Wealthsimple’s Full-Spread Ad Says Banking Is Over

Wealthsimple bought a full-spread ad in every major Canadian newspaper today, according to chief growth officer Simon Lejeune, who posted the printed pages on X under the line “Banking is over.”

The Toronto fintech has been calling the big banks a tax on Canadians for a while, and this is that argument in newsprint under the headline “Canada Has One of the Most Expensive Banking Industries in the World,” with the banks on one side, Wealthsimple on the other, and “Banking is over” as the closer.

The comparison leans on fees people actually notice. Big-bank chequing still starts around $4 a month and often needs $3,000 parked to waive it, while Wealthsimple lists no monthly chequing fee, no ATM fee in Canada or abroad, and $15 to send a wire instead of about $58. Rates in the ad are as of August 5, 2026.

It is the same end-of-banking pitch the company has been running all year through family and business accounts and the Monthly Millionaire contest.

For anyone who has followed that campaign, the message will sound familiar, since Wealthsimple has spent 2026 arguing that everyday banking is optional and that the big five still charge for habits a lot of people no longer need. The newspaper spread does not change the chequing account on offer, but it does put the argument on the kitchen table, which is likely why Lejeune posted the printed pages as the story itself.

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