Wealthsimple business chequing now comes with the prepaid business Visa — a card that earns 1% cashback on every business purchase, paid back into your business account, with no application, no annual fee, and no FX upcharge abroad.(1,2) If you have an opened business chequing account, your card is ready to ship. If you don't, you can open one from home in about 20 minutes.
If you run your own business, you already know the quiet math of it all. Every bill, every software subscription, every supply run — your business is paying for it. And if you’re currently swiping a personal card and reimbursing yourself later, you're doing extra accounting work and potentially leaving rewards on the table.
Until now, Wealthsimple business chequing could do almost everything except one thing: spend. You could send, receive, and move money, but there was no card to actually pay for things. The prepaid business Visa fills that gap — and it does it in a way most business cards don't.
What is the prepaid business Visa?
The prepaid business Visa is a card built into Wealthsimple business chequing that lets you spend directly from your business account and earn 1% cashback on every business purchase, paid back into that account.(1) It runs on the Visa network, activates instantly with no application or credit check, and carries no annual fee. Because it draws on your existing balance, eligibility doesn't depend on your income or how long you've been incorporated. With this card you get:
1% cashback on every business purchase.(1) Not capped, not tiered, not limited to "select categories." Every dollar you spend earns 1%, paid straight back into your business chequing. That's money you were already spending — now some of it comes back to you.
A card you can use right now. There's no application and no approval to wait on. Because the prepaid business Visa draws on your business chequing balance, you can get it and start spending today. New business, variable income, incorporated last week — none of it matters here.
No FX upcharge abroad. Buy from a US vendor, pay an international contractor, or travel for work, and you 0% FX — no markup added on top.² Many other cards quietly tack on 2.5% to 3.5% on every foreign transaction. This one doesn't.
Free ATM withdrawals, anywhere. Pull cash from virtually any ATM in the world and we’ll reimburse you the withdrawal fee.(3)
Control that lives in your app. Lock and unlock the card in a tap, and get a notification for every transaction the moment it happens. If you've ever wondered "wait, what was that charge?", now you'll know in real time.
Why we built it
Business owners have basically had three ways to pay for things, and each comes with a catch.
A business credit card can earn points, but it can carry an annual fee, and getting approved means an application which typically comes with income minimums, branch visits, and time spent on hold. If you've recently incorporated, you might get denied, or approved for a limit so small it's barely worth it.
A business debit card skips the application but tends to come with no rewards and per-transaction charges. Some big banks include a handful of transactions a month, then bill you for each one after that — on top of a monthly account fee.
A personal credit card earns your own rewards, but now you're mixing business and personal spending, reimbursing yourself, and untangling it all at tax time (and hoping you sorted it correctly).
The prepaid business Visa is our answer to all three: it rewards you like a good business card, activates instantly like a debit card, and keeps business spending cleanly separate from your personal life — without the application, annual fee, or accounting headache.
How does the prepaid business Visa compare to a debit or credit card?
Here's how the three options stack up side by side:
Feature | Business debit card | Prepaid business Visa | Corporate credit card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Automatic with account | Available as soon as account is open | Requires application / qualification |
| Access | Withdraws instantly | Withdraws instantly | Set credit limit |
| Network | Interac debit (sometimes Visa debit) | Runs on Visa | Visa / Amex / Mastercard |
| Rewards | Typically none | 1% cashback, no limit¹ | Points, sometimes cashback |
| FX | Up to 3.5% FX fees | 0% FX fees | Varies |
| ATMs | Transaction limits / fees | No withdrawal fees, globally³ | Varies |
In short: the prepaid business Visa is the only one of the three that pays you back and requires no application.
Who is the prepaid business Visa for?
It's built for any incorporated or self-employed business owner who spends on their business — but two groups feel the difference most.
If you're self-employed — a consultant, creative, or contractor — this is the card that finally separates your business spending from your personal life without adding a single step. You've probably been floating business expenses on a personal card because a "real" business card felt like more hassle than it was worth. This is the perk you've been waiting for, and it's already sitting inside your account.
If you run an incorporated practice — say you're a physician or specialist buying medical supplies, software, and professional dues — the prepaid business Visa is a clean, low-admin way to keep corporate spending corporate. It may not replace every feature of a premium corporate card, but for everyday business purchases that should just be simple, it works, right where the rest of your money already lives.
Either way, the appeal is the same: your business spending, rewarded and organized, with nothing extra to manage.
Does it make tax time easier?
Yes, if you’ve been putting business expenses on your personal card. When your business spending is on a dedicated business card, your expenses are way cleaner to track and account for. No more combing through a personal statement trying to remember which dinner was a client and which was your own. Everything business lives in one place, which means less manual work for you (or your accountant) and a cleaner trail when it counts.
It's the same idea behind everything we build: you can have everything in one place, but each account and card serves a distinct purpose.
How do you get the prepaid business Visa?
If you already have a Wealthsimple business chequing account, your card is ready in just a few simple steps outlined here.
Don't have a business account yet? You can open Wealthsimple business chequing from home in as little as 20 minutes(5) — no monthly fees, no minimums, and up to 2.25% interest on your balance(4) — then grab your card the moment you're set up.
