutions needed, so I reworked the proposition and took it to U.S. credit unions. Two pilots turned into customers.

What I took from it: a pilot needs a purpose, and the next step should follow what the institution learns.

Feb 2017 – Feb 2019

Digital adoption

Early sales hire. One client to twelve.

I was one of the first sales hires and grew the client base from one financial institution to twelve, mostly in the U.S., with some in Canada. Along the way the proposition went from one use case to several, because each new institution had a different reason to buy.

What I took from it: interest is not a pipeline. A credible buying reason is.

Where I fit

Where I fit best.

Open to commercial roles and project work.

Sales and business development, with the strategy, positioning and marketing work around them.

You’re building the commercial side.

You need someone to find and qualify opportunities, work with buyers, and help develop the positioning, proposals and materials around the sale. That mix has been a recurring part of my work.

You’re expanding into Canada or the U.S.

My relationships and experience with banks, credit unions and fintechs across both markets can help you work out who to approach, what matters to them and where a conversation makes sense.

Your product takes more than a demo to buy.

Business cases, multiple stakeholders, diligence and commercial terms all need attention. My experience is in enterprise sales where those questions are part of the work.

How I work

Less selling, more helping someone buy.

I want to understand what needs to change and whether we can actually meet the need.

I work with the buyer on the business case and bring in the specialists who can answer the questions holding things up.

What can change a buying decision

The product can fit and the need can be real. Contracts, budgets, people and priorities can still change the next move.

Choose a situation to see how I approach it. These can happen in any order.

First contact

What’s in place today, what needs to change, and can we actually meet the need? I ask about timing, budget and who makes the decision. If there’s a gap, I want to understand it early. Sometimes we can work through it; sometimes an honest no saves both sides time.

Deciding what happens next

Long sales cycles take time from everyone involved. I want to understand why an opportunity belongs in the pipeline and what would let it move forward.

What makes sense next?

Agree a next step
What happens next, who owns it and when.
Reconnect later
The need may be there. Agree when it makes sense to return.
An honest no
If we can’t meet the need, be clear and save both sides time.

Some of that work at Brim

The conversations start long before a proposal.

Opportunities come through relationships, events and research, alongside referrals and inbound enquiries. Here’s how I keep those conversations going.

Relationships over yearsBanks · fintechs · the wider ecosystem

My relationships extend beyond buyers to people at Visa, Mastercard and Amex, consulting firms, industry analysts and journalists. Those conversations help me understand who’s working on what and where an introduction might make sense.

Staying in touchEvents · LinkedIn · industry conversations

I stay involved through conferences, events and LinkedIn, and keep in touch between them. I share what I’m seeing in the industry and follow up on what people are working on.

News & researchIndustry news · annual reports

I read industry news and annual reports, and use AI to help find signals. That research gives me context for a relevant conversation with a potential buyer.

Inbound & introductionsReferrals · direct enquiries · RFPs

Opportunities also come through people who know me, direct enquiries and inbound RFPs. I follow up to understand what prompted the interest and who needs to be involved.

What I can help you get done.

Build the pipeline

Find the right buyers, open conversations and build a pipeline the team can act on.

Help the buyer decide

Bring the buyer’s team and our specialists together to work through the questions behind a decision.

Fill the gaps around the sale

Turn what we learn from buyers into clearer positioning and useful sales materials, especially when there isn’t a full team around the role.

What carries into the next conversation

Buyer
conversations
Clearer positioning
& materials
The next
conversation

What I learn from buyers shapes the positioning and sales materials I bring into the next conversation.

In conversation

In conversation · 35 seconds

Understand the problem first.

On knowing your market, and why fintechs need to keep an eye on banks.

Interview published April 2026.

Original conversation

Read the transcript

And getting an understanding of the market is really important. And I like to say is that a problem well-defined is a problem well-solved. So for you to sit back and understand what problem you're solving and who you're solving it for, and then going and targeting those and having conversations.

The other thing I think fintechs need to be cognizant of is that the banks are also catching up. So the fintechs don't need to just compete with one another. They need to keep their eye on banks, because I think although banks are slow, once they do move, they're a behemoth, because banks aren't stupid and they're not gonna sit around and let competition take business away.

Community & curiosity.

I’m a fintech nerd. I like keeping up with who’s building what, how things work, and which people should probably meet. FinTech North and Flow of Funds are two ways I put that interest to work.

A community I run

FinTech North

An online community of practitioners across banking, fintech, and related fields. I bring people together to compare notes, ask questions, and make useful introductions.

How I bring people together

Questions
Shared
experience
Useful
introductions

Who has useful experience to share, and which people should meet? That’s what I’m looking for in these conversations.

Visit FinTech North

A project I built

Flow of Funds

I built Flow of Funds to explore how money moves: which parties are involved and what happens between them.

Describe a payment, then use the diagram to spot missing steps and questions to work through.

From a description to a clearer picture

DescribePut the payment into words.
DiagramSee the parties and the steps.
RefineWhat’s missing or still unclear?

I built it to explore how money moves. A diagram gives me something concrete to examine and question.

Try Flow of Funds

Where does the money go?

You buy a coffee with a card. The screen says approved. Has the café been paid yet?

A simplified card purchase, in three steps. An illustration, not a live transaction.

First, a decision

Approved does not mean paid.

The café’s payment request travels through its processor and acquirer, across the card network, to your card issuer. The issuer’s decision comes back. An approval usually places a hold on available funds or credit.

Merchant Acquirer Network Issuer

Request outward, decision back. These arrows show messages, not money.

The business question: Where are good customers getting declined?

Next, submit the purchase

The merchant asks to collect.

Capture submits the authorized purchase for processing. It can happen automatically or separately. Clearing exchanges the transaction details and establishes what the parties owe.

Approved purchase Capture Clearing

Still not proof that money has reached the café’s bank account.

The business question: Does the charge line up with what was actually delivered?

Then, money moves

Settlement and payout are different steps.

The issuer and acquirer settle their obligations through the network’s settlement arrangements. The merchant receives a payout under its provider’s schedule, with applicable fees and adjustments.

Issuer / acquirer settlement Merchant payout

A simplified sequence, not a promise of timing or a one-to-one bank transfer for each coffee.

The business question: Can the café reconcile what sold, what was deducted and what arrived?

The roles, sources and small print

The issuer provides the customer’s card. The acquirer serves the merchant’s side of card acceptance. Processors and gateways help carry payment messages.

This example follows a successful purchase with separate authorization and capture. Some card flows combine stages. Refunds, disputes, holds and failed captures add other paths. Timing and fees depend on the arrangement.

Read the underlying explanations: Visa’s authorization, capture and settlement flow and Adyen’s payment lifecycle and payout distinction.

Fintech Cadence

Mentor since April 2020

I mentor founders through office hours and support community programming and events.

See my experience on LinkedIn

Off the clock. Road cycling on my Canyon CF 7, or following an idea to see where it goes.

Say hello

What’s on
your mind?

Email me Book or connect