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Banking
Most Canadians still bank with one of the Big 5 — not because they’ve chosen to, but because they’ve never stopped to do the math. A typical Big 5 chequing account charges $15–$17 a month in fees and pays 0.01% on savings. The best digital banks in Canada charge nothing and pay 2–3% on every dollar. On a $20,000 balance, that gap is worth roughly $600 a year in interest alone — before you count the fees you’re no longer paying.
The case for switching is straightforward. What’s harder is cutting through the rate headlines. Every digital bank leads with its best-case number, and every one of those numbers comes with a condition — a minimum deposit amount, a paid subscription plan, a new-customer promo window, or an asset threshold. Knowing the conditions is the whole game.
This guide covers the six most useful digital banks in Canada right now, with current verified rates and honest assessments of what each one actually delivers for everyday Canadian families.
- Quick Comparison: All Six Banks
- EQ Bank — Best Overall
- Wealthsimple Cash — Best Integrated Experience
- KOHO — Best for Cashback Spenders
- Neo Chequing — Best for Everyday Cashback
- Neo Savings — Best Tiered Savings Rate
- Simplii Financial — Best for Full CIBC-Backed Banking
- Tangerine — Best Established Full-Service Online Bank
- Understanding Promotional Rates
- How to Choose the Right Digital Bank
- The Bottom Line
- Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Comparison: Best Digital Banks in Canada (2026)
| Bank | Base Rate / Cashback | Top Rate / Cashback | Condition for Top | Monthly Fee | CDIC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EQ Bank | 1.00% | 2.75% | $2,000+/month direct deposit | $0 | ✓ Direct |
| Wealthsimple Cash | 1.25% (Core) | 2.25% | $100K+ in Wealthsimple assets (Premium) | $0 | ✓ Via partners |
| KOHO Essential | 2.00% | 3.50% | Everything plan ($14.75–$22/month) | $0–$22 | ✓ Via Peoples Trust |
| Neo Chequing | 1% cashback (gas & groceries) | 3% cashback | $10,000+ Chequing balance (via Neo Money™ Card) | $0 | ✓ Via CDIC member |
| Neo Savings | 2.00% | 2.75% | $20,000+ balance | $0 | ✓ Via CDIC member |
| Simplii Financial | 0.30% | 0.30% | No ongoing top rate — promo for new clients only | $0 | ✓ Direct (CIBC) |
| Tangerine | 0.30% | 0.30% | No ongoing top rate — promo for new clients only | $0 | ✓ Direct (Scotiabank) |
Rates verified May 2026. Always confirm current terms directly with the provider before opening an account.
EQ Bank — Best Overall Digital Bank
EQ Bank consistently leads the pack on everyday rates without locking your money away or charging a monthly fee. The 2.75% rate applies to the Personal Account, Joint Account, and EQ Bank Card balance — but you need to set up at least $2,000 per month in qualifying direct deposits to earn it. If you don’t have direct deposit set up, the base rate drops to 1.00%.
What makes EQ genuinely useful beyond the rate: the EQ Bank Card reimburses ATM fees charged by any machine in Canada, charges no foreign exchange fees on purchases, and works as a prepaid Mastercard for day-to-day spending. For Canadians who want to earn interest on money they’re also spending, it’s a practical daily driver. EQ also offers TFSA, FHSA, RRSP, and GIC accounts — so you can shelter savings from tax inside the same platform.
Wealthsimple Cash — Best for the Integrated Investor
Wealthsimple Cash is best understood as a banking layer for people who already use Wealthsimple for investing. If you hold $100,000 or more in Wealthsimple accounts — across your TFSA, RRSP, non-registered, and cash accounts combined — you’re on the Premium tier and earn 2.25% on your cash. Most Canadians starting out will earn 1.25% on the Core tier.
The account has some genuinely useful features outside the rate: no foreign exchange fees on purchases, unlimited ATM fee reimbursements worldwide, and the ability to move money instantly between your Wealthsimple Cash and investment accounts. If you’re using Wealthsimple to invest in index funds or ETFs, keeping your emergency fund and short-term savings in the Cash account is a tidy, low-friction setup.
KOHO — Best for Cashback Spenders
KOHO operates on a three-tier plan structure. The Essential plan is free if you deposit $1,000 per month or pay $4/month, and earns 2.0% interest plus 1% cashback on groceries, dining, and transit. The Extra plan ($12/month billed annually) earns 2.5% and adds no FX fees. The Everything plan ($14.75/month billed annually, or $22/month) earns 3.5% and bumps cashback to 2% on those everyday categories.
The 3.5% headline rate is real — but it comes at a cost. At $14.75/month, you’re paying $177/year. On a $10,000 balance, the interest difference between KOHO Everything (3.5%) and EQ Bank’s no-fee 2.75% is about $75/year — which doesn’t cover the plan fee. KOHO Everything makes financial sense if you’re earning enough in cashback to offset it, or if you spend heavily in the 2% categories and value the no-FX-fee card for travel. Run the math for your own spending before committing.
One important limitation: KOHO does not offer registered accounts. There is no KOHO TFSA or RRSP. All interest earned in a KOHO account is taxable.
Neo Chequing — Best for Everyday Cashback
The Neo Chequing account is a full-service no-fee chequing account that pays you cashback on gas and groceries through the Neo Money™ Card. Cashback rates increase automatically based on your Chequing account balance — no action required:
- Level 1 ($0+): 1% on gas & groceries
- Level 2 ($5,000+): 2% on gas & groceries
- Level 3 ($10,000+): 3% on gas & groceries
On top of base cashback, the Neo Chequing account gives you access to an average of 5% cashback (up to 15%) at 10,000+ Neo partner locations across Canada. Free Interac e-Transfers, bill payments, and $0 NSF fees round out the day-to-day banking features.
Two optional membership tiers are available. Build membership ($7.99/month, free with $5,000+ in any Neo account) adds credit score monitoring, credit building tools, and ATM fee reimbursements. Grow membership ($12.99/month, free with $20,000+ across Neo Chequing and Neo Savings) adds no foreign transaction fees on all Neo cards and priority support. Both fees are waived when the balance thresholds are met — so engaged customers pay nothing.
One important note: Neo offers no registered accounts. There is no Neo TFSA, RRSP, or FHSA. All cashback and interest earned is in a taxable account. Funds held in the Neo Chequing account are eligible for CDIC deposit protection up to $100,000, held in trust at one or more CDIC member institutions.
Neo Savings — Best Tiered Savings Rate
The Neo Savings account pays a tiered interest rate that increases automatically as your balance grows — no promo codes, no account switching, no waiting. The rates as of May 2026:
- Under $5,000: 2.00%
- $5,000–$19,999: 2.50%
- $20,000+: 2.75%
Interest is calculated daily on your total closing balance and paid monthly. There is no monthly fee, no minimum balance to open, and no lock-in — you can move or spend your money anytime. You can open up to 10 Neo Savings accounts and name each one for a specific goal, making it practical for families tracking multiple savings targets at once. A joint Neo Savings account is also available — balances combine to reach higher tiers faster.
As with the Neo Chequing account, no registered accounts are available through Neo. All interest earned in a Neo Savings account is taxable. Deposits are eligible for CDIC deposit protection up to $100,000, held in trust at one or more CDIC member institutions.
Simplii Financial — Best for Full CIBC-Backed Banking
Simplii Financial is the digital arm of CIBC, which means it comes with the full backing of a Big 5 institution without the fees. The no-fee chequing account, HISA, TFSA, RRSP, and GIC accounts are all available — and the platform is mature, with a reliable app and solid customer service. If full-service digital banking with registered accounts matters to you, Simplii covers it cleanly.
The everyday savings rate of 0.30% is low, which means Simplii works best for Canadians who want the full banking relationship — chequing, savings, registered accounts — under one roof backed by a major institution, rather than for those optimizing purely on savings rate. For a higher ongoing return on cash savings, EQ Bank or Neo are stronger choices.
Tangerine — Best Established Full-Service Online Bank
Tangerine has been operating as a standalone digital bank since 1997 — making it the most established institution on this list by a considerable margin. Backed by Scotiabank, it offers a full range of accounts: savings, chequing, TFSA, RRSP, GICs, and a children’s savings account. You can deposit cash at any of Scotiabank’s 3,500+ ABMs across Canada, which is a genuine practical advantage over most digital banks.
Like Simplii, Tangerine’s everyday savings rate of 0.30% is its main limitation for savers optimizing on return. Where Tangerine earns its place is in breadth: if you want a single no-fee digital bank that handles your chequing, registered accounts, and GICs — with ABM cash deposit access — it’s one of the most complete options available. The children’s savings account is also a feature no other bank on this list offers.
Understanding Promotional Rates
Simplii and Tangerine both offer promotional rates well above their everyday rate for new clients. These promos are real, but they expire — and the base rate that remains is 0.30%. Building your savings strategy around a rate that disappears in five months is not a plan. Choose your primary savings account based on its everyday rate.
Promotional rates are a standard acquisition tool in Canadian banking. They attract new deposits, and there’s nothing wrong with benefiting from one when you’re opening an account you actually intend to keep. The problem is treating them as the reason to choose a bank. Once the promo ends, you’re left with whatever the everyday rate is — and for Simplii and Tangerine, that’s 0.30%.
The accounts worth anchoring your savings to are the ones with real ongoing rates: EQ Bank at 2.75% (with direct deposit), the Neo Savings account at 2.00%–2.75%, or KOHO Essential at 2.0%. Simplii and Tangerine make sense as your banking home if you value their full-service features — registered accounts, chequing, ABM access — not because of a rate that won’t last.
How to Choose the Right Digital Bank
The right account depends on what you’re optimizing for. Most Canadians benefit from using two accounts — one for ongoing savings with a strong everyday rate, one for day-to-day spending or short-term parking.
EQ Bank’s 2.75% requires $2,000/month in direct deposit. Wealthsimple’s 2.25% requires $100K in platform assets. KOHO’s 3.5% requires a paid plan. The Neo Savings account’s top rate of 2.75% requires a $20,000 balance — but its base rate of 2.00% has no conditions at all. If you can’t meet a condition, look at the base rate rather than the headline number.
KOHO, Neo Chequing, and Neo Savings offer no registered accounts. If you want a TFSA or RRSP savings account at the same institution, you need EQ Bank, Simplii, or Tangerine. This matters because interest earned outside a TFSA is taxable — at higher incomes, that changes the effective return meaningfully.
Your emergency fund should be in an account with a reliable ongoing rate and instant access — EQ Bank or the Neo Savings account are strong choices here. Day-to-day spending can flow through the Neo Chequing account, where the Neo Money™ Card earns cashback on gas and groceries automatically. Keeping savings and spending in separate accounts makes it easier to track progress and avoid dipping into money you meant to keep.
All accounts covered in this article provide CDIC deposit insurance — either directly (EQ Bank, Simplii, Tangerine) or via a CDIC member partner institution (Wealthsimple, KOHO, Neo). Coverage is $100,000 per depositor per insured category. If you’re holding more than $100,000 in savings, spread across multiple institutions or account types to stay within covered limits.
The banks on this list all support Interac e-Transfer and most support pre-authorized transfers. Setting up automatic weekly or biweekly transfers from your main chequing account into your digital savings account removes the friction from saving. You stop having to decide — it just happens.
The Bottom Line
For most Canadians, EQ Bank is the strongest default choice: 2.75% with a $2,000/month direct deposit, no monthly fees, registered account options, and a functional spending card with no FX fees or ATM charges. If you can meet the direct deposit threshold, there’s no reason not to use it as your primary savings home.
If you can’t meet EQ’s direct deposit requirement, the Neo Savings account’s 2.00% base rate with no conditions is the next cleanest starting point — and it scales to 2.75% as your balance grows. For day-to-day spending, the Neo Chequing account earns cashback on gas and groceries automatically through the Neo Money™ Card, with no monthly fee. For Canadians already using Wealthsimple to invest, the Cash account makes sense as a companion — especially at the Premium tier. KOHO is worth the fee if the cashback math actually works out for your spending habits; run the numbers before committing to the Everything plan.
Simplii and Tangerine are worth considering if you want a full no-fee banking relationship — chequing, registered accounts, GICs — backed by a major institution. Their everyday savings rate of 0.30% means they’re not the right choice if maximizing your return on cash savings is the goal. For that, EQ Bank, Neo Savings, or KOHO give you more for doing nothing.
Rates change. Verify current figures directly with any bank before making a decision. The rates in this article were confirmed in May 2026.Ready to set up your full banking system? Read our guide to the best bank accounts in Canada — it covers chequing, joint, and savings accounts together so you can build a setup that works for your whole household.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes — all accounts covered in this article are protected by CDIC deposit insurance up to $100,000 per depositor per insured category. EQ Bank, Simplii, and Tangerine are direct CDIC members. Wealthsimple, KOHO, and Neo hold deposits in trust at one or more CDIC member institutions. This is the same federal protection that covers deposits at the Big 5 banks.
Many Canadians do — particularly with EQ Bank, Simplii, or Tangerine, which offer more complete banking features including bill payments, e-Transfers, and in Tangerine’s case, ABM cash deposits. EQ Bank and Wealthsimple both offer spending cards that work at point of sale. The Neo Chequing account also works as a full day-to-day chequing account with free e-Transfers and bill payments. That said, if you regularly deposit cash or need in-person banking, you’ll want a relationship with a bank that has ABM access. Tangerine and Simplii (via CIBC machines) cover this better than Neo or KOHO.
A promotional rate is a time-limited offer — typically 90 to 153 days — available to new customers only, or sometimes to existing customers who add new funds. Once the promo period ends, the rate drops to the bank’s everyday base rate. For Simplii and Tangerine, that base rate is currently 0.30%. An everyday rate applies indefinitely as long as you meet any stated conditions (like EQ Bank’s $2,000/month direct deposit requirement).
Some do and some don’t. EQ Bank, Simplii, and Tangerine all offer TFSA and RRSP savings accounts. EQ Bank also offers FHSAs. KOHO, Neo Chequing, and Neo Savings do not offer any registered accounts — all savings held there are in taxable non-registered accounts. Wealthsimple Cash itself is a non-registered account, but Wealthsimple offers TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, and RESP through its investing platform. If sheltering savings from tax is a priority — which it should be for most Canadians — factor registered account availability into your choice.
For most Canadians, yes — EQ Bank offers the strongest combination of ongoing rate (2.75% with direct deposit), no monthly fees, full registered account options, and a useful spending card. It consistently outperforms on everyday rate without relying on short-term promos. That said, “best” depends on your situation: if you can’t meet the direct deposit requirement, the Neo Savings account’s 2.00% base rate with no conditions is a clean alternative that scales to 2.75% as your balance grows. If you’re already investing with Wealthsimple, the Cash account makes more sense as your banking layer.
On a $20,000 savings balance, a Big 5 bank paying 0.01% earns you $2 per year. EQ Bank at 2.75% earns you $550. That’s a difference of $548 — before counting the $180+ in monthly fees you’d stop paying if you also dropped a paid chequing account. The gap is meaningful enough that switching is one of the highest-return, lowest-effort financial moves most Canadians can make.
A two-account setup works well for many Canadians: one account for ongoing savings with a reliable everyday rate (EQ Bank or Neo Savings), and one for day-to-day spending that still earns something (Neo Chequing or KOHO). Beyond that, adding more accounts typically adds complexity without meaningfully improving your return. Each account takes time to manage, and chasing rates across four or five institutions is unlikely to be worth the friction for most people.
If a CDIC-member bank fails, CDIC covers your eligible deposits up to $100,000 per depositor per insured category. For accounts like Wealthsimple, KOHO, and Neo that hold deposits in trust at one or more CDIC member institutions, your deposits are eligible for the same protection. All accounts on this list have CDIC coverage in place. Canada has not had a CDIC member bank failure since 1996.