The onboarding course of included inputting confidential consumer data, akin to purchasers’ names, social insurance coverage numbers, e mail addresses, and account numbers onto the WSTI portal.
Wealthsimple Advisor Providers maintains that the portal is safe. However, it failed to make sure that purchasers had consented to offer their data to WSTI previous to the onboarding course of.
“Between February and August 2019, as a part of the Onboarding Course of, 20 Authorised Individuals, together with 19 Authorised Individuals registered with different MFDA Members, offered WSTI with Consumer Data pertaining to a complete of roughly 2,990 purchasers,” the MFDA mentioned.
The MFDA additionally mentioned that between April 1 and Might 27, 2019, Wealthsimple Advisor Providers did not implement controls and supervision over its onboarding course of by “failing to forestall workers of an affiliated firm from viewing and accessing the system of one other MFDA Member.”
An permitted one that wished to affix Wealthsimple Advisor Providers was having technical difficulties with the onboarding course of, and requested one other permitted particular person registered with a distinct MFDA member for assist.