The Bank of Montréal (BMO) has adopted Calgary FinTech startup Link’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) digital savings platform.
The BMO-Link Workplace Savings Platform lets users contribute to employer-backed group plans like Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), and Deferred Profit-Sharing Plans (DPSPs). BMO claims it’s the first major Canadian financial institution to let customers create portfolios with exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that deliver “diversification, liquidity, flexibility, and low fees.”
The Bank of Montréal acquired a minority stake in Link in May 2023 for an undisclosed amount.
Link’s system walks plan holders through questions that gauge their investment timeline, risk tolerance, and investment goals before recommending an ETF portfolio. The platform is billed as a “one-stop” way for businesses of all sizes to manage staff retirement savings, and it automatically handles tasks like payroll deductions, matching contributions, and rebalancing portfolios.
Link CEO Brian McClennon told BetaKit he saw the launch as a way to “modernize” workplace savings while streamlining administration for employers.
Link was founded in 2016 and focused on helping smaller businesses that either didn’t have savings plans or were paying high fees they sometimes passed on to employees. The company raised $9 million CAD in pre-seed and seed funding rounds before receiving $2.5 million from Canaccord Genuity Group in a 2021 Series A round.
RELATED: Three Canadian FinTech firms strike new partnerships
BMO acquired a minority stake in Link in May 2023 for an undisclosed amount. This helped Link keep developing “best-in-class” technology, McClennon said in a statement.
The collaboration comes at a moment of high stock market volatility due to United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tariff-driven trade war. Canadian tech stocks like BlackBerry, Lightspeed, and Shopify crashed along with the rest of the market, with exchanges worldwide losing around $5 trillion USD after Trump announced sweeping tariffs on April 2. A decision to pause most tariffs a week later sparked a resurgence.
Feature image courtesy of Nikhil Mitra on Unsplash.