I’m planning to open a new chequing account in the near future, and I’m contemplating bailing on RBC. I’ve been with them for a very long time, and one possible outcome is that I’ll just open a new RBC account and be done with it. That’d be… fine.

But for a variety of reasons (including my satisfaction with RBC trending steadily downward), I’m thinking about opening this new account elsewhere. I don’t have a ton of hard requirements, and I’m not really sure what to look for in a bank, but the following would be nice:

  • Good online banking experience, particularly desktop (RBC is shockingly bad at this)
  • Good credit card; easy to make payments from the new account
  • Minimal fees
  • Easy e-transfers
  • Real security (another thing RBC is terrible at)
  • Neat rewards would be cool
  • Low-fee, low-friction investing would also be cool-- I don’t really do much investing, but I’d like to be able to

Any suggestions would be great, including anti-suggestions if you happen to know of a bank that I should avoid.

  • hydration9806@lemmy.ml
    1·
    5 months ago

    I can provide some info about TD, Simplii, Tangerine, EQ, and Wealthsimple (more of an investing service than a bank):

    Online Banking Experience:

    • TD: Webapp works but is not pretty. App is more polished.
    • Simplii: Webapp is similar to TD in lack of polish. Mobile app is similar to the other two above.
    • Tangerine: Webapp is a bit better than the above two. App is more polished.
    • EQ: Webapp is a bit more polished like Tangerine. Mobile app is a little worse than the above but still fine.
    • Wealthsimple: Probably the best webapp and mobile app experience.

    Credit Cards (Ease of Use):

    • TD: Many credit card options and can automate payments for it from any institution (I believe).
    • Simplii: They have a free card that has 4% back on restaurants which is pretty cool. Can be automated from other institutions.
    • Tangerine: They have a very cool free credit card (2% back on 2-3 user selected categories). Annoyingly though, you can’t automate payments using another institution.
    • EQ: No idea about credit cards.
    • Wealthsimple: I believe they just released a new credit card. No idea how good it is.

    Fees:

    • TD: They have an account that if you keep a minimum $5000 in it, there are no fees and you get some extra perks (free premium credit card, etc.). Other than that, the free account with no minimum is pretty limited.
    • Simplii: Free accounts and credit cards.
    • Tangerine: Free accounts and credit cards.
    • EQ: Free accounts. Not sure about credit cards.
    • Wealth simple: Free account. Not sure about credit card.

    Etransfers:

    • TD: etransfers have a fee but is waived if you hit the minimum in the account.
    • Simplii: free
    • Tangerine: free
    • EQ: free
    • Wealth simple: no idea. Don’t think they allow etransfers.

    Security:

    • TD: Security is okay. They have a standalone authenticator app, so they need to step it up, but sadly they are still one of the better ones in Canada.
    • Simplii: Meh security. Normal passwords and SMS 2FA.
    • Tangerine: Awful security. Your password can only be a 6 digit numerical pin. Thankfully they require 2FA but only using SMS.
    • EQ: Meh security. Normal passwords and SMS 2FA.
    • Wealth simple: Good security. TOTP available and I believe passkey is here or coming? Not sure about that last part, but I wouldn’t be surprised with how ahead of the curve they are in this area.

    Rewards:

    • TD: Rewards depend on the credit card here.
    • Simplii: Rewards are just in credit card.
    • Tangerine: They have various rewards throughout the year. Usually temporary boosts to the interest on their savings account.
    • EQ: Nope.
    • Wealth simple: Nope.

    Investing:

    • TD: No idea.
    • Simplii: no idea
    • Tangerine: no idea
    • EQ: Can buy GICs here but no idea otherwise.
    • Wealth simple: The best since it’s an investing service.

    Misc:

    • TD: Great customer support and very established. Has lots of options for accounts, cards, etc.
    • Simplii: No in person access.
    • Tangerine: No in persona access. Security is abysmal but the other services are pretty good.
    • EQ: Typically has the highest interest rate of all Canadian banks for the savings account. No in person access.
    • Wealth simple: Great for investing and a good service!

    What I do: I have my everyday banking with TD, savings with EQ, and investing with Wealthsimple. When Tangerine gives a promo, I move my savings there until the promo expires, then I move it back to EQ. I have credit cards with a bunch, but the one I’m considering ditching is the Tangerine one since payments cannot be automated through another institution.

    • cheerytext1981@lemmy.ca
      1·
      5 months ago

      Wealthsimple Cash covers most of what one might be looking for in a chequing account.

      • 4.5% interest if you deposit your paycheque into it. 3% otherwise I think? It’s quite high
      • you can send e-transfers from a Cash account, or you send money using WS Cash to other Cash users. Both workflows are easy

      The Cash card also has 0.5% cash back on purchases IIRC and is essentially a prepaid credit card / debit card. I love WS Cash, the only reason I don’t use it more often is that I have an Amex.

      • deege@lemmy.ca
        1·
        5 months ago

        4% before any direct deposit bonuses.

        It’s pretty decent for a cash / emergency / short term savings account.

        It lacks features though (recurring transfers in/out from other institutions is the main one for me).