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Every October, thousands of Canadian entrepreneurs are celebrated as part of Small Business Week – a national celebration of the people who build and sustain Canada’s economy.
This week (and this month already), we’ll see plenty of messages about “supporting small business.” We’ll see the big banks run ads about how much they care, how much they’re helping entrepreneurs thrive. And while there’s truth in some of that, there’s also a contradiction hiding beneath the surface.
Because the same institutions that claim to stand behind small business are often the ones making it harder for them to grow – especially when they’re trying to do business globally.
At Loop, we treat every week like Small Business Week – treating it as more than campaigns and slogans, but rather action that supports Small Businesses. Creating tools, infrastructure, and transparency that help small businesses compete and scale – not just here in Canada, but around the world.
The Challenge: What Small Businesses Are Up Against
Running a small business is already hard. Competing globally makes it harder.
For years, Canada’s entrepreneurs have faced a financial system that wasn’t built for them – one that works fine for multinationals, but not for the small or mid-sized business that’s shipping products to the U.S., paying suppliers in Europe, or hiring contractors overseas.
And while the big banks celebrate “supporting small business,” here’s what that often looks like in practice:
- High and hidden FX spreads: The average FX rate spread from the big banks this month has been multiple times higher than what it costs with Loop. We cap our spreads between 10 and 50 basis points – and once a customer locks it in, we keep it there.
- Inflated credit card fees: Every time a Canadian business owner spends abroad on their CAD credit card, they’re paying an extra, non-transparent fee. With Loop cards, customers can link multiple currencies and spend directly in local currency – avoiding those FX fees entirely.
- Growing wire and transaction costs: Traditional bank wire fees have quietly increased over the past year. Every international payment eats into margin and cash flow.
These are not small things. They’re structural barriers that keep Canadian businesses small – barriers that show up every day in the form of slower payments, tighter margins, and lost opportunities.
How Loop Supports Small Businesses – For Real
At Loop, we’re building financial tools designed around the reality of small business, not the assumptions of big banks. That means:
- Transparent pricing: Our FX spreads are upfront, fair, and consistent.
- No unnecessary fees: No hidden wire charges or “service” add-ons.
- Global access: Multi-currency accounts and cards that let you operate like a local business anywhere in the world.
- Human service: When you reach out, you get a real response from someone who actually knows your business.
It’s not about being everything to everyone. It’s about being the right partner for small Canadian businesses that think globally – the ones who don’t need another “campaign” about support, but a financial partner who shows it.
Stories From the Businesses We Serve
In September, we had a chance to connect with a number of our customers who operate globally at Ecom North. They use Loop to scale beyond Canada.
VAE Distributions Scales Internationally with Loop
How Phoeapolis Organics Expands with Loop
Champion Wipes’ Global Growth Story with Loop
Why Performance Partners Trusts Loop to Go Global
From the Founder: Building for Real Impact
We also asked our CEO, Cato Pastoll, to share his thoughts on what it actually means to support small business in Canada today.
Loop Explained – Serving Canadian Small Businesses
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Small Business Week is a time to celebrate Canada’s entrepreneurs. But more than that, it’s a time to reflect on what real support looks like.
At Loop, we believe that supporting small business means building for them – with pricing, products, and people they can trust. Not just this week, but every week.
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