Twitter chooses Wealthsimple as first Canadian payment service for its Tip Jar

Wealthsimple

Wealthsimple continues to build on its heady year of growth with the announcement today that it is the first Canadian-based payment service to be part of Twitter’s recently rolled-out Tip Jar.

Twitter users with Tip Jar access will be able to connect it to their Wealthsimple Cash account and receive payments from followers, right through Twitter. Tip Jar is currently in beta with more users being added regularly; Canadian Twitter users have had access to the beta since its launch.

Tip Jar is currently in beta. Canadian Twitter users have had beta access since its launch in May 2021.
 

Wealthsimple launched its peer-to-peer money transfer app, Cash, in the fall of 2020 to a small group of beta users. In March, it became available to all Canadian users in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

On Tip Jar, Wealthsimple joins a number of other payment providers, including Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, PayPal, and Venmo. On Android, tips can also be sent within Spaces.

RELATED: Wealthsimple CEO Michael Katchen says company’s ambitions extend “beyond Canada”

“Twitter takes no cut,” noted Esther Crawford, the company’s senior product manager.

Tip Jar on Twitter first launched as a beta in May 2021. Twitter users had already been adding Patreon or GoFundMe links to their bios or to Tweets. Tip Jar further integrates the idea of monetizing Tweets with individual accounts.

“This is our latest step as part of our work to create new ways for people to receive and show support on Twitter – with money,” Twitter said in a statement.

In May, Wealthsimple raised a $750 million CAD funding round, which the Toronto-based company said gave them a valuation of $5 billion.

And in January, Wealthsimple’s stock trading app hit number one on Canada’s app store.

Twitter Tip Jar with Wealthsimple
Tip Jar is currently in beta with more users being added regularly

If a Tip Jar icon appears next to the Follow button on a Twitter user’s profile page, that person will know the account is active. To see the list of payment services or platforms that are enabled, Twitter users tap the Tip Jar icon.

After selecting the payment service or platform the user prefers, the individual is taken off Twitter to the selected app, where payment may be made.

Charles Mandel

Charles Mandel

Charles Mandel's reporting and writing on technology has appeared in Wired.com, Canadian Business, Report on Business Magazine, Canada's National Observer, The Globe and Mail, and the National Post, among many others. He lives off-grid in Nova Scotia.

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