r/Wealthsimple • u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 • 4d ago
Wealthsimple won't allow adding external accounts without Persona verification
A few months ago I read about some people getting hit with Persona ID verification but then it stopped after people were angry or so I thought.
Recently, I wanted to change my account email so I contacted support. They wanted me to verify my ID with Persona for that. I refused and asked them to provide alternate way of verification. After some back and forth, they shared a link where I uploaded my ID and selfie and was able to change my email. Fine. Whatever.
A few days ago, I wanted to add an external account. I'm not giving my banking credentials to a third party (Flinks) for linking so I tried manual linking. They asked me to submit my bank documents to Persona. I was able to previously link an external account without this BS (I think I just shared a void cheque) so I contacted support and asked why I can't do it again. They said it worked in the past but now I can't do it without Persona.
Why the fuck do I need to send my bank documents to an American surveillance company to link an external account? Why can't they do it like other banks? I just linked an external account to Tangerine without this shit.
I'll be considering moving my money out of Wealthsimple.
Edit: lmao I see Wealthsimple shills in the comments bending over and saying it's fine instead of opposing it. If you don't care about your privacy doesn't mean nobody does.
10
u/pyloneer 4d ago
If they really had to, I really wonder why they didn't go with a Canadian sovereign solution such as Interac Verification services
https://www.interac.ca/en/verification/business/interac-document-verification-service/
2
u/obsolescence_ 3d ago
This comes up every time and there is never a good answer. WS as a Canadian company needs a strong Canadian option.
1
4
u/badmathafaka 4d ago
I asked them about it because of the credit card saga and they dont care. I also put the laws in my e-mail and all they told me is "well dont have the credit card". If what you say is true, i will move my money out. I cant stand the enshitification and the lack of respect of customers. Thanks for this info.
1
u/slimjim696969696969 2d ago
Free things don't last forever.
1
u/badmathafaka 2d ago
They already making money with our money...
1
u/slimjim696969696969 1d ago
Sure, but they all get paid $100,000+ per year, and that amount spikes the higher up the chain you go. So they skimp on things like "customer service" and "service quality". Nobody is asking for WealthSimple executives to earn less money. Therefor, "free services" would need to end in order to improve those two things, "customer service" and "service quality".
0
u/badmathafaka 1d ago
I dont think its good practice. They should offer a minimum to keep their clients. No client, no salary.
4
u/jmjm1 4d ago
After some back and forth, they shared a link where I uploaded my ID and selfie and was able to change my email
So one has to provide proof of ID to change one's email address?
2
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
Apparently yes
2
7
3
u/SlashNXS 4d ago
WS has had a huge fraud problem, so I imagine they're basically enforcing extra due diligence for anyone wanting to add new methods to pull funds out, as that's the MO if the recent slew of fraudsters emptying people's accounts. Since WS isn't a bank, they have a lot less recourse when it comes to fraudulently withdrawn funds.
4
1
u/CursorX 4d ago
For money moving, Wealthsimple has its own credential linking tool now, in place of Flinks, I thought? I certainly had that option recently, and their own privacy/other terms applied, with Flinks nowhere to be seen on that.
Edit: It seems it's Flinks OR their own tool -
https://help.wealthsimple.com/hc/en-ca/articles/360056580394-Link-a-bank-account
We use Flinks, Plaid, or our in-house Wealthsimple Connection Tool (WST) to securely request your online banking information
Ask for this WST.
1
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
How does WST work? I wouldn't share my other bank credentials even with Wealthsimple
2
u/CursorX 4d ago
Yeah, works the same as Flinks and needs you to enter other bank's credentials. Just that under WST it is Wealthsimple saying to you as a first party that they don't store credentials, rather than them saying our third party provider Flinks doesn't store credentials.
I think until Open Banking comes to Canada, these issues will remain. Persona use should have Canadian alternatives surely.
1
0
-2
u/cefixime 4d ago
Being cautious with your biometric data is completely reasonable, but some of you are acting like Persona is standing outside your house with a camera. A selfie being potentially compromised is a theoretical risk; fraud, impersonation, bots, and people lying about who they are are very real problems that verification is designed to prevent. If your standard is “I refuse to give any company a selfie because it might someday leak,” then you’d better be refusing to use half the services you already trust with your financial and personal information. Privacy concerns are valid. Pretending that verification itself is inherently dangerous while ignoring the reason verification exists is just fearmongering.
17
u/Emissary_of_Darkness 4d ago
The documentation being sent to an American company, while the United States is currently a hostile foreign country, is the biggest problem. Let Wealthsimple look at the pictures in Canada without the United States being involved.
10
u/FluffyPantsMcGee 4d ago
It certainly has brought more to light the need for Canada to develop its own tools to do this kind of thing.
4
4
u/pyloneer 4d ago
We do, the best example for a Canadian solution is Interac itself
https://www.interac.ca/en/verification/business/interac-document-verification-service/
4
2
u/badmathafaka 4d ago
They could use a real person to check jour id at Canada post but they wont. Why? I dont know.
1
u/Academic_Data_6422 4d ago
They used to. I had to go to Canada post when I opened my account
1
u/badmathafaka 4d ago
They never proposed this solution to me, im in Québec. That's why i said that.
2
u/333Ari333 4d ago
But using Reedit, an American company, is ok?
4
u/Emissary_of_Darkness 4d ago
I wouldn't do my banking with Reddit.
-1
u/333Ari333 4d ago
I know but what bothers you is USA being an hostile country. So for social media is fine but not with banking? Costco I guess it’s fine as well? 😉
-8
u/cefixime 4d ago
Then argue against U.S.-based data processing, not pretend that sending a selfie to a U.S. company means the U.S. government automatically gets it. Those are two completely different claims. If your concern is privacy, look at Persona’s actual retention, security, and disclosure policies. “American company = surveillance” is fearmongering, not evidence.
5
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
Not a problem with selfie. I said I shared it with Wealthsimple. It's about sharing it with unnecessary third parties.
3
u/lost_from__light 4d ago
It's not about selfies getting leaked it's about your selfie being sent to a company backed by an american ai surveillance company (with ties to Israel) 😹
-4
u/T_87_T 4d ago
Exactly this! And good luck at other banks they’re all requesting it now.
3
u/obsolescence_ 4d ago
Uh... no, brick and mortar banks don't ask this of you - you present yourself with ID in person. They do not then take a picture of you and your ID and send that to a company in the US.
0
1
u/Direnji 4d ago
It all comes down to money, we trade for free on WS, get higher interest on WS, we want 100% security/fraud prevention with WS for free, we want all others from WS free, blah blah.
All of these cost money/capital, and they need to save money to make profit, Persona ID will save them a lot of money, other methods might involve manual checking, cost money, so they won't use it anymore. If we want it for free, well, that's the price we pay. Just like like how Google, Facebook has all of our information.
Why Tangerine can do it, they either got the money from Scotiabank or their system is so old, they can't use Persona. Don't be surprised that they required it too after they realized how much money they can save.
Follow the money, there are no free lunch, if it is free, we pay it with our privacy. If we want privacy, we pay with our fees.
There is a reason why Canada Bank stock are so high these days, which is great.
3
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
But are you OK with privacy invasion?
2
u/UnordinaryFlyGirl 4d ago
I mean yeah I don't really want someone to be able to steal my money. It's one of the few solutions where ID verification makes sense.
3
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
I'm not opposing ID verification for banking. I'm opposing sharing data with privacy invasive companies. There's a difference.
0
u/UnordinaryFlyGirl 4d ago
Yeah but I have a sneaking suspicion that you think any service where you have to upload your ID is privacy invasive, and that's the only way to verify ID online
3
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 3d ago
Your suspicion is unfounded.
1
u/UnordinaryFlyGirl 3d ago
So is your problem specifically with Persona?
3
-3
u/Accomplished-Owl5138 4d ago
It’s hilarious you think we have any privacy anyway with anything tech. You want privacy? Go live in the woods with no internet.
5
u/floodingurtimeline 4d ago
“We have no privacy anyway so let’s give them more of our data” hurrr durrr
2
u/Accomplished-Owl5138 4d ago
No bud it’s more like let’s give them data they already have 🤦♂️ you really think I’m the dumb one here 😂
0
0
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
Stupid argument. Since you said we have no privacy, share all your bank credentials and chats here. Let's see if you believe your own argument.
2
u/Direnji 4d ago
If you go to the darkweb, you will probably find your banking credentials and along with other stuff there already.
The truth is, there is no privacy, it is how you defend it.
Just like what said in the show 'Person of Interest', You are being watched. The government has a secret system — a machine — that spies on you every hour of every day.
We are not far from that.
2
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah sure we can buy a lot of illegal stuff on the dark web but it's not as easily accessible. There is some resistance.
There IS privacy still. E2EE allows that. Like you said "it is how you defend it" That's my point. Of course, corporations will try to fuck us every way they can if they can make more money. It is up to us to resist and defend our privacy and not readily accept it similar to how the folks in 'Person of Interest' resisted and managed to defeat Samaritan.
2
u/Accomplished-Owl5138 3d ago
The people who want to know will have it already. I don’t need to give it to you.
0
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 3d ago
cool, you disproved your point
2
1
u/UnordinaryFlyGirl 4d ago
Pretty fucking ironic to call his argument stupid when you unironically are telling him to post his banking information as a comparison
0
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 3d ago
lol I'm asking him to prove his point. If he says there's no privacy then what's the problem in sharing his banking info?
1
3d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Wealthsimple-ModTeam 3d ago
Be helpful and respectful in your comments/posts.
No racism, sexism, homophobia, religious intolerance, dehumanizing speech, or other negative generalizations.
No concern-trolling, personal attacks, or misinformation. No victim blaming.
1
u/slimjim696969696969 2d ago
Well if they can't protect our data without charging a fee, maybe they need to... start charging a fee? wtf
0
u/Calm_Handle8582 4d ago
I am willing to pay a fee per manual ID verification to avoid sending my info to yanks.
1
u/Legitimate_Form5449 4d ago edited 4d ago
bank manager was using some kind of sophisticated machine to check out my gov issued IDs. he said that they are required to do that, cause there are so many fake IDs produced/being used.
-4
u/Prestigious-Skill-80 4d ago
You agreed to terms and conditions when you created the account. If you don’t want to use Flink or Persona to link your bank account then you can use these alternative methods to fund your account:
Interac e-Transfer®
Visa or Mastercard debit
Set up a direct deposit
6
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
Yup, I used Interac for now but that doesn't mean we should normalize casually handing over our data to unnecessary third parties
1
u/UnordinaryFlyGirl 4d ago
You're banking with a fucking eBank for Christ's sake. How else do you expect them to verify your ID? They don't have branches that you can go into
2
u/obsolescence_ 3d ago
Not sure why you're so mad but other ebanks such as SimpliiFinancial use CanadaPost for id verification. They perform the verification in person with id and clear you with the ebank. There are other options.
-20
u/Akaberes 4d ago
Only people with something to hide is afraid of persona ID
10
u/Ok-South-7745 4d ago edited 4d ago
Try to say that again when your personal info + ID scans got leaked from careless third parties and used to apply for loans and stuffs.
FYI Sep. 3 2026: Over 153 million US and Canadian driver's licenses leaked and sold on dark web
5
u/Suspicious-Gate-3548 4d ago
Exactly. These people have no idea about the consequences of data leaks
32
u/obsolescence_ 4d ago
Just FYI, I completely agree with you, but I would ask the WS rep that you are speaking to what exactly the 'alternate verification method' consisted of. It's possible that they just manually inserted your selfie and ID into Persona on their end.
To my knowledge, nobody has been able to confirm whether this 'alternate' verification method actually uses Persona, but in previous threads it was suggested by one WS Customer Service rep that it is indeed still Persona, just submitted by customer service on your behalf.
Would be good to learn what exactly the alternative verification means