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Dr. Maria Pacurar has never shied away from change, and neither do the students in her Financial Technology (Fintech) courses. She says, “they are keen to learn all they can and to be on the cutting edge of this fast-moving field.” Pacurar, the first to teach fintech at the university level in Atlantic Canada, and the co-founder of Finclusiv Edge, is no stranger to rapidly evolving landscapes. 

Navigating a secret system

Born in Romania, she came of age during the Romanian Revolution. In 1989, when she was just entering high school, the communist government fell, expanding the possibilities for the students of her generation.

After an undergrad in economics, she received a scholarship to study at the Francophone Institute for Administration and Management in Bulgaria. There, she proved herself an exceptional student and was mentored by the Director, M. Jean Bénéteau, who encouraged her to apply to the doctoral program of one of the top business schools in the world, HEC Montréal in Quebec. 

It was 1999, and despite arriving in Canada to study advanced financial theory, she had never seen a debit card, a credit card or a cheque. “The whole system felt like a secret to me; something that everyone around me understood, but I didn’t even know how to pay for my groceries.” Her learning curve was steep and she went on to earn a PhD in Finance and win the Mercure Award for best doctoral thesis in 2006. 

Working with fintech’s superstars

It wasn’t until 2017, more than ten years after arriving at Dalhousie to teach, that she started to explore fintech, the use of modern technology to improve and automate financial services like banking, payments, lending and investing. Pacurar took a course on her own dime.  The more she learned, the more convinced she was that Dalhousie’s Faculty of Management students needed to learn how technology was changing the world of finance.

Her inaugural Fintech class, in the fall of 2019, had 33 students. The first of its kind in Atlantic Canada, there was no textbook; all she had to work with were case studies and guest speakers. “It’s an incredibly fast-moving industry so I invited prominent fintech industry experts to my class.” She calls these guest speakers the “secret sauce” and is quick to credit them for much of the course’s impact. 

Two of the ingredients in that ‘secret sauce,’ local fintech superstars, Carrie Forbes and Michele Poole, came together with Pacurar to create a not-for-profit enterprise called Finclusiv Edge. “We’re all passionate about making fintech accessible for everyone,” says Pacurar. Their organization welcomes newcomers, underrepresented voices, and students to educational and networking events. 

“I first met Maria in 2020 when I joined her class as an online guest speaker,” says Carrie Forbes, the founder and CEO of Rockstar Advisory. “What I’ve found most remarkable over the years is her profound passion for her students. She delivers more than a syllabus; she builds lifelong connections, and gives students deep, real-world lessons on how the financial system works and how it can innovate and address society's challenges.”

An inclusive financial system

Michele Poole, founder of DeepPoole Advisory and a seasoned fintech and payments leader, adds that Pacurar has a rare ability to make fintech feel more open, less intimidating and more human. “Maria doesn’t just teach it, she builds the conditions for it to work better for more people. She connects students, founders, and decision-makers in a way that turns learning into real momentum.”

With fintech evolving at breakneck speed, Canada is set to usher in Open Banking this year. It’s a transformative shift in how financial data is accessed, shared and protected, and Pacurar wants to ensure that everyone, regardless of education or status, understands these changes.

Meanwhile, Pacurar’s class—and her reputation—just keep growing. The recipient of prestigious teaching awards and consistently glowing student reviews, she has expanded fintech offerings to include both an undergraduate course—now running two sections to meet demand—and an MBA course, drawing students from faculties across the university.

The appetite for what she’s teaching couldn’t please Pacurar more. “The existence of silos in any field—industry, academia, culture—has always bothered me. I came from a system of oppression where liberty and freedom of speech were not allowed,” she says. “That’s why I value and advocate for an inclusive financial system for everyone—and why I feel a responsibility to pay forward the opportunities others gave me.”