Have you ever wondered how that extra cash at your disposal could earn you additional income through maximum interest on your savings? That’s essentially what a high-interest savings account will offer you. Saving money is an important aspect of building financial security, and a smart way to do that is to stash your money in a high-yield savings account.
As a result of the high cost of living, saving money seems to be a complicated issue. However, compared to regular savings accounts with low-interest rates, some financial institutions enable you to earn substantial income on your deposits through high-interest savings accounts. With this, you can earn a higher Annual Percentage Yield (APY).
Therefore, whether you’re interested in a Savings Account with no service fees, or the ones with the highest possible interest rate, you’ll discover the best high-yield savings accounts in this post.
What Are High-Interest Savings Accounts?
A high-interest or high-yield savings account, generally known as HISA, is a type of savings account that pays or yields a higher interest than a standard or regular savings account.
Several banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions in Canada offer high-interest savings accounts to enable you safely and securely to save money and simultaneously earn considerable returns.
Compared to the basic savings account that yields about 0.50 percent interest rate or less with no protection from high inflation rates, a high yield savings account can earn an average of 0.05 percent to 2.25 percent interest or more.
Meanwhile, not all HISA have the same interest rates and features. Hence, it is essential to pick your preferred high-interest savings account after carefully comparing the best available options.
Best High Yield Savings Accounts
Here’s a look at some of the best high-yield savings accounts offered by Canada’s major banks, virtual banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions.
Note: These rates are subject to change from time to time.
EQ Bank Savings Plus Account
The EQ Bank is a Canadian financial institution that has been in operation since 1970, with approximately $34 billion in assets under management.
This Savings Plus Account from Equitable Bank is a high-yield savings account that pays you up to 1.50 percent interest on every dollar interest and comes with some of a chequing account’s functionality.
The interest is calculated daily on the closing balance in the account and paid monthly. The Savings Plus Account comes with a joint account feature that enables you to share and earn money with up to three others.
As a Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) member, the EQ Bank insures its customers’ savings for up to $100,000 per depositor.
Other features of the Savings Plus Account include:
- Regular interest rate:1.50%
- No monthly fee.
- No transaction or service fees.
- Cheap international money transfers.
- Maximum account balance: $200,000.
- Zero minimum balance.
- Zero daily banking fees.
- Free e-funds transfers, EQ to EQ transfers, and bill payments.
- Insurance: CDIC up to $100,000 per depositor.
- Unlimited free Interac e-Transfer.
- Zero promotional rate
- Mode of Operation: Online only.
Tangerine Savings Account
Tangerine is a subsidiary of Scotiabank with high-yield savings account known as the Tangerine Savings Account. The Tangerine savings account provides a flexible, simple, and friendly banking and savings service with a high-interest rate.
Holders of the Tangerine savings account can set up an Automated Savings Program (ASP) online for their savings goals. With this, they can transfer money to their savings account from their Tangerine chequing account at regular intervals.
Also, the bank provides a promotional interest rate of up to 2.5 percent for first-time Tangerine account openings for the first five months and a regular interest of 0.10%.
Tangerine high-yield savings account has no service fees, and holders of the account can withdraw or transfer their money at any time. Other features of the Tangerine Savings Account include:
- Promotional interest rate: 2.15% for the first 5 months.
- Regular interest rate: 0.10%
- Zero minimum balance.
- No service charges and no monthly fees.
- Free unlimited deposits and withdrawals at Tangerine or Scotiabank ABM machines in Canada.
- Insurance: CDIC insured on deposits up to $100,000 for Canadian funds of no more than 5 years.
- Mode of operation: online and mobile banking.
WealthSimple Cash
WealthSimple Cash is a product of the Canadian online financial service provider, Wealthsimple, a Robo-advisor. Wealthsimple Cash is a hybrid of a chequing and savings account, which allows you to earn high interest on your savings.
The WealthSimple Cash is a no monthly fee high-interest savings account with no minimum deposit. Balances in the WealthSimple Cash account are held with WealthSimple’s affiliated custodial broker, Canadian ShareOwner Investments Inc, protected by the Canada Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Features of the account include:
- Regular interest rate: 0.75% interest on every dollar.
- No monthly account fees.
- No foreign exchange transactions fee
- Zero minimum deposit and zero minimum balance.
- Mode of operation: Online.
Oaken Financial Savings Account
The Oaken savings account offers one of the highest daily interest rates at 1.25% with zero minimum balance and no monthly fees. As an account holder, the funds in your Oaken savings account are eligible for CDIC protection.
You can double your coverage when you open two separate accounts with Oaken. You’ll have the option to choose either Home Bank or Home Trust Company as the issuer, both of which have CDIC insurance coverage. Other features of the account include:
- Regular interest rate: 1.25%
- No minimum balance and no monthly fees.
- Unlimited free transactions.
- Mode of operation: Online.
MAXA Financial High-Interest Savings Account
MAXA Financial is a Canadian digital financial institution and a division of Westoba Credit Union Ltd (based in Manitoba), which offers superior rates of 1.30% on its high-yield savings account.
MAXA also offers GIC, TFSA, RRSP, and RRIF products at exceptional rates. With its online banking tools, you can access your account from anywhere. Features of the account include:
- Interest rate: 1.30%.
- No minimum balance is required.
- No monthly maintenance fee.
- Daily calculation of interest on the closing balance and paid monthly.
- MAXA MemberCard for ATM and POS transactions.
- Insurance: Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba guarantees deposits 100%.
- Mode of operation: Online.
Motive Savvy Savings Account
Motive Financial’s high-interest savings account gives you a 1.55 percent interest on every dollar you save in your account. The interest is calculated daily on the closing balance and paid on the last day of the month.
This account comes with zero minimum balance requirements and no service fee on deposits and transfers. Features of the account include:
- Regular interest rate: 1.550%.
- No minimum balance
- No monthly fee.
- Free deposits and unlimited free transfers between your Motive accounts.
- Withdrawals: ATM withdrawal, online bill payments, Interac Direct Purchase payments, Interac e-Transfers, etc.
- Up to two free monthly transactions. Additional withdrawal transactions attract $5.00.
- Mode of operation: Online.
Traditional High Yield Savings Accounts
Scotiabank Momentum Plus Savings Account
The Scotiabank Momentum Plus savings account offers a flexible high-interest rate. The regular interest rate applies to your daily closing balance and is paid monthly.
Additionally, you can earn a Scotiabank Premium Interest rate when you open a Premium Period and leave your savings in the account for 90, 180, 270, or 360 days with no debit transactions. Features of the account include:
- Regular interest rate: 0.05%.
- Premium Period Interest: 90 days (0.30%), 180 days (0.40%), 270 days (0.50%), 360 days (0.60%).
- Ultimate Package: 0.10%.
- No monthly account fees.
- No minimum balance is required.
- Unlimited self-serve transfers.
- Mobile cheque deposit available.
- CDIC insurance coverage.
- Mobile and online banking.
TD High-Interest Savings Account
TD’s high-interest savings account is a TD Bank product and is offered on balances of up to $5000 or more. Features of the account include:
- Regular interest rate: 0.05% on balances of $5000 or more.
- Zero monthly fees.
- No transaction fee for account balances of up to $25,000. Otherwise, the transaction fee will be $5 each.
BMO Savings Builder Account
The BMO high-interest savings account, known as Savings Builder Account, rewards you for making deposits or savings in your account. You’ll earn a Bonus Interest rate of 0.5% for growing your savings monthly. Features of the account include:
- Base interest rate: 0.050%.
- Bonus interest rate: 0.500% for a monthly deposit of up to $200 monthly.
- Based on all account balances, base interest is paid, while Bonus interest is paid on an account balance of up to $250,000.
CIBC eAdvantage Savings Account
The CIBC eAdvantage high-yield savings account offers a 0.05% regular interest on every dollar.
You can transfer your money for free between your CIBC personal accounts through online, mobile, telephone banking, or any CIBC ATM. You can also earn interest through the Automated recurring transfers from your chequing account.
Features of the account include:
- Regular interest rate: 0.05%
- Monthly fee: $0
- Transaction fee: $5 each.
RBC High-Interest eSavings Account
RBC Royal Bank’s eSavings account offers a high-interest rate of 0.050% on every dollar. You’ll also enjoy 1 free RBC ATM cash withdrawal per month. Features of the account include:
- Regular interest rate: 0.50%.
- No minimum deposit requirement.
- Free electronic self-service transfers.
- Free access to RBC online, mobile, and telephone banking.
- Fees charged on debits exceeding the monthly limit: $5.00 each.
Conclusion
A high-yield savings account is essential to make a balanced financial portfolio, as it offers a simple method of earning money from your deposits and savings.
