Toronto-based fintech Wealthsimple is taking aim at the federal government for allowing banks and investment firms to gouge Canadians with what it calls junk fees on their own savings.
In a submission to the 2025 federal pre-budget consultation—ahead of the Nov. 4 budget release—the company warned that exit and transfer charges on registered accounts like RRSPs, TFSAs, RESPs and FHSAs are spiralling out of control and need to be curbed.
Transfers between institutions are supposed to take 7 to 12 business days, but Wealthsimple says Canadians often wait weeks or even months. During that time, money sits in limbo, benefiting the sending institution while costing the account holder. Between late 2024 and early 2025, Wealthsimple clients alone had more than a billion dollars tied up during transfers and paid $35 million in fees.
On top of the delays, charges that once ranged from $0–$75 a decade ago have climbed to a near-standard $150 per account today. Those flat fees weigh most heavily on younger Canadians with smaller balances, while older and wealthier clients often get reimbursed. Wealthsimple, which does not charge customers who leave its platform, argues no Canadian should be penalized for simply moving their money.
The company’s message to Ottawa is blunt: Canadians are being squeezed by financial institutions, and the federal government is letting it happen. Consumer protection rules already cover sectors like telecom and airlines, but registered accounts remain a loophole.
Wealthsimple is pressing lawmakers to amend the Income Tax Act, strengthen oversight through the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, and harmonize rules with provincial regulators to guarantee protection nationwide.
For Wealthsimple, this consultation is more than paperwork — it’s ammunition for a lobbying campaign to convince Ottawa it has both the power and the duty to act. “Registered accounts are supposed to help Canadians build financial security, not serve as a profit machine for banks,” the company said.
Questrade is echoing the same concerns. “We have provided input in pre-budget consultations with the federal government and advocated for a regulatory standard for transfer fees and timelines for registered accounts,” the company told The Globe and Mail in a statement.
It’s pretty unbelievable how slow these transfers are, if you’ve ever tried moving registered account funds from one institution to another. Wealthsimple usually has promos to urge people to switch banks and sometimes the money just stays in limbo. It seems by making the transfer our process costly and burdensome and slow, it discourages people from leaving the ‘Big 6’ banks in Canada.
Both Wealthsimple and Questrade offer self-trading platforms for Canadians to manage their own investments.
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Maybe if the fee was standardized and reimbursed as part of the standard. A way to resolve what I am sure are the banks’ concerns about account transfer overhead, while allowing Canadian autonomy about what to do with their money.