Proud to Work

Culture leader · Calgary · AB · Fintech

Helcim

Open books, open salary bands and a payments stack built in-house

Helcim spent more than a decade bootstrapped. In that time it built its own payment infrastructure for small and mid-sized businesses, and it has grown past C$150 million in recurring revenue. It runs on open-book management, published salary ranges and stock options for the whole team, and its Series C was led by BDC with Alberta capital also in the round.

Website ↗Calgary boardCalgary guide

01 · Culture

How they work

Our viewFew Canadian scale-ups are as transparent with staff as Helcim. Every team member can read the financial statements, salary ranges and job levels are published internally, and stock options go to everyone. It hires junior and promotes from within, sets out its values in a published culture book, 'The Way of Helcim', and closes for a company-wide break each December.

Recognition

In their words

“Everyone on the team has access to our financial statements, giving you full access to how the company is doing.”
— Company careers page source ↗
“Our transparent salary ranges and job levels let you see the growth opportunity within your own role and across all areas.”
— Company careers page source ↗
“Simply said, our default is hiring junior and providing development and growth opportunities from within.”
— Company careers page source ↗
“The investment put a local stamp of approval on our mission to be a global payments player, demonstrating that world-class fintech can be built right here in Calgary.”
— Founder and CEO Nic Beique source ↗

In practice

  • Open-book managementEvery team member has access to the company's financial statements. (2026) source ↗
  • Pay transparencySalary ranges and job levels are visible to all employees, across every role. (2026) source ↗
  • Employee stock optionsA broad stock option program gives every team member a stake in the company. (2026) source ↗
  • Hire junior, grow from withinThe default is to hire at junior level and develop people through mentorship, leadership circles, book clubs, an internal tech conference and a training budget for each person. (2026) source ↗
  • Parental leaveBirthing parents receive a salary top-up, and non-birthing parents get a paid bonding break. (2026) source ↗
  • December company breakPaid vacation plus a company-wide break in December, hybrid work with flexible hours, and benefits from day one. (2026) source ↗
  • Published culture book'The Way of Helcim' sets out four values: we are builders, we choose the harder path, we are trustworthy, and we are a company of many. (2026) source ↗

02 · Capabilities

What they do best

Our viewHelcim builds its payments platform itself, from processing and online checkout to its own card-reader hardware, and offers it on transparent interchange-plus pricing. In 2025 Verizon made it the first payments provider on its Business Marketplace, a sign that a Calgary-built stack can serve US small businesses at scale.

C$150M+Annual recurring revenue2026 source ↗
22,000+Active merchants2026 source ↗
Nearly C$10BAnnual payment volume2026 source ↗
About 200Employees2026 source ↗

Full payments stack, built in-house

An omni-channel platform that combines in-person and online payments with proprietary hardware, serving merchants in more than 800 industries. source ↗

Verizon Business Marketplace

Became the first payments provider on Verizon's new Business Marketplace in October 2025, opening access to its 2 million US business customers. source ↗

Coverage across North America

Serves merchants in all US states and 12 of Canada's 13 provinces and territories. source ↗

03 · Capital

Who backs them, and what they back

Venture-backedRaised C$100M equity since 2022 · 2026-08 source ↗

Our viewHelcim was bootstrapped for more than a decade before its first institutional round in 2022, and it has raised only about C$100 million in equity since then, which is modest next to its revenue. Headline led the Series B and BDC's Growth Venture Fund led the 2026 Series C at a C$250 million valuation. Alberta Enterprise Corporation's Accelerate Fund backed it early.

Funding

DateRoundAmountInvestors
2022Series AC$16MInformation Venture Partners, Aquiline Technology Growth, Accelerate Fund (AEC) source ↗
2024-02Series BC$27M (US$20M), C$97M valuationHeadline (lead), Clocktower Ventures, Vesey Ventures, SilverCircle, Information Venture Partners, Aquiline Technology Growth source ↗
2026-08Series CC$53M at C$250M valuationBDC Capital Growth Venture Fund (lead), Curql, Gold House Ventures, Headline, Aquiline, Information Venture Partners, Vesey Ventures, Clocktower Ventures, Alberta Accelerate Fund source ↗

Public programs

  • Alberta Enterprise Corporation – Accelerate FundUndisclosed (Series A participation) · 2022 source ↗
  • BDC Capital Growth Venture Fund (federal Crown corporation), Series C leadPart of C$53M · 2026-08 source ↗
What we could not confirm (3)
  • Founding year: BetaKit says 2008, while Helcim's history is usually dated to 2006. Not confirmed at a primary source.
  • Exact rank on the 2025 Report on Business Top Growing Companies list. Calgary.tech reports #44 with 776% growth, while Helcim cites 743% and AEC calls it #3 in Alberta. The issuer's list was not opened.
  • Series A investors are inferred from the 'returning investors' named in the Series B coverage. No Series A release was opened.

Checked 2026-10-05

Why it matters in Calgary

Payments processor; Calgary head office 440 2 Ave SW, Seattle office

Bootstrapped payments company scaling into the U.S.

Source: Helcim, About

Read the Calgary guide →