Helcim raises $53 million amid shakeup in Canadian payments. Calgary company reaches $250-million valuation, hopes to grow after Moneris sells to US private equity. Calgary-based Helcim raised fresh financing and reported more than $150 million CAD in annual revenue as it looks to fill a new vacuum within Canada's payments infrastructure. The news: The Calgary-based payments processor announced on Friday that it has raised a $53-million CAD Series C round led by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)'s Growth Venture Fund. Credit union-backed Curql Collective, Los Angeles-based Gold House Ventures, and returning backers Headline, Aquiline, Information Venture Partners, Vesey Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, and Alberta Accelerate Fund also participated. The round valued Helcim, which mainly powers payments for small and medium-sized businesses, at $250 million CAD, up from $97 million as of its Series B round two years ago. From the source: "There's huge momentum in the business right now, and the market shifted in our favour at the same time. It felt like the right moment to raise and put capital behind what's already working," Helcim CEO Nicolas Beique wrote in an email to BetaKit. The context: The market shift is part of a changing landscape for payments in Canada, as the Big Five banks have gradually sold off their payment processing divisions. Last year, TD sold part of its merchant solutions business to Fiserv, and this month, BMO- and RBC-owned Moneris announced its sale to a US private equity firm. Beique said the Moneris sale and related worries about sovereignty coincided with a boost in inbound calls for Helcim. But it was already growing quickly before then: the company said it crossed $150 million in annual recurring revenue last year. Final thought: Helcim has been banging the drum about "walled-off" payment systems, which is when a platform or ecosystem restricts access to external payment workflows, promoting its built-in services as the only option. With the new funding, Helcim said it will build on its payment extension add-on, which the company says will give merchants more flexibility and, ideally, reduce costs. BetaKit's Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta. Feature image courtesy Helcim.

Calgary's Helcim to grow team after $53 million raise. Calgary-based payments company Helcim plans to grow its roughly 200-person team after closing a $53-million Series C round to accelerate its expansion across North America. The financing was led by BDC Capital's Growth Venture Fund and included new investors Curql Collective, a strategic fund backed by more than 160 North American credit unions, and Gold House Ventures. Existing backers Headline, Aquiline, Information Venture Partners, Vesey Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, and Alberta Accelerate Fund also participated. The round brings Helcim's total equity raised since its 2022 Series A to $100 million. It also values the company at $250 million, up from $97 million following its Series B in 2024. Helcim has not disclosed how many employees it expects to add or which roles it will prioritize. The company said the new capital will support additional hiring as it expands its core payments platform, adds financial services for merchants, and moves further into the mid-market. The hiring plans follow a period of significant growth. Helcim recently surpassed $150 million in annual recurring revenue, serves more than 22,000 active businesses in Canada and the United States, and is on track to process nearly $10 billion in payments annually. "There's a real void in the market right now - merchants are coming to Helcim faster than ever, looking for a modern alternative," founder and CEO Nic Beique said. Helcim traces its roots to 2006 but launched its current payments infrastructure in 2020, shifting from reselling another processor's merchant services to operating its own end-to-end system. The company has also developed its own point-of-sale hardware and, in January, introduced an AI-powered Payment Extension that helps merchants connect Helcim's technology with software they already use. The company believes a broader shift in Canadian payments is creating room for its next phase of growth. Major banks have sold or outsourced merchant-services operations, while Helcim is positioning itself as an independent alternative offering volume-based interchange-plus pricing, online and in-person payment tools, and direct customer service. Helcim is also pursuing partnerships with regional banks and credit unions seeking new payment options for small-business customers. Curql Collective's participation in the round could help advance that strategy across the credit-union sector. The Series C gives Helcim more resources to build its technology and talent base in Calgary while competing for a larger share of the North American payments market. For the city's tech workforce, the key detail will be how the company translates that expansion plan into new jobs - and which skills it needs for its next stage.

Helcim raises $53 million Series C as banks exit small business payments. Aug 21, 2026, 11:31 ET The round led by Business Development Bank's (BDC) Growth Venture Fund lifts Helcim's valuation to $250 million CAD, with participation from Curql Collective, Gold House Ventures, and existing investors. CALGARY, AB, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Helcim, a Calgary-based payments company that powers small and mid-sized businesses across North America, today announced it has closed a $53 million CAD Series C funding round led by Business Development Bank's (BDC) Growth Venture Fund. The round also included participation from new investors Curql Collective, a strategic investment fund backed by more than 160 North American credit unions, and Gold House Ventures, alongside continued investment from existing backers Headline, Aquiline, Information Venture Partners, Vesey Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, and Alberta Accelerate Fund. The financing brings Helcim's total equity raised to $100 million since its 2022 Series A and lifts the company's valuation to $250 million, up from $97 million at its Series B in 2024. It follows a year in which Helcim crossed $150 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), grew its team to 200 people, expanded its merchant base to more than 22,000 active businesses across Canada and the U.S., and is on track to process nearly $10 billion in annual payment volume. The raise lands at a pivotal moment for the industry: several of Canada's largest banks have recently sold off or outsourced their merchant services businesses, leaving a vacuum for small and mid-sized companies in need of a partner built specifically for them. Helcim is moving to fill that gap for small businesses - and, increasingly, mid-market companies - with three commitments: transparent pricing, an open merchant platform for accepting in-person and online payments, and great customer service. "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. "This round lets us act on this at scale: expanding our platform, growing our team, and moving up-market so no business outgrows what we can offer them." Helcim launched as its own payments company in 2020, building its end-to-end infrastructure from the ground up rather than reselling another processor's technology. That decision is what lets Helcim offer volume-based interchange plus pricing today instead of the inflated flat-rate fees many providers pass on to merchants. In January 2026, Helcim released an AI-powered Payment Extension that lets merchants self-integrate Helcim's payments processing into the software they already use, giving merchants the freedom to choose their preferred payment processor rather than being locked into a single embedded-payments provider. Adoption of the tool has scaled quickly since launch, and it's one of the clearest signals of the demand now underpinning this round. "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." Helcim plans to use the new capital to continue investing in its payments platform and to grow into additional financial services for its merchants. The company is also expanding partnerships with regional banks and credit unions that are moving away from traditional providers themselves, in search of a modern payments platform for their small business members. "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." About Helcim Helcim is on a mission to build the world's most loved payments company. Launched in 2020 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Helcim provides an all-in-one payments and software platform - including point of sale, invoicing, online checkout, a smart terminal, and embedded payments tools - built specifically for small and mid-sized businesses. Helcim serves more than 22,000 active merchants across North America and processes billions in payments annually. For more information, visit helcim.com. BDC focuses on small- and medium-sized business owners, providing them financing, investment, and advice. As Canada's development bank, they also support entrepreneurs who don't fit the traditional mold working with a network of partners and help develop underserved markets to unlock economic potential. Their mission is to build strong, resilient businesses that drive Canada's economic growth. BDC is a perennial Canada's Top 100 Employer and B Corp certified. Learn more at bdc.ca or connect on social media. About Curql Collective Curql, a collective of over 160 credit unions jointly investing in fintech, brings timely solutions to the credit union industry. With over 50 fintech investments in the portfolio, Curql ensures that technology is designed specifically for credit unions, allowing them to better serve their members and remain competitive in an evolving financial landscape. Interested in learning more about how Curql brings fintech to credit unions? Visit curql.com SOURCE Helcim