Best Online Banks in Canada (2026): Digital Banks Compared

Online banks have no branches, which lets most of them drop monthly fees and pay more on savings than a big bank’s standard account. A big bank’s basic savings account pays close to nothing (TD’s Every Day Savings Account: 0.01%), while EQ Bank’s Personal Account pays 1.00% with no conditions and has no monthly fee. The trade-off is in-person service: no tellers, and at some of these banks no way to deposit cash.

Canada’s online banks fall into three groups:

• Full-service digital banks. Tangerine (owned by Scotiabank) and Simplii Financial (a division of CIBC) cover chequing, savings, GICs, registered accounts and credit cards, and their clients use the parent bank’s ATMs.
• Savings-focused banks. EQ Bank and Oaken Financial concentrate on savings accounts and GICs. EQ Bank adds a no-fee everyday account and a prepaid card; Oaken has no chequing account or card at all.
• Fintech accounts. Wealthsimple’s chequing account, Neo Financial and KOHO mix banking with investing, cash back or budgeting tools. Their savings rates depend on a tier: total assets held at Wealthsimple, a Neo membership, or a KOHO plan.

How these fit against the Big 5 and credit unions is covered in the best banks in Canada guide; this page compares the online options with each other. The rest of the bank comparisons hub has head-to-head pages for the most common pairings.

Online Banks Compared

These are posted, non-promotional rates. Tangerine and Simplii regularly run higher rates for new deposits that last a few months and then revert; the current offers are on each bank’s review page. The best savings accounts in Canada page ranks savings rates across banks, credit unions and fintechs.

Feature Comparison

Mortgage options vary more than the table can show: Simplii, for example, connects applicants with CIBC mortgage specialists rather than lending under its own name, so it’s worth checking each bank’s current mortgage offering directly. For what CDIC covers and how the coverage categories add up, see the CDIC deposit insurance guide.

Choosing Between the Online Banks

EQ Bank pays 1.00% on its Personal Account, or 2.75% with qualifying recurring direct deposits of at least $2,000/month; neither is a time-limited promotion. Its Notice Savings Account pays 2.75% with 30 days’ notice before a withdrawal. It also offers TFSAs, RRSPs, FHSAs, GICs, US dollar savings and international transfers through Wise. It has no cash deposits and no credit card, so it is often paired with a chequing account elsewhere. Wealthsimple vs EQ Bank compares it with the closest fintech alternative.

Tangerine covers chequing, savings, GICs, TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs and a no-fee cash back Mastercard, with Scotiabank ATMs for withdrawals. Its posted savings rate is 0.30%, so its appeal for savers rests on its promotions. A common setup is Tangerine for everyday banking and a higher-rate account elsewhere for savings.

Simplii Financial is the closest match to Tangerine: no-fee chequing, a tiered High Interest Savings Account and a no-fee Cash Back Visa whose top category is restaurants. Its clients can deposit cash and cheques at CIBC ATMs. Simplii vs Tangerine vs EQ Bank goes through the three side by side.

Oaken Financial is a savings and GIC institution only. Its Savings Account and TFSA Savings Account both pay 2.80%, and money moves in and out through a linked account at another bank.

Wealthsimple’s chequing account (formerly Wealthsimple Cash) suits people who already invest with Wealthsimple, since money moves between chequing and investing accounts inside one app. The rate is 1.25% at the Core tier and reaches 2.25% only at the Generation tier (Generation: at least $500,000 in assets with Wealthsimple); Core and Premium clients add 0.50 percentage points with a qualifying direct deposit.

Neo Financial pairs Neo Savings with Neo credit cards that earn cash back through personalized partner offers. Since October 1, 2026 its savings rate is set by membership: 2.00% with the free Essentials membership and 2.75% with the paid Grow membership.

KOHO is a prepaid card account built around budgeting, cash back and credit building. Interest on the balance depends on the plan, from 2.00% on Essential to 3.50% on the paid Everything plan. KOHO vs Wealthsimple vs Neo Financial compares the three fintech accounts.

Other no-fee chequing options, including credit-union and big-bank accounts, are listed on the best no-fee chequing accounts page, and the best mobile banking apps page reviews each bank’s app.

Moving to an Online Bank

Most people open the online account first, move their pay deposit and pre-authorized payments over a billing cycle or two, and only then close the old account. The guide to switching banks has the steps and what to check before closing an account.

Keeping a Big Bank and Adding an Online One

Many people don’t leave their big bank at all. They keep it for the mortgage, credit cards and anything that needs a branch, and move savings to an online bank where the money earns more. The online account costs nothing to hold; the cost is one more login and a transfer step when money moves between the two. The best banks in Canada guide covers this and the other common setups.