Oaken Financial Review 2026: GIC and Savings Rates, and Oaken vs EQ Bank

Oaken Financial doesn’t advertise on TV, has no branches and offers no debit card. What it does offer is savings and GIC accounts from CDIC-insured Canadian institutions, for people who want to earn interest on money they aren’t spending. Other banks are reviewed in the bank and fintech reviews, and GIC rates across institutions are compared in the best GIC rates.

What Is Oaken Financial?

Oaken Financial is a trademark of Home Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Home Trust Company, a trust company operating since 1987. Home Trust launched Oaken in 2013 as its direct-to-consumer deposit brand. Home Bank was previously CFF Bank, which joined the Home Trust group in October 2015 and was renamed in August 2016.

Home Trust Company and Fairstone Bank of Canada completed a corporate combination on January 8, 2025; the combined group, under the Fairstone Bank parent, includes the Home Trust, Oaken Financial, Home Bank, Fairstone, EdenPark and Fig brands. Home Trust Company and Home Bank remain separate, federally regulated Schedule I institutions and separate CDIC members.

Products:

• Savings Account (a high-interest savings account)
• GICs, non-redeemable and cashable
• Registered accounts: TFSA, RSP (RRSP) and RIF (RRIF)

Oaken doesn’t offer an FHSA or RESP.

Current Rates

Savings rates: 2.80% (Savings Account and TFSA Savings Account), in effect since October 2, 2026. GIC rates in effect since October 2, 2026. Oaken’s GIC rates page has the full term grid (including non-registered, short-term and cashable GICs), and its savings rates page the latest savings rates; both change frequently. GICs have a $1,000 minimum deposit, and the Savings Account has no minimum balance or monthly fee.

CDIC Coverage: Two Member Institutions

CDIC insures eligible deposits up to 100,000 per depositor per category at each member institution. Because Oaken products are issued by two separate CDIC members, Home Bank and Home Trust Company, and you choose which one issues each deposit, a depositor who deliberately splits eligible deposits between them can have up to $200,000 in combined coverage in a single category. Registered accounts (TFSA, RSP, RIF) are separate categories at each institution. How the categories work is in CDIC deposit insurance.

What Oaken Doesn’t Offer

Oaken is intentionally narrow. It has no:

• Chequing account
• Debit card or ATM access
• Interac e-Transfer
• Bill payments
• Loans or lines of credit
• FHSA or RESP

Money moves by EFT to and from a linked Canadian bank account. $0 – Oaken states transfers between a linked external account and Oaken are free of charge. Linking an external account by mailing a void cheque takes up to 2 business days; Oaken does not publish a guaranteed EFT transfer-time figure. Oaken works alongside a primary bank, not instead of one; no-fee chequing accounts are compared in the best no-fee chequing accounts.

Oaken vs EQ Bank

EQ Bank and Oaken are both online institutions outside the Big Five that compete on rate, but they solve different problems:

Rates as posted on October 2, 2026 (Oaken GICs) and checked October 5, 2026 (EQ Bank); the gap between the two moves as each changes its rates.

• An emergency fund you may need quickly: EQ Bank’s accounts support e-Transfers, while Oaken needs an EFT to a linked account, with no published guaranteed timeline.
• A GIC for a set term: compare the two institutions’ current posted rate for that term; neither leads every term every month.
• More than one category’s worth of non-registered savings: Oaken’s two CDIC members let a depositor insure more in one category than a single institution allows.
• One app for everything: EQ Bank.

Some savers use both: EQ Bank as the everyday savings and banking account, and Oaken for GICs when its rate for the chosen term is higher, which also spreads CDIC coverage across three member institutions. EQ Bank’s own rates are on EQ Bank savings rates and EQ Bank GIC rates.

How to Open an Account

1. Apply online through Oaken Digital at oaken.com, or book an appointment at one of Oaken’s three offices (Toronto, Vancouver or Calgary). These are appointment-only offices, not walk-in branches.
2. Enter your personal information and complete identity verification.
3. Link a Canadian bank account for transfers; linking by mailing a void cheque takes up to two business days.
4. Fund the account by EFT from the linked account.

Oaken says completed applications are processed within 5 business days, plus mailing time where documents are sent by mail. Contacts and hours: 1-855-OAKEN-22 (625-3622), Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 8:00pm EST; Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm EST.

Who Oaken Financial Suits

Good fit:

• Savers putting money aside for 1 to 5 years
• Retirees building GIC ladders in RSP or RIF accounts (GIC laddering)
• Depositors with large balances who want CDIC coverage across two institutions
• People who compare GIC rates institution by institution

Less suited to:

• Anyone who wants chequing, savings and investing in one place
• People who need fast or frequent access to their savings
• People who want e-Transfers for daily transactions

Oaken isn’t a bank replacement: it is a place for savings and GICs alongside a primary bank. Online banks are compared more broadly in the best online banks in Canada, and Manulife Bank is another branchless option with its own review.

Related Reading

• EQ Bank review
• GIC guide
• Best savings accounts in Canada
• Bank and fintech reviews