Wealthsimple has launched a suite of new tools for personal, household and business banking in Canada, expanding its effort to bring more of its customers' financial lives into a single service.
The new products include household finance tracking, children's accounts, business chequing, business lending and spending analysis tools. Some are available now, while others will be introduced in stages.
The move comes as financial groups compete for a larger share of customers' everyday banking activity, rather than focusing only on investing or savings products. Wealthsimple, which says it serves more than four million Canadians and holds more than $125 billion in assets under administration, has been expanding beyond its original investment business.
Available immediately is Wealthsimple Households, which lets users view and manage finances across a range of accounts, including chequing, investments, mortgages and group RRSPs, whether those accounts are held with Wealthsimple or elsewhere. It also introduced Spend Insights, a tool that groups transactions across Wealthsimple credit card and chequing accounts by category and highlights recurring subscriptions.
For business owners, Wealthsimple has launched Business Chequing, which can be opened online in minutes and includes automated transfers from a business account to a personal chequing account. The account offers up to 2.25% interest on deposits.
Wealthsimple is also adding credit products tied to investment balances. Its Business Portfolio Line of Credit allows business owners to use corporate investments as collateral for borrowing for personal purchases or business operations, while its existing personal Portfolio Line of Credit gives individuals access to cash without selling investments. Rates on those products start at 3.95%.
Family finances
A major part of the expansion is aimed at families managing money jointly. In a survey of more than 1,700 Canadian clients, 87% of couples with children said finances had caused tension or conflict in their household.
The same research found that 67% of Canadian couples share finances in some form, but many still struggle with planning and communication. Among couples with children, 50.5% said cost-of-living pressures had forced financial trade-offs, while 39% said rising costs had made it harder to plan ahead. Among solo parents, 58% reported making trade-offs, and 43% said planning had become harder.
The survey also suggested that uncertainty over household finances is delaying discussions. More than one in four couples with children and nearly one in four solo parents said they had put off a financial conversation they knew they needed to have.
To address that, Wealthsimple plans to introduce Kids and Teens Accounts that combine a chequing account and a spend card with parental controls and account visibility. Parents will also be able to add what it calls parent-paid interest to encourage saving. The product is scheduled for release later.
Another planned feature, Authorised Traders, will allow clients to trade on behalf of another person, such as a partner, parent, or family member, once the arrangement is set up.
Business push
The business banking products are part of a broader effort to attract small business owners, whose personal and company finances often overlap. Alongside Business Chequing and the Business Portfolio Line of Credit, Wealthsimple plans to add a Prepaid Business Card with 1% cashback and no foreign exchange fees, as well as USD accounts for businesses that make and receive payments in US dollars.
For personal customers, it also plans to introduce USD Chequing, a single account intended to support both Canadian and US payment systems. The account will offer up to 3.25% interest with no account fees.
The event where the products were unveiled drew more than 320,000 livestream registrations, with more than 650 clients attending in person in Calgary. Wealthsimple said more than 500,000 Albertans are among its Canadian customer base.
"Our clients' financial lives are more complex than ever, with partners, kids, side businesses, and aging parents. They deserve a financial home that reflects that reality. We built Wealthsimple to be exactly that: personal, household, and business finances all connected - all in one place. For the first time, Canadians have a single place that grows with them at every stage of life. And we're just getting started," said Brett Huneycutt, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Wealthsimple.