Venn Review

Think Twice Before You Bank on Venn

Independent review by a Canadian small business owner

0reasons to reconsider
0customer reports

Independent review, not affiliated with Venn. Info checked Oct 21, 2026 from Venn's public pages; verify current terms. Every fact below links to its source. Statements marked "In our view" are opinion.

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More pages: How to file a complaint · Why you might bank with a traditional bank

Written by Mike Bloch

About Venn (company facts)

  • Legal name: Venn Software Inc. (Terms). Formerly known as Vault (Terms page title).
  • Status: describes itself as "a technology company and not a bank or a financial institution" (Venn footer).
  • FINTRAC money service business registration: M22941967 (Terms, s.1).
  • Where funds are held: account balances are held at Bank of Montreal, a CDIC member. BMO is the partner bank holding the trust accounts, not Venn's owner (Venn About, Help: CDIC).
  • Founded in 2021 as Vault and launched in 2023, according to BetaKit (Fintech.ca gives 2020). Based in Toronto (Business Wire release).
  • Co-founders: Ahmed Shafik and Saud Aziz (Venn blog). We didn't find a CEO title in an official source.
  • Funding: a $5M seed round in 2023 co-led by Gradient Ventures and Fin Capital (Venn blog), and a $21.5M Series A in February 2025 led by Left Lane Capital, with XYZ Venture Capital, Intact Ventures and Gradient (Business Wire).
  • Card issuer: the Venn Mastercard is issued by Peoples Trust Company (Venn About).
  • Venn states: "officially approved by the Bank of Canada as a Payment Services Provider" (Venn About).
  • Venn states: 15,000+ businesses onboarded, $3+ billion transacted and $26.5 million raised to date (Venn About).
  • Not available to businesses in Quebec (Venn footer).

A word from me

Hi, I'm Mike. I run a small repair shop here in BC, and I looked hard at Venn for my business banking. Here's why I wouldn't choose it.

First, Venn says on its own site that it's not a bank. It's registered with FINTRAC as a money service business, and your money is held at BMO. In my view, that's one more layer between you and your money.

Second, you can't deposit cash or cheques. A lot of my customers pay cash, so I'd still need a regular bank anyway.

Third, general support is in-app chat and email, with office hours of 9 to 5 Eastern. There's a phone number for lost or stolen cards, but that's it. If something goes wrong with my account, I think I'd want to talk to a real person.

Fourth, I couldn't find any loans or lines of credit. There's a charge card with a credit limit, but you have to pay it in full every statement. And on the free plan it's $2 for every local transfer and $10 for an international wire. Interac e-Transfers are free, to be fair.

I think for most small businesses a traditional bank or a local credit union may serve you better: branches, cash deposits, someone to call, and credit when you need it. But don't take my word for it. Check Venn's own pricing and help pages, linked below, and decide for yourself.

Mike Bloch

Who actually has your money? (Three companies, one account)

When you open a Venn account, three companies are involved.

Venn Software Inc.

Runs the account and the app. It is "not a bank" and is a FINTRAC-registered money service business.

Terms · footer
↔
Bank of Montreal

Holds your account balances in trust accounts. A CDIC member.

Help: CDIC
↔
Peoples Trust Company

Issues the Venn Mastercard and extends the charge-card credit. It sells the amounts you owe to Venn, and Venn then services the account and collects payment.

Cardholder Agreement

Why that can be confusing (things to consider)

  • BMO holds the funds, but Venn's pages describe BMO as holding Venn's trust accounts. We found nothing saying customers get their own relationship with BMO, so don't expect to deal with BMO directly. Help: trust account
  • Who you contact: for card questions, the agreement points you to Venn's in-app chat or support@venn.ca, not to the bank or the card issuer. Cardholder Agreement
  • CDIC coverage applies to eligible deposits, up to $100,000 per category per beneficiary, "provided CDIC's disclosure requirements are met" for trust accounts. Help: CDIC
  • Disputes and chargebacks: you notify Venn and submit them under section 11 of the cardholder agreement, which involves Venn and the card issuer. Cardholder Agreement
  • In our view, more parties can mean more steps if something goes wrong. That's an opinion, not a reported failure.

How much does Venn actually make?

  • Nobody outside the company knows. Venn is a private company and doesn't publish its revenue, profit or loss, or valuation. We found no public financial statements.
  • Funding it has disclosed: a C$5M seed round announced in May 2023, co-led by Gradient Ventures and Fin Capital (Venn blog), and a C$21.5M Series A on Feb 26, 2025, led by Left Lane Capital (Business Wire, BetaKit). That's C$26.5M in total, which matches the "$26.5 million raised" on Venn's About page.
  • The only revenue figure we found has no dollar amount. Co-founder Saud Aziz said on X that revenue grew more than 400% in 2024, as reported by BetaKit. Growth of 400% from an unknown starting point tells you nothing about how much the company makes.
  • "$3B+ transacted" is not revenue. That figure on Venn's About page is money moving through the platform, not money Venn earns.
  • Customer count: 4,000+ businesses in Feb 2025 (Business Wire), 10,000+ on Apr 30, 2026 (Business Wire) and 15,000+ now (About page).

Whether Venn makes a profit is something only Venn knows. When a company holds your business's money, in our view that's worth asking about.

Checking Venn's claims

Status labels: Verified · Couldn't verify · Self-reported only · Doesn't match (used only where the sources conflict). Checked Oct 21, 2026.

Claim: "Venn is officially approved by the Bank of Canada as a Payment Services Provider" (About page)
What we could verify: BetaKit reported in Oct 2025 that Venn was among the first registered PSPs. But we could not find Venn in the Bank of Canada's public registry as of Oct 21, 2026 (registry; see also Canada Tech Intelligence). Note that the Bank says registration is not an endorsement or licence.
Couldn't verify
Claim: "trusted by over 15,000 Canadian businesses" (About page)
What we could verify: Venn's Apr 30, 2026 release said 10,000+ (Business Wire). No independent count exists.
Self-reported only
Claim: Customer count at the Feb 2025 Series A
What we could verify: Business Wire and BetaKit say "more than 4,000" (Business Wire, BetaKit), while Canada Tech Intelligence says "roughly 3,000" (CTI).
Doesn't match
Claim: "$3+ billion transacted on our platform" (About page)
What we could verify: This is payment volume, not revenue. No independent figure exists.
Self-reported only
Claim: Revenue grew "more than 400 percent" in 2024 (via BetaKit, quoting an X post)
What we could verify: No dollar figures were disclosed, so the growth can't be checked.
Self-reported only
Claim: "save on high banking fees" (Business Wire)
What we could verify: Essentials is $0 a month, but charges $2 per local EFT/ACH, $10 per international wire and 0.45% on currency exchange (pricing). Whether you save depends on your usage and what you pay now.
Couldn't verify
Claim: "Eligible deposits are insured up to $100,000" (About page)
What we could verify: The help centre adds that coverage is per deposit category per member institution, for eligible deposits at BMO, "provided CDIC's disclosure requirements are met" (Help: CDIC). The short version leaves out those conditions.
Verified
Claim: "the all-in-one financial platform" (Business Wire)
What we could verify: No cash or cheque deposits (help) and no loans or line of credit (help). It's a marketing description, and these gaps are worth knowing about.
Self-reported only
Claim: "registered as a money service business with ... FINTRAC under registration number M22941967" (Terms)
What we could verify: FINTRAC's public MSB registry (link) couldn't be searched from our system, so we couldn't confirm the number independently. Canada Tech Intelligence reports the same (CTI).
Couldn't verify

Reasons a small business might not want Venn

  1. It's not a bank. Venn's site says: "Venn is a technology company and not a bank or a financial institution." It is registered with FINTRAC as a money service business (M22941967). Pricing page footer · Terms, s.1
  2. Your money is held at a partner bank. Account balances are held in trust accounts at Bank of Montreal. CDIC covers eligible deposits up to $100,000 per deposit category, per member institution, per beneficiary, "provided CDIC's disclosure requirements are met". In our view, that's an extra layer between you and your money compared with banking directly. Help: CDIC · Help: if the bank fails
  3. No cash or cheque deposits. Venn says it does "not currently support the feature to deposit cash or cheques." It suggests depositing them at a traditional bank first, then transferring the money in. If your customers pay in cash or by cheque, you'd still need a second bank. Help: cash/cheques
  4. No cash withdrawals on the card. Help: cash withdrawal
  5. No branches. It's online only. Venn markets itself as "Business banking without the branch visits." Venn site menu
  6. Limited phone support. General support is through in-app chat and email (support@venn.ca). The help centre says "We do not have a phone number to call in," but a phone number is listed for lost or stolen cards: +1 (888) 568-2858 (Cardholder Agreement). Office hours are 9 AM–5 PM Eastern, which is 6 AM–2 PM in BC. Help: phone · Help: contact · Help: hours
  7. No loans or lines of credit found. The help centre says "We don't offer loans or a line of credit." A Venn Mastercard charge card that draws on a credit limit does exist. It charges no interest, but the full statement balance is due within 21 days, and if you don't pay in full, your account activity may be blocked (Cardholder Agreement). There is also a secured version that only spends your account balance. Help: credit · Help: card
  8. Fees on the free plan. Essentials costs $0 a month, but charges $2 per local transfer (EFT, ACH, SEPA), $10 per international wire and 0.45% on currency exchange. Interac e-Transfers are free. Pricing
  9. Paid plans. Plus is $40 a month and Pro is $100 a month. In our view, those are hard to justify for a one-person shop. Pricing
  10. Cashback is capped. On Essentials, the 1% cashback only applies to the first $5,000 of card spending per month ($25,000 on Plus). Pricing, note 1
  11. Limits on the free plan. Up to 3 users, 3 physical cards, 20 virtual cards and 5 sub-accounts. Express card shipping costs $15. Pricing table
  12. Invoicing fees. Card payments on invoices cost 2.9% + $0.20, and pre-authorized debits cost 1% (capped at $5). Pricing table
  13. Who can't sign up. Partnerships, non-Canadian corporations and businesses in Quebec. Sole proprietors need a SIN, a CRA Business Number and a government business registration document. Help: who can sign up · Help: sole proprietor · Terms, s.2
  14. Service can be ended at any time. The terms say: "We may refuse to provide or may discontinue providing the Services to any person or entity at any time for any reason." They also allow closing or merging duplicate accounts "without notification." Terms, s.3(a)

What customers have reported

These are individual customer reports, paraphrased. We haven't verified them and Venn may dispute them. Usernames are left out.

To be fair: what it does well

Questions to ask before signing up

Alternatives to compare

Many small businesses use a local credit union (BC credit unions are provincially regulated and deposit-insured) or a big-bank business account. Both usually offer branches, cash and cheque deposits, phone support and lending. Compare their current fee schedules directly, because we haven't listed their fees here. In our view, keeping a traditional account as your main one is the safer setup, even if you also use a fintech account.