Helcim Secures $53 Million Series C Funding as Traditional Banks Abandon Small Business Merchant Services
Calgary-based payments company Helcim announced a $53 million CAD Series C funding round on August 21, 2026, lifting its valuation to $250 million CAD. Led by the Business Development Bank’s (BDC) Growth Venture Fund, the capital arrives as major Canadian financial institutions divest from merchant services, leaving a market void that Helcim aims to capture with its open platform and volume-based interchange pricing.
The Bottom Line
- The Funding: Helcim closed a $53 million CAD Series C round, bringing total equity raised to $100 million since its 2022 Series A and pushing the company valuation to $250 million.
- The Market Catalyst: Major traditional banks are exiting or outsourcing merchant services, opening a direct pipeline for alternative providers targeting small and mid-sized enterprises (SMBs).
- Growth Metrics: The Calgary firm recently crossed $150 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), supports over 22,000 active merchants across Canada and the U.S., and is pacing toward nearly $10 billion in annual payment volume.
Filling the Vacuum Left by Legacy Financial Institutions
The merchant services landscape across North America is undergoing a structural shift. As Canada’s largest banks scale back their direct-operated merchant portfolios, small and mid-sized business owners are finding fewer options tailored to their operational scale. Traditional banking institutions are trimming non-core operations to optimize balance sheets, creating an immediate opportunity for nimble financial technology competitors.
“There’s a real void in the market right now — merchants are coming to Helcim faster than ever, looking for a modern alternative,” said Nic Beique, Helcim’s founder and CEO, in the company’s official release. Beique noted that the fresh capital enables the firm to scale its platform, build out its workforce, and aggressively pursue up-market expansion so growing businesses do not outgrow their processing capabilities.
The Series C round was spearheaded by the Business Development Bank’s (BDC) Growth Venture Fund. Additional participants include new strategic investor Curql Collective—backed by more than 160 North American credit unions—and Gold House Ventures. Existing backers including Headline, Aquiline, Information Venture Partners, Vesey Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, and the Alberta Accelerate Fund also contributed to the round.
Strategic Partnerships and Credit Union Integration
Beyond direct merchant acquisition, Helcim is scaling its distribution through regional banks and credit unions that require modern processing architecture to defend their deposit bases. Financial institutions face intense pressure to upgrade digital offerings for community-level commercial clients.
“Credit unions need to continue to upgrade their product offering for their small business members in the communities they serve if they want to remain relevant, compete and retain deposits,” said Nick Evens, president and CEO at Curql. “Helcim’s payment hub is the best we have seen, and their value proposition for the CUs is far more robust than what is currently in market.”
By positioning its payment hub as partner-ready infrastructure, Helcim allows regional lenders to offer advanced payment solutions without building proprietary software from scratch. This distribution model lowers customer acquisition costs while embedding Helcim deeper into regional financial ecosystems.
| Metric | Series B (2024) | Series C (August 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Valuation (CAD) | $97 million | $250 million |
| Total Equity Raised | Not Disclosed | $100 million |
| Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) | Not Disclosed | Crossed $150 million |
| Active Merchant Base | Not Disclosed | 22,000+ businesses |
| Team Size | Not Disclosed | 200 employees |
Technology Infrastructure and AI Integration
Founded as an independent payments company in 2020, Helcim engineered its tech stack from the ground up rather than reselling legacy processor infrastructure. This architectural independence permits the company to offer interchange-plus pricing models that pass wholesale processing rates directly to merchants, undercutting standard flat-rate competitors.
Merchants gained the ability to independently incorporate Helcim’s transaction processing directly into their existing software applications via an artificial intelligence-driven Payment Extension launched by Helcim in January 2026, granting them the liberty to select their preferred payment gateway instead of being restricted to one exclusive embedded-payments provider.
“Helcim is having a unique moment, growing fast and building a real advantage in the market,” said Jack Fraser, partner at BDC Capital’s Growth Venture Fund. “Their recent AI-powered integration tool is a good example of the kind of fast-moving innovation we’re backing, and exactly what it will take to capture that opportunity.”
With nearly $10 billion in annual payment volume now running through its network, Helcim will deploy the Series C capital to expand its payments platform and grow into additional financial services for its merchants.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
