Wealthsimple unveils Penny, an AI assistant for banking

Wealthsimple is launching Penny, an AI assistant that can set up e-transfers, bill payments and trades for clients, though nothing happens until the client approves it. The Toronto fintech announced the tool, along with about a dozen other products, at its Wealthsimple Presents event at Massey Hall on Thursday.

The company said Penny can flag duplicate credit card charges, manage expenses, pay invoices and answer questions about a client’s finances, including how to maximize RRSP contributions. Self-directed investors will also be able to use it to prepare purchases or sales of equities and ETFs. Wealthsimple said the assistant is expected to be broadly available by late 2026 or early 2027.

“When it comes time to actually hitting send, that’s an action that the user alone can take,” Jordan Deutsch, a director of software development at Wealthsimple, told The Canadian Press. She said Penny works only inside the Wealthsimple platform and has no access to the outside internet.

The launch lands as Canada’s largest banks have committed to blocking AI agents from directly accessing customers’ online banking. Wealthsimple said it shares the concern about handing login details to outside agents, but it plans to let clients connect their accounts to tools such as ChatGPT or Claude, with limits on what each can see and do, by early 2027. Wealthsimple’s Swapnil Parikh, vice-president of investing products, said customers approve every action, according to BetaKit.

Other announcements included Wealthsimple Pay, which lets clients send up to $100,000 instantly to other Wealthsimple clients, and temporary virtual cards with custom expiry dates and spending limits. The company also promised a rebuilt mobile app in early 2027 and a trading suite called Wealthsimple Pro, which is to enter beta by the end of November.

The event followed last week’s $425-million Series F round, which valued the company at $13.8 billion, as Canada News Media reported. BetaKit reported that Wealthsimple now serves more than four million Canadians and oversees more than $169 billion in assets.

The instant-transfer feature also arrives days before the first phase of the national Real-Time Rail system is due to start. Wealthsimple has previously said Canada should have had real-time payments years ago, and our earlier report found that the big banks are likely to miss that first phase.

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Sources: The Canadian Press; BetaKit.