To celebrate MoneySense’s 25th anniversary, we reviewed the pivotal innovations that reshaped personal finance in Canada since the magazine launched in 1999. From new registered accounts and investment vehicles to advances in online tools and artificial intelligence, these developments changed how Canadians save, spend, invest and manage money. The following list highlights some of the most influential breakthroughs that many of us now consider essential.
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1. 1999: The Canada Revenue Agency (then the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency) launched Netfile, allowing taxpayers to submit returns electronically. Adoption started slowly—only 530 filers in the first year—but by 2023 nearly 10.5 million Canadians used Netfile to file their 2022 tax returns. This move helped modernize tax filing and paved the way for broader digital government services.
2. 1999: Kanetix launched Canada’s first personal finance comparison website, initially focused on insurance quotes. It later acquired Rates.ca and eventually became Ratesdotca, setting the foundation for comparison sites like Ratehub.ca. These platforms made it far easier for consumers to shop and compare financial products.
3. 2000: Shoppers Drug Mart introduced the Shoppers Optimum loyalty program, attracting six million members in its first year. After Loblaw acquired Shoppers Drug Mart in 2013, the Optimum program merged with PC Plus to form PC Optimum in 2018—now one of Canada’s largest loyalty programs and a major force in retail rewards.
4. 2000: Canada became the first country to list a bond exchange-traded fund (ETF), building on an earlier Canadian innovation—the Toronto 35 Index Participation Units (TIPs) from 1990. TIPs served as a model for modern ETFs and evolved into funds such as the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF, which helped bring low-cost index investing to many Canadians.
5. 2001: HomeEquity Bank expanded the Canadian Home Income Plan (CHIP) reverse mortgage into Ontario and Alberta. First introduced in Vancouver in 1986, CHIP allows homeowners aged 55 and over to access home equity without selling. Today, HomeEquity Bank and Equitable Bank remain the primary providers of reverse mortgages in Canada.
6. 2003: Interac launched Interac e-Transfer, letting Canadians send and receive money using email addresses and mobile numbers. The service helped Canada become a leader in digital peer-to-peer transfers well before other mobile payment systems became widespread.
7. 2005: Amazon introduced Prime in the U.S., offering unlimited two-day shipping for an annual fee. The service arrived in Canada in 2013 and altered customer expectations around shipping speed and convenience, accelerating the growth of subscription-based services across industries.
8. 2007: Major banks, card issuers and Interac rolled out EMV chip technology for debit and credit cards. Embedded microchips encrypted card data, significantly improving payment security and reducing fraud at terminals and ATMs—a standard feature on payment cards today.
9. 2007: Airbnb launched and became an early driver of the gig and side-hustle economy, enabling property owners to rent out rooms or homes and giving travelers flexible alternatives to hotels. While it broadened short-term rental options worldwide, Airbnb also sparked debate over housing availability in major cities.
10. 2007: Netflix transitioned from DVD mail service to streaming, disrupting traditional TV and film distribution. Priced affordably, streaming reshaped entertainment consumption and prompted major companies to develop their own subscription video services.
11. 2008: The federal government introduced the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), a tax-advantaged savings vehicle designed to help Canadians with disabilities and their families save for long-term financial security.
12. 2009: Bitcoin was created by an individual or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, launching the first widely recognized cryptocurrency. Bitcoin’s underlying blockchain technology inspired a wave of fintech innovation—including non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—and Canada later became one of the first countries to approve bitcoin ETFs.
13. 2009: The Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) arrived, offering a flexible, tax-advantaged account for saving and investing. Initially capped at $5,000, the TFSA’s lifetime limits have grown over time; as of January 1, 2024, eligible Canadians born in 1991 or earlier had cumulative contribution room of $95,000.
14. 2010: Uber’s service became widely hailed in San Francisco and launched in Canada in 2012. Ridesharing apps transformed urban transportation and became a major part of the gig economy, while also prompting debates over driver pay and regulation.
15. 2010: CIBC introduced the first mobile banking app among Canada’s major banks. By 2021, mobile banking adoption had surged: 65% of Canadians used banking apps and a growing share of transactions moved to smartphones.
16. 2010: Mint, a personal finance app that aggregates accounts and tracks spending, reached Canadian app stores. Mint helped popularize account aggregation and budgeting tools; its functionality later moved into other services after the app was retired in 2024.
17. 2011: Google released Google Wallet in the U.S., and after several iterations and the launch of Google Pay, the company returned to the Google Wallet name for a versatile digital wallet. Today it can store payment cards, loyalty passes, transit tickets and more.
18. 2014: Scotiabank rebranded ING Direct Canada as Tangerine, preserving the branchless, low-fee philosophy that made ING Direct one of Canada’s first online-only banks. Tangerine continues to compete on simplicity, competitive rates and low fees.
19. 2014: ShareOwner Investments launched as Canada’s first robo-advisor, offering model ETF portfolios and automated portfolio management. The robo-advisor model grew rapidly as startups and established institutions—like Wealthsimple and major banks—introduced automated investing platforms.
20. 2015: After catastrophic flooding in Alberta, several insurers began offering overland flood insurance—coverage that was previously unavailable from many providers. This marked an important development for homeowners seeking protection from weather-related water damage.
21. 2016: BMO introduced biometric ID for corporate credit card users, enabling secure authentication via fingerprint or selfie. Mobile banking apps increasingly adopted biometric options—face, fingerprint and voice—to streamline secure access.
22. 2017: PayBright introduced buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services in Canada, allowing shoppers to split payments at checkout. BNPL quickly expanded with multiple providers and bank-led installment features, reshaping consumer credit options.
23. 2019: RBC added NOMI Budgets to its mobile app—an AI-driven tool that analyzes spending patterns, suggests budgets and sends proactive alerts—demonstrating how banks use machine learning to help customers manage money.
24. 2022: OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a widely used generative AI chatbot that reached about 100 million monthly active users within months. Generative AI offers new tools for finance: forecasting, data analysis, customer service automation and personalized advice.
25. 2023: The federal government created the First Home Savings Account (FHSA), a registered account that lets Canadians save up to $40,000 tax-free for a first home. Questrade was ready to offer the FHSA on day one, and by the end of 2023 more than 300,000 Canadians had opened an account.
Read more articles for MoneySense’s 25th anniversary:
- 25 timeless personal finance tips from MoneySense
- Top 25 timeless personal finance books
- 25 money moves to make by age 25 in Canada
- The best 25 tax tips for Canadians