Over the past few weeks, several FinTechs have made announcements launching new features and partnerships. Here’s the latest on these company updates.
Hardbacon launches iOS app
Montreal-based financial literacy startup Hardbacon has launched its iOS app hoping to become the “Netflix for investment” in Canada.
Compatible with at least a dozen online brokers like BMO InvestorLine and TD Direct Investing, the app is designed to help users monitor their investments and obtain real-time analysis of their stock market portfolios. The company gets its data from Thomson Reuters, and integrates with brokers through its partner, Wealthica.
“Millennials want the freedom to invest in what speaks most to them,” said Julien Brault, Hardbacon’s CEO. “Everyone else in the finance industry offers something akin to cable, whereas we offer something similar to Netflix: a mobile app for $5 per month that provides access to all the tools and financial data that an investor needs to succeed in the stock market.”
The company also added François Barrière, former SVP and treasurer of Laurentian Bank, to its advisory committee. “The Hardbacon application fills a gaping need in the market, said the former banker. It helps people understand their own finances and how to invest in the stock market, but unlike what is prevalent in the industry, Hardbacon doesn’t make any money from pushing financial products,” he said.
Hardbacon raised $70,000 from a crowdfunding campaign launched last year, offering a financial literacy course to make everyone a “stock market pro.” It also received a contribution of $14,000 from BMO Smartfolio.
Payment Source partners with Paytm Canada
Paytm Canada, a payments and financial services company offering mobile payments and commerce, has partnered with Toronto-based alternative payments provider Payment Source.
Canadians can now walk into any of the 6,000 Canada Post locations and directly deposit cash into their Paytm app without incurring any transaction costs. The goal is to allow Paytm Canada to provide a convenient solution for bill payments.
“We are very excited to partner with Payment Source to add the Canada Post network to our platform, and to open doors to Canadians who otherwise would not be able to add cash to their Paytm account,” said Harinder Takhar, CEO of Paytm Labs. “Paytm Canada is tenaciously revolutionizing the bill payment experience to provide all Canadians a seamless, instant and cost- free mobile account to manage their bill payments.”
Paytm — India’s largest mobile payments provider with over 200 million users — first entered the Canadian market in March 2017. It allows Canadians to pay their bills at more than 5,000 billers instantly through their cell phones, and earn rewards and cashback offers for doing so.
“Payment Source is committed to providing Canadians with financially inclusive solutions that reduce the friction and improve the speed of their payments,” said Trevor Cook, CEO of Payment Source. “We have great respect for Paytm and the international success they’ve had, and are excited to support their Canadian growth with our Loadhub technology.”