Wealthsimple has become the first Canadian fintech, and second non-bank in the world, to join the SWIFT global financial messaging network.
The Toronto company, recently named Innovator of the Year for 2026 in Canada, wants to “fix” the “clunky and expensive” traditional experience of international wire transfers, according to Hanna Zaidi, who serves Wealthsimple as vice president of payments strategy.
SWIFT is used worldwide by 11,000 financial institutions to facilitate trillions of dollars in payments globally.
The network unlocks end-to-end tracking visibility, allowing Wealthsimple’s clients to see the full journey of a wire transfer in real-time.
“Our SWIFT membership is going to unlock faster, simpler, and more transparent international money transfers for the more than three million Canadians who trust Wealthsimple,” commented Zaidi.
Wealthsimple is currently completing final technical integration and security certification ahead of a full client launch this spring, according to a statement from the company.
The Canadian fintech is also planning to be an early adopter of Canada’s forthcoming Real-Time Rail payment system.
“Innovations like the Real-Time Rail have a meaningful potential to improve the prosperity and user experience of clients at Canadian financial institutions,” posits Donna Kinoshita, Payments Canada’s Chief Payment Officer.
“We are looking forward to seeing these innovative new services in the hands of consumers,” said Kinoshita.
Founded in 2014, Wealthsimple currently serves more than three million Canadians and holds over $100 billion in assets under administration.
Last year, Wealthsimple raised nearly $1B at a $10B valuation, which was by far the year’s largest fintech investment round. It was the capstone to a salient 2025 for the Ontario innovator.
“This year we took some of the biggest steps in our history toward serving you more completely and launched the most products we ever have in a calendar year, many in direct response to your feedback,” chief executive officer Michael Katchen stated in December. “We added features like bank draft delivery, mobile cheque deposit, USD savings accounts, and international money transfers so you could finally use Wealthsimple as your main financial partner.”
The momentum continues in 2026.
Leave a Reply