TORONTO
Wealthsimple Financial Corp. has launched an artificial intelligence assistant and plans to let clients connect their accounts to third-party AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude by early 2027.
The fintech's new assistant, named Penny, can prepare e-transfers, wire transfers, stock trades and help plan contributions to registered investment accounts, the company announced at an event in Toronto on Thursday.
"We're talking about you in the driver's seat with an assistant that takes away a lot of the friction," said Jordan Deutsch, Wealthsimple's director of software development.
Penny cannot independently move money or execute trades without confirmation from the client, and it operates solely within Wealthsimple's platform without access to the outside internet.
The launch comes as major Canadian banks, including Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal and Toronto-Dominion Bank, have moved to block third-party AI agents from accessing customer accounts over security concerns.
Wealthsimple shares those security worries and warns against clients sharing banking credentials with unsecured AI tools.
"Canadians, we agree with the big banks, should not be doing this. They're giving them their ID, their password. We don't believe that that is the right way to do it," said Sam Newman-Bremang, Wealthsimple's senior product director.
Instead, the company is building what it calls secure, direct connections for clients who want to use AI agents.
Starting in early 2027, Wealthsimple clients will be able to connect their accounts to ChatGPT or Claude, determining the level of access granted, with client approval required for any transactions.
Wealthsimple is also in talks with other AI and technology companies, including Meta and Instinct, to see if their systems meet its security requirements.
Penny uses a secure data feed that connects directly to Wealthsimple's systems, allowing it to access financial information and prepare transactions without screen scraping, a practice that violates some banks' terms of service.
The AI assistant also includes an audit trail to track how data is used within the system.
"We understand exactly what data has been accessed by the assistant, what data it's using when it's in conversation, and we have a trail of all of that over time," Deutsch said.
The rollout is part of Wealthsimple's broader push to compete with Canada's largest banks, with CEO Michael Katchen recently stating a goal to reach $1 trillion in assets under administration.
Last week, the company said it raised $425 million in a funding round led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, valuing it at $13.8 billion.
Wealthsimple is not alone in exploring AI agents; rival brokerage Questrade already lets clients connect investment accounts to tools like ChatGPT and Claude.
"If we provide Canadian consumers with more choice and a broader diversity of products, and ultimately products that people in other parts of the world have access to, we all win," Deutsch said.
This story was written by the e2gold.ca newsroom from reporting by The Globe and Mail, The Logic and BNN Bloomberg. Quotes are checked word for word against that reporting.