Savers Roundup December 2019: another 3.30% savings account

LBC Digital: A second 3.30% savings account from Laurentian Bank

Just a few months after unveiling B2B Bank with a 3.30% savings account interest rate, Laurentian Bank has now launched LBC Digital with yet another 3.30% savings account, as well as a no-fee chequing account. LBC Digital has separate CDIC coverage from B2B Bank. The 2 financial institutions are quite similar, although LBC Digital is not officially available in Quebec yet, whereas B2B Bank is. (People have reported that you can still open an LBC Digital account in Quebec if you register through its English site.) If you already have a B2B Bank account, you must use a different e-mail address to sign up with LBC Digital.

Some forum members have had a smooth experience with LBC Digital so far, but others have reported problems logging in, errors in the online interface and features, and struggles to even open an account. For the time being at least, the bottom line is that both B2B Bank and LBC Digital offer a 3.30% interest rate that tops our comparison chart and beats all of the numerous new deposit and new account promos we track. Read more about other people’s experiences (and share yours) with LBC Digital on our forum.

GIC leaders and non-standard GIC terms

With its latest across-the-board GIC rate increases, Oaken Financial is the current outright leader on our GIC chart for 1-year (2.55%), 2-year (2.65%), 3-year (2.70%), 4-year (2.80%), and 5-year (2.90%) terms. It also has a 2.60% 18-month GIC.
If you live in Ontario, you might want to look into Buduchnist Credit Union, which has the only GIC promos that beat the Oaken Financial rates, albeit for some non-standard terms: 11 months (2.50%), 23 months (2.70%), and 44 months (2.85%) if you open the GICs before January 11, 2020.

Holiday reading: TFSA limit, Amazon.ca Mastercard, more free Interac e-Transfers

• The 2020 TFSA contribution limit will once again be $6,000. That’s a cumulative total of $69,500 in contribution room if you turned 18 or older in 2009.
• In case you are considering transferring TFSA funds between financial institutions, this is your annual reminder to consider withdrawing the funds near the end of the year to be re-deposited elsewhere in January. This might save you some transfer fees and administrative hassle.
• After a bumpy launch and then unlaunch a few months ago, looks like the Amazon.ca Mastercard is open to applications again.
• Do you feel comfortable entering your online bank username and password when setting up bank account external links? Join the discussion.
• Tangerine Bank now has free Interac e-Transfers. It joins quite a few financial institutions (including but not limited to Alterna Bank, B2B Bank, EQ Bank, LBC Digital, Motive Financial, and Simplii Financial) that have free Interac e-Transfers without requiring a minimum balance in your account.