Wealthsimple Referral Ladder Closed (June 2026): What Replaced It

TL;DR: Wealthsimple closed the Referral Ladder on June 8, 2026. The tiers that paid referrers up to $2,000 for a single $1M+ referral are gone — new referrals now pay a flat $25 to each side. Referral relationships created before June 8, 2026 are grandfathered under the old tiered terms.

The Referral Ladder was the most lucrative referrer payout in Canadian fintech, and as of June 8, 2026 it no longer accepts new referrals. Wealthsimple replaced the five-tier structure with a single flat bonus: $25 cash for the referrer and $25 for the new client, on a minimum $100 external deposit. If your referral relationship was created before June 8, 2026, the old tiered rules still apply to you — including the tier payouts documented further down this page.

What Happened to the Wealthsimple Referral Ladder?

Wealthsimple retired the tiered referral terms effective June 8, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. ET.¹ The old terms now live in a separate document titled “Wealthsimple Referral Bonus Promotion Terms and Conditions (Closed),” which applies only to referral relationships created before that date.²

The ladder isn’t the only casualty. Wealthsimple’s promotions hub now also lists the New Client Referral Boost — the periodic promotion that temporarily raised the new-client bonus — as closed. What remains is one standard referral offer: the flat $25.

What Does the Wealthsimple Referral Program Pay Now?

A flat $25 cash bonus to both the referrer and the new client, regardless of deposit size.¹ The June 2026 terms work like this:

• $25 each for referrer and new client per qualifying referral, with a limit of one bonus per referred individual
• The new client must deposit or transfer $100 or more from outside Wealthsimple within 30 days of the referral relationship being established — peer-to-peer transfers between Wealthsimple users and Wealthsimple-issued bonuses don’t count
• The bonus is paid into a Wealthsimple chequing account within 24 hours of qualification (referrers without one get 90 days to open it)
• The 180-day hold carries over from the old terms — withdraw early and the bonus can be deducted from your withdrawal

From the new client’s side, nothing about the sign-up flow changed: use a referral link or apply the code in the app, and the 7-day window to add a referral code after signing up still applies. The current Wealthsimple referral code page stays maintained for the sign-up steps.

Sign up with referral code 9C6DMQ still gets a new client $25 on a $100 external deposit — that side of the program is unchanged.

Do Pre-June 2026 Wealthsimple Referrals Still Earn Tier Bonuses?

Yes — referral relationships created before June 8, 2026 are grandfathered under the old tiered terms.² A relationship was created when the new client either signed up through the referrer’s link or applied the referral code in the app. If your friend signed up in late May 2026 and their RRSP transfer lands mid-June, the old funding-window math still governs that referral.

The deciding fact is the relationship creation date, not when the money arrives. For an in-flight referral that straddles the cutoff, contact Wealthsimple support with the sign-up date — the closed terms remain published, so there’s a documented baseline to point to.

The Historical Wealthsimple Referral Ladder Tiers (Closed)

For the record — and for anyone evaluating a grandfathered referral — the closed ladder paid the referrer a tiered bonus based on the new client’s net funding:

Net funding meant total deposits minus withdrawals during the funding period — market drops never reduced a tier, but withdrawals did. The new client always received the flat bonus; the tiers applied to the referrer only. A $1M+ referral paid the referrer $2,000, which no flat-rate Canadian fintech referral program ever approached.

Will Wealthsimple Still Reimburse Transfer Fees?

Yes — the transfer fee reimbursement survived the June 2026 change.¹ Wealthsimple still reimburses one transfer-out fee per institution (typically $135–$150) when a single account transfer is $25,000 or more, with the funds staying for 90 days.³ For a bank-by-bank breakdown of TFSA transfer-out fees and timelines, see our TFSA transfer to Wealthsimple guide.

What’s the Best Wealthsimple Bonus for a Large Transfer Now?

The transfer match, not the referral program. With the tiers gone, a referral pays $25 whether your friend moves $500 or $500,000 — so large portfolios should register for the current Wealthsimple transfer promotion, a 1% match on $25,000+ transfers paid out monthly over two years. The referral bonus still stacks with it: lock in the $25 first, then register the transfer before initiating it.

Premium ($100K+) and Generation ($500K+) status perks also remain untouched by the referral change — see the Core vs Premium vs Generation comparison for what each asset tier unlocks. For eligibility rules, holding periods, and tax treatment of bonuses, the Referral Bonus Terms & Conditions guide covers the fine print.

Related Articles

• Wealthsimple Guide: Overview, Products & Referral Program
• Referral Bonus Terms & Conditions Explained
• Wealthsimple vs Questrade Fees 2025
• Wealthsimple Core vs Premium vs Generation

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the Wealthsimple Referral Ladder close?

June 8, 2026. The new referral terms took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET that day, replacing the tiered referrer payouts with a flat $25 bonus for each side of the referral.¹

Can I still earn a tiered bonus if I was referred before June 8, 2026?

Yes. Referral relationships created before June 8, 2026 remain governed by the old tiered terms — Wealthsimple keeps the closed terms published, and the relationship creation date is the deciding fact.² If the referral was established before the cutoff, the old funding windows and tier amounts apply even if the money arrives after June 8.

Can the $100 qualifying deposit come from another Wealthsimple user?

No. Only external funding counts — deposits or institutional transfers from outside Wealthsimple. Peer-to-peer transfers between Wealthsimple users and Wealthsimple-issued bonuses or promotional credits are explicitly excluded from referral qualification.

Do I need a Wealthsimple chequing account to receive the $25 bonus?

Yes. The bonus is paid into a Wealthsimple chequing account within 24 hours of a qualifying referral. The 90-day window to open one applies to referrers — existing users who never opened a chequing account before the bonus was issued.

How long do I need to keep the money at Wealthsimple?

The referral bonus has a 180-day hold. The transfer fee reimbursement requires a 90-day hold. Plan to keep funds in place for at least 6 months, since an early withdrawal can have the bonus deducted from the final amount.

Does the $25 referral bonus stack with transfer promotions?

Yes. The current terms allow combining with other offers unless those offers say otherwise. The right order: sign up with a referral code first to lock in the $25, then register for a transfer promotion before initiating a $25,000+ transfer.

Will I receive a T4A tax slip for the referral bonus?

No. Wealthsimple states it will not issue clients a tax slip for bonuses paid to a non-registered account. The bonus may still be reportable to the CRA, and you are responsible for your own tax reporting.⁴ Interest the bonus later earns in a Cash account can still generate a separate T5 — that’s the interest income, not the bonus itself.

What happened to the New Client Referral Boost?

It closed too. Wealthsimple’s promotions hub now lists the New Client Referral Boost as closed, leaving the flat $25 referral bonus as the standard offer for new clients.¹

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