117 articles Comparison

This year’s RRSP deadline is March 2 if you want to deduct the contribution(s) on your tax return for 2025. Want to brush up on your RRSP knowledge? Take our RRSP quiz!

Everybody loves a good quiz if the scores are anonymous and it could save you money, right?

TFSA quiz results

Since we launched our TFSA quiz last month, we’ve had over 450 responses. The average score (without counting repeat attempts) is 9.6 out of 11, which makes you a pretty smart bunch!

Here are a few TFSA refresher facts based on which answers were most frequently answered incorrectly:

• The TFSA over-contribution penalty is 1% per month.
• The entire amount of money withdrawn from your TFSA is added back to your contribution room the following calendar year. Your TFSA contribution room at the beginning of the calendar year consists of your unused contribution room, plus the TFSA dollar limit of the current calendar year, plus the amount of any withdrawals from the previous year.
• The CRA My Account portal is not considered reliable when it comes to tracking your TFSA contribution room! The CRA itself states that you should “always verify your contribution room with your financial institution records to avoid over-contribution”.

You can take our TFSA quiz at any time, as many times as you want!

Rate leaders and tiered rates

It has been relatively quiet when it comes to interest rate changes. Current highlights include:

• Highest non-promotional savings account interest rate: 2.85% at Saven Financial (applies to TFSA and RRSP accounts as well)
• Highest promotional savings account interest rate: 4.80% (registered accounts) or 4.70% (non-registered accounts) on new deposits to a Vancity savings account until April 30, 2026
• Highest GIC rate: 3.85% for a 5-year GIC at Achieva Financial

If you’ve got larger amounts to deposit, more financial institutions are starting to offer tiered interest rates. Tangerine, known for its “interest rate lottery” targeted promotions for existing customers, has started to offered targeted tiered rates, although at relatively underwhelming rates (3.00% if you have at least $50,000 to deposit) compared to its normal promotions (the latest one offering between 3.75% and 4.25% on new deposits). Scotiabank is rumoured to be working on a tiered rate savings account with lower rates than at Tangerine. And we reported back in November that Neo Financial is offering a higher savings account interest rate (now 3.00%) than normal if you have more than $20,000 to deposit.

Registered account transfer fees: the end is near?

If you’ve ever transferred a registered account such as a TFSA or RRSP to another financial institution, you’ve probably encountered a transfer fee, especially if you’re transferring away from a big bank. These fees can be up to $150. Some receiving financial institutions will reimburse the fee if your transfer is over a certain threshold.

The proposed upcoming federal budget will outlaw registered account transfer fees. We’ll see if this change becomes official, and hope that your spurned bank doesn’t find another way to get you.

ATM fee reimbursements at EQ Bank: still free (within Canada), but capped

EQ Bank is capping ATM fee reimbursements starting on April 6 to 5 withdrawals per month and up to $5 per withdrawal. Previously, there was no limit to the amount of the reimbursement or the number of times you could claim it.

For most Canadians this new limit won’t be a problem.

EQ’s main competitor in this “free ATM” space is Wealthsimple, which still allows an unlimited number of withdrawals and no limit on the fee that’s reimbursed. Wealthsimple will also reimburse ATM fees internationally, whereas EQ Bank’s reimbursements are limited to withdrawals at Canadian ATMs.

Believe it or not, the best available savings account interest rate on our chart has gone up from last month! Saven Financial recently increased its regular savings account and TFSA interest rates to 2.85%, and is the outright leader outside of promotional rates. There is also a growing number of direct deposit and tiered rates, including:

• 3.00% from Neo Financial if you have over $20,000
• 2.90% from PC Financial for 12 months if you have an eligible direct deposit
• 2.75% from EQ Bank if you have an eligible direct deposit

Regarding promotional rates, among those we track is a targeted one for existing customers from TD Bank, which is offering 4.90%! Forum users have reported that this is the only promo rate they’ve received from TD Bank in the past 40 years.

Some GIC rates have even increased lately, although the top available rate for a 5-year GIC has decreased to 3.80% (where there is a 4-way tie).

An olive branch for former Motive Financial customers

The sentiment of our forum users on the Motive Financial migration to National Bank has been largely negative. However, former Motive Financial customers did receive a surprising bit of good news: the monthly fees on their National Bank hybrid chequing savings account are being waived indefinitely, whereas National Bank had previously advertised that they would waive the fees for the first year only.

Laurentian Bank and PC Financial to be acquired

Still reeling from the Motive Financial acquisition? Two more banks will disappear from our savings account comparison chart in the future.

Laurentian Bank has been sold, with its retail operations going to National Bank.

And PC Financial, whose PC Money account only made it to our chart last year, has been bought by none other than EQ Bank. As part of the announcement, PC Financial will transition to the EQ Bank brand over time. EQ Bank is not taking over the PC Optimum rewards program, but will become PC Optimum’s exclusive financial partner.

54% of last month’s poll respondents do not use a commission-free online brokerage

Near the end of October, the Bank of Canada made the 9th cut to its key interest rate in the past 1.5 years, dropping it by another 25 basis points. In that time, the top rate on our savings account comparison chart has gone from 4.20% to 2.80%.

Neo Financial recently implemented some tiered interest rates, offering a chart-topping 2.90% if your Neo Savings balance is at least $20,000.

If you’re into the short-term promo game, you can currently get up to 4.75% with a few new deposit promos.

GIC rates topped out at 6.00% (for 1-year GIC) in 2024, whereas the best available GIC rate is now 3.95% for a 5-year GIC.

Qtrade goes commission-free

In February, Questrade became the 4th Canadian online brokerage to offer fee-free self-directed trading (joining National Bank Direct Brokerage, TD Easy Trade, and Wealthsimple), and now Canadians have a 5th option. Qtrade has gone commission-free, and is also offering a 5% bonus on the first $15,000 of new funds (and 1% thereafter) until January 5, 2026. We have listed this alongside a couple of other transfer bonuses at Canadian online brokerages.

Reactions to National Bank’s offering for Motive Financial customers

Last month, we detailed the upcoming move for Motive Financial customers to National Bank. In that same newsletter, we simply asked who is currently a Motive Financial customer. 60% of respondents said yes, and all 34 of the write-in comments from current customers expressed displeasure with the move, with most of them noting that they were either planning to leave, or had already emptied their accounts.

Forum users are also overwhelmingly not pleased with the new offerings. National Bank’s underwhelming offer is not surprising if we take the perspective that Motive Financial was just a necessary inclusion in National Bank’s acquisition of Canadian Western Bank. In that case, National Bank is likely doing the mandatory minimum, and sees little value in keeping Motive Financial’s clients.

Our cash back portal includes the Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard

The Tangerine Money-Back World Mastercard is listed amongst many offers on our cash back portal. Tangerine itself has increased its welcome bonus to be an extra $120 back when you spend $1,500 in your first 3 months. And you can also get an additional $180 via Interac e-Transfer or $200 Amazon.ca gift card if you sign up through High Interest Savings Cash Back.

September 17 was a rare case when both Canada and the US made policy interest rate decisions on the same day. They both cut their rates by 25 basis points. In the current rate cycle, Canada has cut its key interest rate a total of 8 times (starting on June 5, 2024), while the US has done so 4 times.

The predictable drop in savings account interest rates followed swiftly, including 2/3 of the accounts we track. Exactly one year ago, the top savings account interest rate on our chart was 4.25%, whereas today’s leader WealthONE has a 2.85% savings account.

GIC rates have not dropped as quickly recently, and the top rate for any term, whether through a broker or not, is 3.95%.

No more cash back for the Wealthsimple prepaid Mastercard

Wealthsimple has completely eliminated the 1% cash back it was offering on its prepaid Mastercard (which essentially functions as a debit card, since it is tied to your chequing account). However, it is now offering unlimited ATM fee reimbursements anywhere in the world.

EQ Bank still offers 0.5% cash back on purchases made on its prepaid Mastercard, and unlimited ATM fee reimbursements in Canada only.

More details on Motive Financial’s transition to National Bank

National Bank has released more product migration details for Motive Financial clients, following National Bank’s acquisition of Motive Financial’s parent company Canadian Western Bank last June.

In late fall 2025, non-registered savings accounts will move to a hybrid / all-in-one chequing/savings account offering the same rates as Motive Financial currently does (2.00% for the Savvy Savings account for example), and a $28.95 monthly fee that is waived for the first 12 months only. After that, you’ll need a minimum $6,000 balance to waive the monthly fee. TFSAs will move to an account with a 2.00% rate for 3 months only.

Lightning round(up)

• We had over 400 responses to last month’s newsletter poll, with 68% of respondents saying that they do not pay an annual fee for any of their credit cards. Some of the written responses say that they get the credit card annual fee waived as a perk of their chequing account. Those who do pay an annual fee say that they get more than enough value out of points and other benefits such as waived foreign currency transaction fees or travel benefits.
• The 2026 TFSA contribution limit will be $7,000, which is the same as the past 2 years.
• As per our promotions page, there are currently no fewer than 7 bank account promos offering at least 4.50%.

The leaders on our savings account comparison chart are unchanged at 3.10% (at PC Financial and Wealth One Bank of Canada). However, EQ Bank’s ongoing “with an eligible direct deposit” rate was recently decreased from 3.50% to 3.30%. This is noted on our promotions page along with some higher rates for short-term promos, including:

• CIBC: 4.90% in a new eAdvantage savings account for the first 3 months
• Manulife Bank: 4.75% for 120 days in a new, non-registered Advantage Account opened between September 10 and November 21, 2025
• RBC new customers: 4.70% for 3 months in your first RBC High Interest eSavings account if opened before 3pm ET on October 29, 2025
• Vancity (BC only): 4.75% on new deposits to a savings account until October 31, 2025

Ways to beat inflation: new article

Our latest article is: Inflation, the silent investment killer: ways to keep more of your cash. The author, Rico M, tries to answer the question “How does someone protect more of their money from inflation to get more cents for their dollar?”. He starts off by defining inflation, reviewing the different causes and types of inflation. Then, he explores whether savings accounts and GICs outperform inflation, and if so, by how much. Finally, he explores whether equities and index funds are alternatives to consider.

The next key interest rate decision for both Canada and the US is scheduled for September 17, and cuts are forecast for both countries. Such cuts would trigger decreases in savings account and GIC rates.

Poll results: Do you invest in mutual funds or ETFs?

According to last month’s reader poll, 60% of respondents invest in ETFs in some way. The breakdown of answers is as follows:

• Yes, mutual funds only (11%)
• Yes, ETFs only (38%)
• Yes, both mutual funds and ETFs (22%)
• No (29%)

There were a few common themes in the written responses. Those who don’t invest in mutual funds and/or ETFs are usually invested in individual stocks, savings accounts, or GICs, with the latter group especially interested in capital preservation (usually due to their age) and avoiding volatility. There were quite a few comments noting that they eschew mutual funds or are transitioning away from them due to their relatively higher management fees.

More personal finance reading

• There was a recent security breach at Wealthsimple, although it reportedly affected less than 1% of their customers
• Annual fee increases are coming to several credit cards, including the American Express Cobalt Card (from $12.99 to $15.99 per month), the WestJet RBC World Elite Mastercard (from $119 to $139 per year), and the Wealthsimple credit card (from $10 to $20 per month if you don’t meet the criteria for a fee waiver)
• Tangerine Bank is transitioning from passwords to PINs for online banking
• Tangerine Bank is testing out tiered interest rates for select customers
• Transfer time for EFTs has gotten faster over the years
• A discussion on the suitability of 3-year versus 5-year GIC ladders as you get older