Below is the list of Best High Interest Savings Accounts (HISA) for returning readers. If you are new, please read the post once to get a better understanding of the table HISA accounts.
You can also reference Highest Paying Best TFSA Accounts Rates
Updated: May 23, 2022| FI Name | HISA Rate | QC Eligible | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motive Financial | 1.75% | No | CDIC |
| Hubert Financial | 1.70% | No | DGCM |
| AcceleRate Financial | 1.70% | Yes | DGCM |
| Wealth One Bank of Canada | 1.60% | No | CDIC |
| Oaken Financial | 1.60% | Yes | CDIC |
| Outlook Financial | 1.60% | Yes | DGCM |
| Peoples Trust | 1.60% | Yes | CDIC |
| MAXA Financial | 1.60% | Yes | DGCM |
| Wyth Financial | 1.60% | No | CDIC |
| EQ Bank | 1.50% | No | CDIC |
| Bridgewater Bank | 1.50% | No | CDIC |
| Achieva Financial | 1.50% | Yes | DGCM |
| MotusBank | 1.50% | Yes | CDIC |
| Neo Financial | 1.45% | No | CDIC |
| LBC Digital | 1.15% | Yes | CDIC |
| Canadian Tire Bank | 1.10% | No | CDIC |
| Implicity Financial | 1.10% | Yes | DGCM |
| Ideal Savings | 1.01% | No | DGCM |
| Alterna Bank | 0.90% | Yes | CDIC |
| Tangerine Bank | 0.10% | Yes | CDIC |
| TD Bank | 0.05% | Yes | CDIC |
What Is Considered High Interest Savings Account (HISA)?
The term “High Interest Savings Account” is often used for financial institutes’ highest interest savings accounts regardless of the rate. Unfortunately, HISA became a marketing word to attract new money.
Best HISA accounts are those offering a competitive return for your investment.
The Reason for Creating My Own HISA List
I leave my money in a HISA account (Currently EQ) before transferring to my trading account to invest in the market. Big banks are the worst to invest your money in due to their very low interest rates.
The chart here will serve as a centralized location for Canadians to easily find the highest HISA rates.
The Criteria to be Included in the HISA List
I will include the top 15-20 High Interest Savings Accounts (HISA) in Canada. The list will not include promotional offers which can disappear suddenly. It will also not include targeted offers sent to selected clients.
In addition, the accounts need to be accessible to most Canadians (QC is an exception) directly in a branch or online. This means, I am not including FIs like Saven Financial which is only for Ontario residents.
One important factor to consider is to not invest more than the amount covered by CDIC or the Provincial Credit Union Deposit Insurance. This is to make sure you get your money back in case the bank goes bankrupt.
For reference, DGCM is Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba. DGCM provides an unlimited guarantee of all deposits in a Manitoba credit union including accrued interest to date of payout. This is a much higher coverage than CDIC’s.
High Interest Savings Accounts (HISA) List in Canada
I will update this list whenever I get informed about a rate change. Please don’t hesitate to report updates in the comment section.
- Some financial institutes don’t offer new accounts to QC residents which is mentioned on the list.
- Every financial institute has either CIDC or DGCM coverage which is pointed out on the list.
- The 1 year Annual Compound Return is based on an initial $10,000 deposit with a monthly payment.
- For the sake of comparison, I am including TD and Tangerine (Read my Tangerine Bank Review). This will only be their regular rates without any temporary promotion for a new account or new money.
You can also reference Highest Paying Best TFSA Accounts Rates
Updated: May 23, 2022| FI Name | HISA Rate | QC Eligible | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motive Financial | 1.75% | No | CDIC |
| Hubert Financial | 1.70% | No | DGCM |
| AcceleRate Financial | 1.70% | Yes | DGCM |
| Wealth One Bank of Canada | 1.60% | No | CDIC |
| Oaken Financial | 1.60% | Yes | CDIC |
| Outlook Financial | 1.60% | Yes | DGCM |
| Peoples Trust | 1.60% | Yes | CDIC |
| MAXA Financial | 1.60% | Yes | DGCM |
| Wyth Financial | 1.60% | No | CDIC |
| EQ Bank | 1.50% | No | CDIC |
| Bridgewater Bank | 1.50% | No | CDIC |
| Achieva Financial | 1.50% | Yes | DGCM |
| MotusBank | 1.50% | Yes | CDIC |
| Neo Financial | 1.45% | No | CDIC |
| LBC Digital | 1.15% | Yes | CDIC |
| Canadian Tire Bank | 1.10% | No | CDIC |
| Implicity Financial | 1.10% | Yes | DGCM |
| Ideal Savings | 1.01% | No | DGCM |
| Alterna Bank | 0.90% | Yes | CDIC |
| Tangerine Bank | 0.10% | Yes | CDIC |
| TD Bank | 0.05% | Yes | CDIC |
The difference between the highest and lowest payer is noticeable even for a $10K. The choice is yours.
Some consideration before opening any account is to know each account’s features such as minimum balance or online banking options, and any other fees. From this list, I know that Bridgewater Bank doesn’t offer Online banking.
What matters to me personally besides the coverage is the ability to transfer funds between my accounts electronically. These accounts should not be considered as the main daily accounts, so the transactions or Interac e-transfer fees are almost irrelevant.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
I always park my cash money in a HISA account (Currently EQ) before transferring to either Questrade or WealthSimple to buy Stocks or ETFs. HISA also serves as my emergency fund. It can be pulled out in 2-3 days in case of an emergency. It is very important to consider a good HISA, so your cash generates some sort of income.
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If you aren’t in Quebec, you can choose Canadian Tire, Neo Financial, or my favorite EQ Bank. There are tons of great reviews about EQ bank, but I recommend reading Chrissy’s detailed review of EQ bank. I feel lucky that I got to know and open my EQ accounts years ago while living in NS. I transfer my pay directly to EQ after paying the bills.
Did you know you can pay bills using EQ’s Saving Account? It is a unique feature for a saving account.
If you are an unlucky QC resident, best option would be LBC Digital or Oaken. I personally still have GICs with Oaken (Transferring out upon maturity) and satisfied with their service and customer support.
Thank you for reading and happy investing. Do let me know where you invest your cash which can be your emergency fund.
Hi Mr. Dreamer, I’m honoured to be mentioned in this excellent, very comprehensive post. Thank you so much!
Wow, how have I never heard of Canadian Tire’s HISA? As you know, I’m loyal to EQ. However, it might be worth considering Canadian Tire for some of our cash.
I absolutely agree with your point that HISA is now used as a marketing term. How can these big banks continue to call these accounts HISAs when clearly, they’re far from it? 🙁
Thanks for the detailed, honest post. I’ll definitely be referring others to it.
Hello Chrissy,
Thanks to you for sharing your EQ review. I don’t think any review can do a better job than yours. Honest, complete, and excellent. Great Job!
I don’t really know why Canadian Tire doesn’t advertise its HISA. I think because it is not their main business but knowing they kept the 1.8% rate for almost a year now is a game changer.
I love EQ but I don’t feel loyalty is a thing anymore. To be honest, I kept moving the cash between whoever paid more. It was Tangerine with their 2% till end of Feb. Now, it is back to EQ as I didn’t get a special promotion in Tangerine or Simplii.
For the big banks, obviously they know how to advertise themselves and keep grabbing people’s funds. I am sure 99.9% of newcomers to Canada open their first account with one of the big 6.
Thank you for your kindness & Happy Savings,
Mr. Dreamer