The Toronto fintech unveiled a dozen new features including an AI tool that moves money and executes trades with client sign-off
Wealthsimple has rolled out an AI-powered assistant and 11 additional products aimed at deepening its hold on everyday Canadian financial life, positioning the Toronto-based fintech as a full-service alternative to the country's major banks.
The announcement at the company's Wealthsimple Presents event in Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, and Calgary on November 5, introduced Penny, an AI assistant capable of sending e-transfers, paying invoices, flagging duplicate credit card charges, and helping self-directed investors buy and sell stocks and ETFs - all within the Wealthsimple platform.
No transaction is completed without explicit client approval, the company said.
"People don't expect something good to happen at their bank, or with their money. We want to change that," said Brett Huneycutt, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Wealthsimple, Toronto. "Everything we introduced today, from our AI assistant to advanced trading tools, helps take friction and fear out of money."
What Penny does
Unlike chatbots that respond only to direct commands, Penny is designed to interpret broader financial goals and map out next steps. A client who asks Penny to "max out my RRSP by March," for example, would receive a plan that checks balances across linked financial institutions, sets up recurring investments, and adjusts if circumstances change.
The assistant operates entirely within Wealthsimple's secure environment, with no client data leaving the platform. Wealthsimple also confirmed it is building integrations that would allow clients to connect their accounts to external AI tools such as ChatGPT and Claude - with client approval required at setup and additional confirmation required for sensitive actions. Those connections are expected by early 2027.
The launch arrives as Canada's large chartered banks have moved to restrict third-party AI agents from accessing their systems over cybersecurity concerns, according to reporting by The Logic. Wealthsimple's approach - keeping all interactions within its own ecosystem while still enabling AI-driven automation - appears designed to address those same concerns on its own terms.
As Wealth Professional has reported, Wealthsimple has steadily expanded its platform beyond its origins as a robo-adviser, now serving more than four million Canadians with assets across chequing, managed investing, self-directed trading, and tax filing.
Advanced trading and new asset classes
For active traders, Wealthsimple introduced Wealthsimple Pro, a consolidated trading platform that combines positions, watchlists, and Level 2 market data in a single view, expected in late November 2026.
The fintech also became the first Canadian brokerage to offer commission-free options trading on Canadian stocks. Since launching zero-commission options on U.S. equities last year, Wealthsimple clients have placed $24 billion in options trades, the company said. Perpetual futures - allowing traders to use leverage on an asset's price without owning it, with no expiry date - are also coming in late November.
A new Canadian-dollar-backed stablecoin, CADD, will also launch in late November. Issued by a regulated financial institution, it is designed to track the loonie on a one-to-one basis and will offer a 3.25 per cent annual reward on holdings kept at Wealthsimple.
Earlier this year, as Wealth Professional covered in its reporting on AI-powered planning partnerships, Wealthsimple had already begun integrating more sophisticated financial planning tools - an effort the November 2026 announcement extends further.
Payments and a business credit card
On the payments side, Wealthsimple Pay now allows clients to send up to $100,000 instantly to other Wealthsimple users.
Temporary virtual cards - a first for Canadian consumers, the company said - will be available to all Wealthsimple prepaid and credit card holders by the end of 2026. Each card carries unique details, a custom spending limit, and a custom expiry date, and can be added to a digital wallet.
A new business credit card with no foreign exchange fees and one per cent cashback on all purchases is planned for early 2027.
The November event also previewed a rebuilt iOS and Android app - described as five times faster to launch - with a customizable home screen and single-swipe trading. Full availability is expected by early 2027.
The wave of product launches reflects the ambitions of a company whose valuation reached $13.8 billion following a $425 million Series F in October 2026, and that held the highest volume of self-directed trades in Canada in the first half of 2026, according to research firm Investor Economics.
