As Canadians Come to ‘Expect More’ from Their Financial Services, Two Local Innovators Collab

Two Canadian financial technology innovators have established a partnership.

North York’s Yoo Financial is collaborating with Toronto-based embedded insurance provider Walnut on its lineup of Mastercard credit cards, the two Ontario upstarts revealed this week.

The partnership will deliver a suite of insurance and protection benefits for Yoo Financial cardholders, reshaping how Canadians interact with their financial products, according to a statement from the companies.

“Canadians expect more from their financial products,” explains Yoo founder Jason Zhang, “and continue to demand increasingly personalized and tailored solutions.”

Yoo’s partnership with Walnut “will enable Yoo Financial to deliver benefits that go far beyond what is currently available in the market and offer genuine, relevant protection for everyday life,” believes Zhang.

“This is about trust, simplicity, and delivering real value through modern technology and exceeding cardmember expectations,” the entrepreneur remarked.

Walnut’s technology will provide Yoo Financial Mastercard cardholders with modularized insurances alongside their credit card, personalizing coverage, Zhang noted.

Cardholders will also be able to manage their coverages at any time through dynamic infrastructure.

“Our competitive differentiation is making insurance effortless, relevant, and embedded in the moments where people need it,” says Derek Szeto, a cofounder who serves his startup Walnut as chief executive officer.

“Together with Yoo Financial, we’re changing the way protection is accessed and experienced by their cardholders,” the CEO commented, posting that “this will raise the bar for what Canadians expect from their financial partners.”

Targeting a $3T industry, Walnut was launched by Szeto alongside Adrian Niblock in 2020, raising $4M in 2022 and another $4.6M in 2024.

Yoo Financial was founded in 2023.