Mr. Thrifty wants to let you in on a little secret: when it comes to getting the highest interest rates on your hard earned savings, the best deals are often found by looking beyond the Big Banks. So, scout around and don’t leave free money on the table ! Follow along for Mr. Thrifty’s Guide to High Interest Savings Accounts. This section is updated regularly so please check back for Mr. Thrifty’s most recent tips.
Mr. Thrifty’s Tips for Finding the Best High Interest Savings Account:
- Always Check Mr. Thrifty’s Ratings. We check and update rates regularly so you don’t have to. Sign up for our newsletter and you will receive flash alerts on special promotional offers.
- All accounts listed here are covered by CDIC or the equivalent Provincial Deposit Insurance Coverage. Stay within the insurance limits. See Mr. Thrifty’s Primer on Deposit Insurance for more information.
- Check the fine print when it comes to transaction fees, withdrawal and transfer limits as well as when interest is paid and how interest is calculated. Note regarding Manitoba credit unions: An increasing number of Manitoba credit unions are starting to offer attractive savings interest rates but some pay interest once annually and base it on the minimum monthly balance. These are off-market features which lower the effective interest rate (most banks pay interest monthly and calculate interest based on the daily average balance).
- Open More than One Account. Establish an “Anchor” Account with a high every day savings rate and link it to other banks that offer promotional rates to maximize your savings.
- Note to Quebec residents: as indicated below, not all deposit accounts are available to residents of Quebec because some institutions are not able to comply with language laws.
Weekly Update, 15/12/2024
Interest Rate Trends: Bank of Canada Continues to Lower Interest Rates
- The Bank of Canada’s target for the Overnight Rate is 3-3/4%
- The U.S. Federal Reserve’s target range for the Fed Funds Rate is 4-1/2 to 4-3/4%
High Interest Savings Accounts – Everyday Savings
- This week’s changes: increases – none; decreases – Achieva, Alterna, Outlook
High Interest Savings Accounts – Promotional Offers
- Simplii – 6% (new customers only)
- CIBC – 5.25% for the first 4 months
- Motive – 5.35% for 120 days (new customers only)
- Tangerine’s promotional offer is now 5.40% (details below). This offer also applies to USD deposits, making it by far the best savings rate we can find anywhere on USD deposits. Further details below. Notes based on reader feedback: (1) we understand Tangerine’s offers are not generally applicable to savings accounts for children and (2) existing customers sometimes receive special interest rate offers by email or through the “insights” tab in their online accounts.
- Wondering what to look for in evaluating a promotional offer? Check out our Top Ten Tips
Time to Consider a GIC ?
With rates starting to come down the 5% GIC seems to be a thing of the past.
Oaken, Tangerine and Saven still have competitive rates on 1 year GICs.
Mr. Thrifty’s Favourite High Interest Savings Accounts for Everyday Savings, Ranked in Order of Interest Rates
| Bank/Credit Union | Everyday High Interest Rate | |
| Wealth One Bank of Canada – High Interest Savings** | 3.45% | Open an account here |
| Bridgewater Bank – Smart eSavings** | 3.40% | Open an account here |
| Oaken Financial – Oaken Savings | 3.40% | Open an account here |
| Saven Financial** [Ontario residents only] | 3.40% | Open an account here |
| Motive Financial – Savvy Savings** | 3.20% | Open an account here |
| Canadian Tire Bank** | 3.00% | Open an account here |
| Neo High Interest Savings | 3.00% | Open an account here |
| MAXA Financial – MAXA Savings | 2.70% | Open an account here |
| Achieva Financial – Daily Interest Savings | 2.60% | Open an account here |
| Hubert – High Interest Savings** | 2.35% | Open an account here |
| Peoples Trust e-Savings | 2.25% | Open an account here |
| Outlook Financial | 2.20% | Open an account here |
| EQ Bank – EQ Bank Savings Plus Account | 2.00%*** | Open an account here |
| Alterna Bank – High Interest eSavings | 1.45% | Open an account here |
** not available to residents of Quebec
*** Interest is calculated daily on the total closing balance and paid monthly. Rates are per annum and subject to change without notice.
Mr. Thrifty’s Favourite High Interest Savings Accounts Offering Promotions
| Bank /Credit Union | Current Promotional Offer | |
| CIBC eAdvantage Savings | up to 5.25% for the first 4 months (new customers only). Note: transactions are $5 each(!) with limited exceptions. The all-in interest rate depends on the “regular” interest rate, which ranges from 0.40% to 1.70%, depending on account balance. In order to qualify for the “smart interest rate” bonus of 0.50% customers need to save at least $200 per month | Click here for more information |
| Motive Savvy Savings | 5.35% for 120 days – new customers only | Click here for more information |
| Simplii | 6% for 5 months – ends January 31, 2025 (new customers only) | Click here for more information |
| Tangerine | 5.40% on new deposits by new customers (includes US Dollar deposits) for the first 153 days. All details on Tangerine’s web site. | Open an account here |
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love the direction of this site – sorely needed in canada!
+1
Thanks! More to come. Let us know what topics interest you the most.
I like the valuable info you supply to your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and check
again right here frequently. I am reasonably certain I’ll learn plenty of new stuff right here!
Good luck for the following!
Thanks ! We have a number of new articles planned and welcome feedback
Im grateful for the post.Really thank you! Want more.
What about Motusbank??
Hi Craig,
Thank you for your feedback and engagement !
We are happy to include Motusbank in future updates of our favourite everyday high interest savings accounts.
Motusbank does have a good high interest savings account but it is not on our current list because its everyday interest rate (currently 2.25%) is lower than every other financial institution on our list and we did not intend to list every high interest savings account in Canada.
We do think Motusbank, generally, has competitive offerings and plan to feature it in upcoming articles.
Regards
Mr. Thrifty
The information you received on the BMO Smart Saver account is not entirely correct. Yes, you do have to open a chequing account first (why, I don’t know), but you can leave $4,000 in it to avoid fees, OR you can close it immediately after you open the Smart Saver account and not incur fees. You can earn bonus $$ for setting up automatic bill payments, but it’s not necessary to get the 2.85% rate. They’ve definitely made it confusing, but if you jump through the hoops you can get that rate without having to pay monthly fees or make bill payments from the account.
Laurentian Bank is now offering a 3.3% savings account. Is there something wrong with it? I was on the verge of putting five figures into Oaken’s term deposits, but Laurentian’s savings account seems to offer both more flexibility and 0.45% higher interest.
Laurentian Bank is a CDIC insured bank. This is a terrific rate but one not likely to last.
Thanks, Are you ever on the right track.I just forwarded this to a dozen friends.Great reference material. Are you open to other sites to add to your portfolio? I’m a retired 30 year IA and have lots of juicy stuff…Just email me.
Greetings,
Is the LBC Digital savings account still safe? They have been in the news of late having cut their stock dividend and undergone a shake-up in the top brass. I have 100k in their savings account. I see you are still promoting it. Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
Best regards,
Mike G.
Good question!
We have not analyzed Laurentian Bank’s finances but urge everyone to stay within insured deposit limits.
Deposits at LBC are insured by the CDIC, so you they are backstopped by the Government of Canada up to the insured limits.
Any reason you have not included the Scotiabank Momentum HSA on your list? Their website says you can earn up to 2.7% depending on the length of time you leave the money there.
Thank you for pointing out this promotional offer. We’ll add it to our weekly update.
HSBC has a 1.75% rate on their savings account from Sept 13 to Dec 16.