Canadian startup Beacon has announced the opening of a waitlist for its digital wallet designed specifically for immigrants moving to Canada.
Immigrants can open, fund, and use Beacon Money before arriving in Canada. The process allows users to set up an account without needing to visit a branch or provide Canada-specific documents such as Social Insurance Numbers, identification, local addresses, or credit histories.
Upon arriving in Canada, newcomers can utilize the wallet for salary disbursements, money transfers, and bill payments. They will also receive a prepaid Visa card for both online and offline transactions, as well as ATM withdrawals.
The wallet can be funded globally through the Swift network, and a specialized Beacon Remit tool is available for users from India.
The Beacon Money waitlist is currently open, with a public launch anticipated in January. Recently, Beacon completed a C$5.25 million seed funding round. Co-founder Aditya Mhatre established the company after facing several financial challenges during his own immigration journey to Canada.
“When I immigrated here in 2014 and again in 2021, it was very difficult to both move money out of India and to set up a functional bank account in Canada. Beacon Money and Beacon Remit solve these pain points before people land in Canada so our users can settle with confidence,” says Mhatre.