Sidekick Card
Sidekick Card, operated by Hero Innovation Group Inc., was a Canadian prepaid reloadable Mastercard program for individual consumers, issued via Peoples Trust Company. The company wound down operations on June 1, 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Sidekick Card does
Sidekick Card (legal entity: Hero Innovation Group Inc.) was a Canadian digital payment solution offering the SideKick Prepaid Reloadable Mastercard Card, a general-purpose prepaid instrument that allowed individual cardholders to load funds and conduct debit transactions including in-store purchases, online retail purchases, and ATM withdrawals. The program was issued and administered by Peoples Trust Company, which acted as card issuer and trustee, with Sidekick Card operating as the program manager and brand under its parent company. The product targeted Canadian retail consumers seeking a non-bank-issued prepaid payment option.
The business model relied on the standard prepaid card economics of interchange and float, with Peoples Trust Company providing the regulated banking infrastructure. No app, public API, SDK, or integration ecosystem was offered, and the customer interface appears to have been a web-based login portal only. No pricing details, fee schedules, customer counts, or revenue figures were publicly disclosed in the source material, and no venture funding, acquisitions, or partnerships beyond the Peoples Trust arrangement were documented.
On June 1, 2026, Hero Innovation Group Inc. announced the complete wind-down of the SideKick digital payment solution and payment application platform, closing the card program. Cardholders could no longer load or transact funds, and remaining balances are being returned by cheque through Peoples Trust Company upon request. No successor entity, pivot, or asset sale has been disclosed.
Sidekick Card firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sidekick Card
- Legal name
- Hero Innovation Group Inc.
- Website
- https://sidekickcard.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Sidekick Card, operated by Hero Innovation Group Inc., was a Canadian prepaid reloadable Mastercard program for individual consumers, issued via Peoples Trust Company. The company wound down operations on June 1, 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sidekick Card industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Prepaid Payment Cards
- NAICS
- Credit Card Issuing (52221)
- SIC
- Personal Credit Institutions (6141)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Travel Money Cards & Multi-Currency Prepaid (FSAMANAI)
Keywords
Where Sidekick Card is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vancouver
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Sidekick Card business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Infrastructure
Sidekick Card product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sidekick Card was a prepaid reloadable Mastercard issued under the trustee/issuer framework of Peoples Trust Company and operated by Hero Innovation Group Inc. It allowed individual consumers in Canada to load funds onto a general-purpose payment card and use it for everyday purchases, ATM withdrawals, and online transactions. The program wound down and the card product was closed as of June 1, 2026.
Product overview
Sidekick Card (SideKick) was a digital payment solution and payment application platform operated by Hero Innovation Group Inc. The primary offering was the SideKick Prepaid Reloadable Mastercard Card, which allowed users to load funds onto the card and use it for various debit transactions. The company announced winding down operations on June 1, 2026, with the card program closing on that date.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sidekick Prepaid Reloadable Mastercard A prepaid reloadable Mastercard card issued for individual Canadian consumers to load funds and use for everyday in-store and online purchases as well as ATM withdrawals. Issued/trustee-backed by Peoples Trust Company and operated by Hero Innovation Group Inc. The program was wound down as of June 1, 2026.
Companies that use Sidekick Card
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Sidekick Card technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Sidekick Card partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves3 records
Sidekick Card competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Wealthsimple: Canadian fintech offering a Cash account with a linked prepaid card for spending and ATM access. Comparable as a Canadian reloadable spending product bundled inside a broader financial platform.
- Stack: Canadian reloadable prepaid Mastercard program with a mobile-first account experience. Most directly comparable to Sidekick in product form factor (prepaid Mastercard, Canadian market) and target customer (underbanked / digital-first consumers).
- KOHO Financial: Canadian prepaid card and banking app offering reloadable spending accounts with cashback and credit-building features. Comparable to Sidekick as a Canadian prepaid program targeting everyday spending and budgeting use cases.
- Neo Financial: Canadian fintech offering a reloadable spending account with a linked card, often paired with rewards and merchant offers. Comparable to Sidekick in being a Canadian prepaid-style spending product with everyday-debit utility.
- Mogo: Canadian fintech that historically offered the MogoCard prepaid Visa, a reloadable prepaid card product for Canadian consumers. Direct overlap with Sidekick in product type (Canadian reloadable prepaid card) and target customer segment.
Broad incumbents
- PayPal Prepaid Mastercard: US reloadable prepaid Mastercard issued by a major payments network in partnership with a bank. Comparable as a network-branded reloadable prepaid Mastercard targeting underbanked consumers, but at a much larger scale and primarily US-focused.
- NetSpend: US-based prepaid card program manager offering reloadable prepaid Visa and Mastercard products. Comparable as a prepaid program manager, though larger, more established, and primarily serving US consumers.
- Green Dot: US bank holding company and one of the largest US prepaid card issuers and program managers. Comparable as an established prepaid-card program manager/issuer, though it operates at far greater scale and primarily in the US.
Emerging players
- Revolut: Global fintech offering multi-currency accounts with a linked card for spending and ATM use. Comparable to Sidekick in being a reloadable card spending product, though differentiated by multi-currency, broader feature set, and international scale.
- Wise: Multi-currency account provider offering a linked debit card for spending and ATM withdrawals across multiple currencies. Comparable to Sidekick in being a reloadable card-based spending account, but differentiated by multi-currency/FX focus and broader geographic reach.
Market position
Strengths2 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights3 records
Customer concentration
Sidekick Card social profiles
Digital presenceSidekick Card financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sidekick Card leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Sidekick Card funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sidekick Card M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sidekick Card
What does Sidekick Card do?
Sidekick Card was a prepaid reloadable Mastercard issued under the trustee/issuer framework of Peoples Trust Company and operated by Hero Innovation Group Inc. It allowed individual consumers in Canada to load funds onto a general-purpose payment card and use it for everyday purchases, ATM withdrawals, and online transactions. The program wound down and the card product was closed as of June 1, 2026.
Is Sidekick Card a public or private company?
Sidekick Card is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently closed.
When was Sidekick Card founded?
Sidekick Card was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sidekick Card based?
Sidekick Card is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.
Who are Sidekick Card's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Wealthsimple, Stack, KOHO Financial, Neo Financial and Mogo. Broad incumbents are PayPal Prepaid Mastercard, NetSpend and Green Dot. Emerging players are Revolut and Wise.
Does Sidekick Card have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sidekick Card.
What industry is Sidekick Card in?
Sidekick Card's product category is Prepaid Payment Cards. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMANAI, Travel Money Cards & Multi-Currency Prepaid. Its NAICS code is 52221 and its SIC code is 6141.