Protecting your assets is our top priority
Millions of Canadians trust us with their cash, investments, and personal financial information —and as a regulated financial institution, we have measures in place to help keep it safe.
3 million
Canadians trust us to manage and grow their wealth
$70+ billion
total assets under our administration, and it’s growing daily
$1 million
eligible coverage with CDIC for chequing or CIPF for investments
Our approach to security
Smart tech, expert team
We invest in technology to help prevent fraud and scams, and give clients the tools to take action themselves. Being nimble means we can move fast to tackle threats, fix issues, and support our clients. Our full-service trust team, led by senior execs, has deep expertise across fraud, security, privacy, and AML.
Fully regulated
We follow the same anti–money laundering requirements as a bank, reporting to FINTRAC under Canadian law (PCMLTFA). Our partners for buying and selling investments are regulated by CIRO, and our portfolio manager is registered in every Canadian province and territory. You can read more here.
Certified by trusted third parties
We regularly undergo third-party assessments of our security practices. We are compliant with SOC 1 and SOC 2 — industry standards that involve rigorous audits of how we manage data, protect information, and control internal systems. These certifications show that we consistently meet high standards.
We work with you to help keep your money safe
Two-step verification
To help verify that it’s really you logging into your account, we use two-step verification (also known as two-factor authentication), and turning it on adds a crucial extra layer of protection against cybercriminals. We support verification codes via an authenticator app, text message, or automated phone call. And if we notice unusual activity on your account, we’ll ask for extra verification before any money is withdrawn.
Identity verification
When you open an account, we’ll do a quick ‘soft credit check’ to verify your info. If something doesn’t match, we’ll ask for a selfie and a government-issued ID. This helps us follow FINTRAC identity verification rules and industry best practices.
Data monitoring and encryption
Our data collection policies adhere to strict security controls and regulatory requirements. We use data loss prevention software to monitor sensitive information and encrypt all data sent from your device to web servers.
Helping you keep your account secure
Get to know our in-app features
If something looks off on your account, there are a few immediate steps you can take, like forcing all other devices to log out, changing your password, or blocking unknown devices from logging in. You can also lock your card instantly from the app or web at any time.
Always stay alert
Our fraud and security teams are always watching for anything suspicious — and you should be, too. Stay alert to phishing (we’ll never ask you for your password or 2FA code) and don’t share information with untrusted sources. You can learn more about identifying scams here.
How we protect your data
Transparent policies
How we manage your personal info is always publicly available in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. We’ll notify you when collecting or sharing your data and give you control over how it’s used.
Controlled access to your info
We only authorize employees to have access to your data if it’s absolutely necessary, and their usage is strictly monitored. Plus, we don’t keep your data any longer than we need to.
Prioritized privacy
With our Privacy Management Program, all our employees are provided with in-depth privacy training and support. And on your end, you can manage your privacy settings, request access to your info, and make updates in-app.
Open a secure account
Join the millions of Canadians who trust us with their wealth, and start investing, spending, and saving right away.
FAQs
Canada hasn’t adopted open banking yet — a secure system that lets third-party providers, like Wealthsimple, access a client’s bank account information with their consent. In the meantime, we work with trusted third-party providers, Plaid and Flinks so you can securely connect your external bank accounts to Wealthsimple to freely transfer money. They also help us verify your personal information and make sure it matches what your financial institution has on file to help protect you against identity theft or fraud.
Your money is insured through different protection programs depending on the amount and type of accounts or products you use. These include CDIC, CIPF, and secure crypto storage.
You can learn more about the different types of coverage here.
We hear you — there are lots of them to keep up with. Here’s a breakdown of what they all mean:
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AML (Anti-Money Laundering) — how we help stop criminal activity by making sure money moving through Wealthsimple is from legitimate sources.
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FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) — the agency that monitors Canada’s money to stop illegal activity like money laundering and terrorism financing.
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PCMLTFA (Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act) — Canada’s main law that requires businesses to monitor and report suspicious financial activities to fight crime and terrorism.
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CIRO (Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization) — the Canadian agency that oversees investment dealers and representatives to make sure they follow their rules and treat clients fairly.
It’s really hard to say for sure — there are a ton of third-party financial aggregators out there, and we can’t vouch for all of them. You should always read the terms and conditions before signing up for any of these kinds of apps, especially any information on how they use your data.
We do ask a lot of questions, but it’s all to keep your money secure. Since we’re a regulated financial institution, we’re required to flag transactions that seem suspicious or fraudulent. So, to help keep you safe, we need to know where your money is going. And we’ll sometimes ask to verify your account — even a second time — as extra protection.
If you’re worried your Wealthsimple account has been accessed without your permission, you should take steps to secure your account right away to prevent any more unauthorized activity. Here’s an article with next steps if your email or identity has been compromised. And remember, you can instantly lock your card from the app or web at any time, and contact us at 1-855-255-9038.
If you’d like to ask a question, make a request, or file a complaint about how we process your personal information, you can get in touch with our privacy team at privacy@wealthsimple.com.