Review: Tangerine Savings Account
When choosing a high-interest savings account, you’re probably looking for one with no fees or service charges, no minimum balance, and a rate that’s higher than most of the Big Five banks. The Tangerine Savings Account offers all that and more.
Tangerine Review
Tangerine, which was formerly known as ING Direct and purchased by Scotiabank in 2012, is one of the leading online banks in Canada. The bank has a few Tangerine Cafés and pop-up locations in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary. It doesn’t operate any branches as traditional banks do. You can bank online, using the Tangerine app, or over the phone.
Rates and bonuses
Tangerine currently offers an interest rate of 1% on its savings account (there’s also a TFSA version of the account, which offers the same rate of 1%). While that’s lower than what some of its competitors (EQ Bank, Alterna Bank, and Oaken Financial) offer, it’s higher than some of the big banks (TD Canada Trust, RBC Royal Bank, and CIBC). But it’s lower than the BMO Bank of Montreal Savings Builder Account, which has an interest rate of 1.25%. And the Scotiabank Momentum Savings Account offers a higher rate than Tangerine’s account but only if you deposit more than $5,000. If you deposit less than $5,000, the interest rate is just 0.1%.
New Tangerine clients can get a teaser rate and a cash bonus. If you’re a new customer and open a Tangerine chequing and savings account together, you’ll earn a 2.4% bonus interest on the savings for six months, plus a $100 bonus in your chequing account. If you open a standalone savings account, RSP savings account or tax-free savings account, you’ll earn 1.9% in interest for six months, and 1% interest after that.
Fees
The great thing about Tangerine’s savings account is there aren’t any fees or service charges. Although some financial institutions charge for a fee for each transaction or internal transfer, Tangerine doesn’t. There also aren’t any fees if you want to move money to another one of your bank accounts, even if it’s not with Tangerine.
Should You Bank With Tangerine?
Tangerine has a great teaser rate and excellent sign-up bonuses if you’re a new client. And there are also no fees and no minimum balance required to get the best interest rate. But there are other financial institutions that offer better rates, which you can find by comparing the best high-interest saving s accounts.