Toronto-based FinTech startup Wealthsimple has begun rolling out the first feature of Wealthsimple Cash in beta to a select number of customers.
Although Wealthsimple Cash is widely available for download, the features of the app are currently available by invite-only. Currently, only a peer-to-peer payments feature, which allows users to send and request money, is available. A number of Twitter users that have been invited to the beta are sharing early access and invite codes for others interested in testing the new app.
Wealthsimple first announced its Cash product in January.
Wealthsimple has not made a public announcement regarding the beta roll-out of this app. However, a spokesperson for Wealthsimple confirmed to BetaKit the company is “in the early stages of testing a new peer-to-peer payments app,” but declined to disclose additional details.
Many users on Twitter that claim to have early access describe the feature currently available on the app as a Venmo for Canada. Venmo is a mobile payment service that lets account holders transfer funds to others via a mobile phone app.
Wealthsimple Cash is expected to offer a number of financial products in addition to this Venmo-like feature, including a physical Wealthsimple Cash Card, a digital card, access to direct deposits, and pre-authorized debit, among others. The broader Wealthsimple Cash account is expected to be a hybrid saving-spending account.
I’ve got invites to @Wealthsimple Cash (to send/request money) if anyone would like! Excited to see them take this on because Venmo doesn’t work here and e-transfer is SO clunky
— Nora Jenkins Townson (@NoraJKS) November 17, 2020
Wealthsimple Cash was first revealed in January and represents the startup’s first expansion into the spending space. The startup partnered with two “major Canadian banks” to launch a Wealthsimple Cash chequing account.
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The launch of the spending and savings account comes as Wealthsimple has been actively working to expand. Wealthsimple, which recently raised $114 million CAD in a deal that valued the startup at $1.4 billion CAD, has been open about its plans to expand into new financial verticals.
Over the summer, Wealthsimple received regulatory approval to launch its digital assets offering, a cryptocurrency trading platform. Wealthsimple Crypto, as it is called, is also available in beta, and comes in addition to Wealthsimple’s existing investing, tax, and trading offerings. Last month, the company also launched an exchange-traded fund specifically tailored to Muslim investors.
The startup, which was founded in 2014, has previously stated plans to divide its offerings into three pillars: saving and investing, responsible credit, and smart insurance. When speaking with BetaKit in September, Wealthsimple CEO Michael Katchen said “responsible credit” products such as mortgages, as well as insurance offerings are also on Wealthsimple’s roadmap.
Image source Unsplash. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez.