Toronto-based online brokerage and wealth management firm Questrade can now launch Canada’s next bank.
Questrade’s trading volumes have increased 350 percent year-over-year, according to CEO Edward Kholodenko.
Questrade Financial Group has been approved by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) to commence banking operations as Questbank, Questrade president and CEO Edward Kholodenko told BetaKit in an email statement. The approval marks the end of its six-year journey to gain a Schedule 1 banking license, which it applied for in 2019.
“This is a monumental step in furthering our mission to help Canadians become much more financially successful and secure,” Kholodenko said. “Following the successful path forged over Questrade’s 26-year history, we are thrilled to expand our offering to introduce much-needed competition to the Canadian banking landscape.”
Kholodenko said the company expects to have more to share on Questbank and its planned banking products and services in the first half of 2026.
Founded in 1999, Questrade provides a discount brokerage platform to Canadians. Questrade users can open self-directed stock-trading and investment accounts, as well as managed portfolios.
Kholodenko said securing the licence follows recent rapid growth and strategic moves, including introducing zero-commission and fractional stock trading to its online brokerage earlier this year. The company’s trading volumes have increased 350 percent year-over-year, and it now has over $85 billion in assets, Kholodenko claimed.
RELATED: Online brokerage Questrade lays off undisclosed number of employees
Questrade laid off an undisclosed number of its approximately 2,000 employees last December. A Questrade spokesperson told BetaKit at the time that the cuts were “not reflective” of the company’s underlying business, and were intended to align with its strategic direction going into 2025 and beyond.
Kholodenko told The Globe and Mail in January 2024 that, after pandemic delays, the company could see its licence approval “in about 12 months.” Yet there was no public movement on its application until this past March, when OSFI issued letters patent incorporating Questbank.
Now, Questrade has nabbed its licence just a day before the 2025 federal budget is released, where Canadian FinTech leaders have been told to expect progress on open banking. This could establish a secure way for customers to share their financial information with third parties.
Following Questrade on the path for a Canadian banking licence is Toronto-based FinTech firm Koho. The company has been working on the feat since 2022 and raised $190 million CAD in equity and debt last year to bolster its efforts.
Feature image courtesy PiggyBank via Unsplash.