TD and Atomic launch in-app payroll deposit switching in Canada. TD Bank Group has partnered with Atomic to let customers redirect payroll direct deposits to a TD account directly within its app, removing traditional paperwork and employer-side steps. Renascence Newsdesk What happened. TD Bank Group has partnered with Atomic, a US-based payments infrastructure provider, to launch what is being described as Canada's first in-app payroll deposit switching feature. The tool allows TD customers to redirect their payroll direct deposit to a TD account directly from within the bank's app, without the traditional paperwork or employer-side steps typically required to change deposit instructions. The collaboration, reported by Open Banking Expo, positions TD as the first Canadian bank to embed this kind of payroll-switching capability natively into its digital banking experience, using Atomic's connectivity to employer payroll systems. Why it matters. Switching a payroll deposit is one of the most consequential - and most quietly frustrating - "switching moments" in retail banking. It is precisely the kind of administrative friction that behavioral economists point to as a hidden retention mechanism: even a mildly annoying process (finding a void cheque, filling in a payroll form, chasing HR) is often enough to keep customers anchored to an incumbent bank long after a better offer exists elsewhere. By collapsing that friction into a few in-app taps, TD is targeting the moment of highest inertia in the customer relationship. For service designers, this is a textbook example of removing a structural barrier rather than relying on incentives or marketing to drive switching - a reminder that in financial services, the experience of moving money is often more decisive than the product itself. The Renascence take. The interesting part of this story isn't the technology - it's what the technology quietly exposes about how banks have historically protected market share. Payroll-switching friction has long functioned as an unofficial retention strategy across retail banking: customers stay not because they love their bank, but because leaving is tedious. TD's move with Atomic signals that this friction is now a competitive variable rather than a fixed cost of doing business. The operators who win the next phase of account-switching won't be the ones with the best savings rate - they'll be the ones who make becoming a customer effortless, because inertia, once neutralised, cuts both ways. This briefing was written by the Renascence newsdesk, synthesising reporting from the outlets below. Follow the links for the original coverage. Questions Renascence get on this topic. TD partnered with US-based payments infrastructure provider Atomic to launch what is reported as Canada's first in-app payroll deposit switching feature, letting customers redirect payroll deposits to a TD account without paperwork or employer involvement. More in Fintech Stay ahead of CX Get the signal, not the noise. The stories shaping customer experience - plus the Journal and Experience Loom - in your inbox.

American Growth Insurance raises $70 mn to buy U.S. brokerages and rebuild operations with AI agents. Jul 15, 2026 Insurtech American Growth Insurance (AGI Holdings), a tech-forward insurance brokerage growth platform, raised $70 mn dunding led by Atomic and Rockbridge Growth Equity in committed equity capital to rebuild how independent insurance agencies operate in the U.S. A large share of the new capital will fund additional acquisitions. AGI expects to close several more deals in the coming months and is targeting $10 mn in annual revenue by the end of the year. The pairing gives AGI access to startup-building experience and M&A execution. "An insurance broker built by brokers, in partnership with leading private equity and venture capital partners looking to better embed growth and technology in the industry", CEO Brian Morgan said. "We're an insurance brokerage at our core, led by people who've spent their careers placing coverage, running agencies, and sitting across the table from clients. Now we pair that experience with next-generation technology that helps them focus on what's too often been lost in this industry: the client". Rockbridge partner Tony Pulice said AGI aims to help smaller brokers use technology without weakening the high-touch service customers expect. He said Rockbridge has used related operating models in other industries and sees a roadmap for AGI in insurance distribution. AGI model looks closer to a buy-and-rebuild strategy: find independent agencies and brokerages under pressure, acquire them, then rework their operations around automation and AI agents. The company says it has developed an AI-first operating system for insurance processes at scale. AGI wants to apply it inside the businesses it owns. The target is a group of smaller insurance firms with solid customer relationships, but limited operating capacity and growing staffing pressure. The end goal is to turn acquired firms into AI-native insurance businesses. In AGI's view, autonomous agents should handle more of the administrative work, policy servicing and back-office activity, while human teams keep the client-facing relationships. AGI estimates that 40% of U.S. insurance agents now sit within 10 years of retirement. Many firms already struggle to replace experienced staff, and that shortage limits growth for agencies built around hiring more producers and service teams. Larger insurance groups relied on two familiar growth routes. Some added staff and expanded books of business through hiring. Others bought smaller agencies, cut costs and later sold those assets at higher multiples. AGI argues both routes look weaker as the talent gap widens. The company wants to keep a human service model for customers, but automate much of the work behind it. That structure, AGI says, lets agencies serve larger books of business without adding the same number of licensed agents or support staff. CEO Brian Morgan said many agencies understand AI matters, but lack a practical route to deployment. In his view, acquisition gives AGI control over the operating model, the data flows and the workflow changes needed to make automation useful rather than cosmetic. AGI buys strong agencies and rebuilds the work around them so existing teams serve larger books without damaging customer relationships. That is the commercial pitch: preserve the trust, strip out the drag. Brian Morgan, CEO of AGI Holdings AGI says it has already tested the model before moving deeper into acquisitions. Although the company has completed only its first acquisition, it spent the past year working with 10 partner agencies to build and test its operating system. Brian Morgan has spent more than 30 years in insurance brokerage, across public, private-equity-backed, and top-100 firms, with prior leadership roles at Keystone Agency Partners, Integro Insurance Brokers, The Plexus Groupe, Willis, and Marsh. Having built and operated firms at every scale, he has seen first-hand how much the largest brokers gain from resources that local agencies rarely have. That gap is the reason for American Growth Insurance, and the vision he leads today: empowering local agencies to become scaled regional brokerages, with the technology, capital, and support to grow without losing what made them great.