Toronto-based fintech Wealthsimple has pushed out two new features this week, one for traders and one for small business owners.
The first is index options trading, now live on the brokerage side. Canadians can buy and sell contracts on four major indexes, including the SPX (S&P 500), the RUT (Russell 2000), the XSP (Mini S&P 500), and the VIX (Volatility Index).
Depending on your options level approval, Wealthsimple supports long options, cash-secured puts, and multi-leg strategies like vertical, calendar, and diagonal spreads.
Orders have to go in during standard trading hours, from 9:30 AM to 4:15 PM Eastern. Equity options are still commission-free on Wealthsimple, but index options carry a mandatory exchange fee of $0.25 to $1 USD per contract.
Business accounts can now take cash at Canada Post
The second update expands Wealthsimple’s instant cash deposit service, which was previously limited to personal accounts (it debuted in January), to Business chequing accounts. If you run a shop that still takes a lot of cash, this one is for you.
Deposits happen at over 5,300 Canada Post locations across the country. In the Wealthsimple app, you pick the account you want the money to land in and generate a QR code under Branch Services. The postal clerk scans that code, checks your government-issued photo ID, and takes the cash. Funds show up instantly. It still feels weird to be treating Canada Post like an ATM to deposit cash.
There is no fee to do this, but there are limits. Wealthsimple says each transaction has to be at least $10 CAD and cannot exceed $3,000 CAD. Individual users get a $9,000 CAD daily cap and a $60,000 CAD weekly cap.
Business chequing accounts work a little differently. The $9,000 CAD limit runs on a rolling 24-hour window, and it is shared across everyone at the company. So if you and two other directors each drop off $3,000 on the same afternoon, that is the whole day’s allowance gone.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
