Wealthsimple’s customers had virtually no options for depositing cash before its partnership with Canada Post and often had to rely on another major bank for transfers.Giordano Ciampini/The Canadian Press
Wealthsimple Technologies Inc. will begin to offer customers a way to deposit cash through their local Canada Post office, as the fintech tries to address gaps in digital banking services.
The Toronto-based financial services provider and the Crown corporation announced last week plans to test the new service for a select group of customers, allowing cash deposits through more than 5,500 post office locations across the country. It will be available to all Wealthsimple customers in a few weeks, the company said.
“As a digital-first product, we don’t have the extensive network of branches and ATMs that big banks do,” Danish Ajmeri, director of product at Wealthsimple, said in an e-mail. “Over the last six months, we’ve worked hard to get creative and find alternatives to offer services our clients would typically go to physical branches for.”
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Eligible customers can make a deposit using a QR code, which a Canada Post clerk would scan to initiate the transfer after validating a government-issued photo ID. There is no fee for depositing the funds, the fintech said.
The rollout is part of Wealthsimple’s recent efforts to replace branch-based banking. Some experts say it could also provide a boost to the beleaguered national postal service, whose union has long advocated for postal banking.
Until recently, Wealthsimple customers had virtually no options for depositing cash and often had to rely on another major bank for transfers.
Last year, the company introduced one-to-two-day delivery of physical bank drafts anywhere in Canada, a service Mr. Ajmeri said many customers have used for large purchases such as cars. In June, the fintech announced plans for Uber-like cash delivery to customers’ doors, along with paper cheques (which is still in testing mode).
Wealthsimple prepaid Mastercard holders can also withdraw physical cash from any ATM in the world and be reimbursed for the fees, Mr. Ajmeri said. Mobile bank drafts and domestic wire transfers are also available to customers now.
The financial services provider, which reached a $10-billion valuation last year and oversees more than $100-billion in client assets, has been doubling down on efforts to become a serious digital challenger to Canada’s big banks.
It’s diverged in its approach from other fintechs in the space, such as Questrade Financial Group Inc., which has embarked on the arduous process of applying for Schedule I banking licences to accept deposits. Instead, Wealthsimple has partnered with undisclosed Schedule I institutions to hold deposits and provide up to $1-million in coverage from Canada Deposit Insurance Corp.
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“Wealthsimple wants to give Canadians the tools to manage their finances completely, without ever needing to drive hours to the nearest bank branch,” Mr. Ajmeri said. “We’re ensuring that Canadians in rural and remote communities have the same access to full-service banking as those in major cities.”
Data from the Canadian Bankers Association show that access to physical banking is declining across Canada. The number of bank branches per 100,000 adults fell 15 per cent between 2012 and 2021.
Branch closings have disproportionately affected rural communities, where branch density fell 7.2 per cent compared with 5.2 per cent over all between 2019 and 2022, according to a Bank of Canada study. For rural residents who lose their last local branch, the average travel distance nearly doubles from 9.6 kilometres to 17.6 kilometres, the study found.
Jerry Buckland, an economics and international development studies professor at Canadian Mennonite University who researches financial inclusion, said Wealthsimple’s partnership with Canada Post is encouraging for low-income households, which often rely disproportionately on cash but still have smartphones, though with limited data plans.
“They get trapped in dependence on lower-quality financial services,” he said. “A thoughtful partnership of this sort has the prospect of improving financial access.”
The rollout might also be a boon for the national postal service, he said, which recorded a $541-million loss in the third quarter of 2025. Last fall, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, which represents 55,000 Canada Post employees, renewed calls for the federal government to support the creation of postal banking. It has previously cited examples such as Japan Post Bank, as well as postal banking services in India, China and Portugal.
But, Prof. Buckland warned, other postal banking initiatives to support rural communities haven‘t always succeeded.
A program launched in 2022 by Toronto-Dominion Bank that offered loans for customers through Canada Post was paused within weeks because of unspecified processing issues.