Wealthsimple Business Chequing now comes with a card that pays 1% cash back and charges no foreign exchange fees, Prince of Travel reported on November 6, 2026. If you are a Canadian business owner who pays in US dollars or travels abroad for work, you stop losing a slice of every foreign purchase. For spending at home, a good points card may still be the better pick if your goal is business class seats.
What does the Wealthsimple Business card offer?
It offers two things: 1% cash back and no FX fees. That is the whole story as reported, and honestly, it is a good one.
The cash back is flat. You do not have to track categories or remember which card to use for gas and which for dining. Every purchase earns the same 1%.
The bigger news is the second part. A card with no FX fees, tied to a business chequing account, is still not common in Canada. Most business owners we talk to just accept the foreign currency fee as a cost of doing business. It does not have to be.
How much do FX fees really cost a business?
More than most owners think. Most Canadian cards add about 2.5% on top of the exchange rate every time you pay in another currency.
Here is a simple example. Say your business spends $10,000 a year in US dollars on software, suppliers, hotels and meals on work trips. At 2.5%, that is about $250 a year in fees. You never see it as a line item. It is just baked into each charge.
On a card with no FX fees and 1% back, that same $10,000 saves you the $250 and earns you about $100 back. That is roughly a $350 swing on spending you were going to do anyway. Spend more abroad and the gap grows.
If your business pays for US tools every month, or you fly to New York, Florida or Europe a few times a year, this is real money.
Is 1% cash back better than points?
Not always. For spending in Canadian dollars, a points card can beat 1% cash back if you use the points well.
This is the part most people miss. Cash back is worth exactly what it says. A dollar of points is worth whatever you turn it into. Many Canadian rewards cards earn one point or more per dollar, and when you use those points for a business class seat instead of a gift card, each point can be worth well over one cent. That is how flyers turn normal company spending into lie flat seats to Europe or Asia.
So our view is simple. Cash back is easy and safe. Points take a little more work but can go much further. If you are chasing business class, 1% back on your home spending leaves value on the table.
The smart move for a lot of owners is to use both. Put foreign currency spend on a card with no FX fees. Put Canadian dollar spend on your best points card.
Who should get it?
You should look at it if your business pays in foreign currency often. That means US software and suppliers, cross border sales trips, or regular travel abroad.
It also makes sense if you want one simple account and one simple card, and you do not want to think about points at all. Some owners would rather take the cash and move on. That is a fair choice.
You can skip it if nearly all your costs are in Canadian dollars and you already earn points you actually use. In that case, the no FX feature saves you little, and 1% back is likely a step down from what you have.
One last tip. Before you move your company banking, check the details on Wealthsimple's own site, since the report we saw covers the headline features only.
If you run a business and want to know what your current spending could already buy in business class trips, you can see what your spending buys.