So many choices, too little time. Which 3 or 4 Online banks would you get? | General comparisons | Discussion forum

I like:
1) Hubert for their service, 1-yr quarterly GIC, and 30 e-links allowed without FLinks.
2) Tang for their link system that does not use FLinks
No others stand out, for me.

Lodown said
We would all love one online bank that would give us everything but alas, it will likely never happen. So if you wanted to limit yourself to 3 or maybe 4 online banks, which would they be and what are your top 3 or 4 reasons for each choice?  

I like to think of them as keeper accounts:

- Motive Financial: Interest rates, Banking platform - dated but solid, Call centre.
- Tangerine: Lottery promo's, Visa debit, Linking external accounts. Apple Pay.
- Simplii: Interest promo's, e-Transfers, Call centre, Apple Pay.
- EQ Bank: Fallback option when interest promos expire at Tangerine & Simplii.

Motive for their rates.

EQ for service and rates

Simpli for rates.

Any other except Tangerine. Tangerine is not a HISA acct type of bank, their base rate is 0.40 %, a joke. If anyone wants a better rate they must continually phone in every 150 days or so and BEG. For me TING was just a total waste of time.

9 years ago, for Peoples.

I don't beg Tangerine, I just tell them what I'm about to do, are they interested in keeping my money there?, making it absolutely clear I'm fine with whatever they decide, and it seems to work. I get the impression on here that begging doesn't really work.

Lodown said
We would all love one online bank that would give us everything but alas, it will likely never happen. So if you wanted to limit yourself to 3 or maybe 4 online banks, which would they be and what are your top 3 or 4 reasons for each choice?  

Currently...
Motive: GIC (and currently HISA regular rate as BU to promos) rates, ease of use.
Meridian: Been member for over 35 years, goes in cycles. right now HISA rate. BU for 1 yr breakable. Excellent customer service
Hubert: New to Hubert but liking the 1 year GIC a lot. GIC rates worth keeping an eye on for now. Customer service.
EQ: GIC rates

Canuck said
What does "BU" stand for?  

Back Up

For reference, I have tried TD, BMO, Meridian, Motive, Accelerate, Hubert, Wealth One, LBC Digital, Wyth, EQ, and Canadian Tire. Also, I will not speak to these banks in terms of their rates, as you can see that for yourself on the HISA chart; instead, I will describe them in terms of my experience with other aspects of them. My preferences:

#3: Wyth. I was briefly with these folks from January to May, at which time I switched to Meridian. I enjoyed their interface and ease of account-linking, and their required form-filling was minimal. I hear that there are some strange new developments regarding the amount of money that you can transfer in, however.

#2: Meridian. I joined these folks in May of this year based on their 2.7% HISA promotion, and they've since moved me up to 3.15%, and today up to 3.65%. Their service has been great, and their requirement for form filling is minimal (I submitted a statement for my TFSA and RRSP accounts, and they filled out the "Direct Transfer Appliaction for Registered Accounts" form for me!).

#1: EQ. These guys are, by far, the most hassle-free online bank that I've dealt with in terms of signing up (maybe it's changed since 2019, but I can't recall filling out ANY forms) and connecting accounts. Even when they're not a rate leader, I use EQ as my hub to move money. When they are a rate leader, I'm back to them immediately.

I initially had four, but honestly, all of the others that I've tried have frustrated me in some way in my experience with them: I dislike and had poor experiences with big banks (TD & BMO); I found Canadian Tire, Accelerate, and especially Motive to be old-school with their excessive form-filling; LBC Digital's interface was cumbersome; Hubert has seemed friendly, but they're taking forever and I'm having loads of difficulty connecting accounts; Wealth One was SLOW and ripped me off when I transferred my TFSA away from them (it was only $40, but I was not at all impressed).

I hope that this helps!

Frankly, I would have a few online savings accounts with companies that are fairly well established and are not just offering limited time teaser rates. You can tell from the charts herein who these FIs are. I don't have the need or desire to open new accounts and move my money around every 3 months when an FI wants to temporarily raise interest in their company.

FYI : I use Motive, Hubert (For HISA and 1 year cashable GICs) and to a lesser degree, Wyth, Achieva and Oaken for HISAs. Service has been, for the most part, pretty good with all of them. They all have different degrees of difficulty wrt opening new accounts, but, once established, service has been fine. I also found Wealth One to be very slow in many respects and I don't use them for HISAs any more.

Happy hunting.

Ah... digital ID... just keep in mind that this cuts both ways... It will certainly improve convenience to some degree BUT it can also more easily affect ALL your banking at one time should something (or someone) go wrong.

That is the eventual plan... and much more.