Simplii Financial Review: No-Fee Online Banking, Credit Card Rewards, Money Transfers, And More
For years, online banks like Simplii Financial have provided Canadians with convenient, low-cost banking that’s available 24/7. Nowadays, they’re blurring the lines between digital and traditional banks by offering a full range of products and services.
For example, the Simplii Financial online banking platform includes chequing and savings accounts, a US dollar account, a rewards credit card, GICs, mutual funds, registered investments, personal loans, mortgages, and more.
In this Simplii Financial Review, I cover Simplii’s main products, share key features, and help you decide if it’s the right online bank for you.
Simplii Financial Day-to-Day Banking Products
Simplii Financial has everything you need to conduct day-to-day banking transactions. Their accounts are straightforward: no fees, no minimum account balances, and unlimited transactions, which is exactly what you expect from an online bank. They even have a no-fee credit card that offers incredible value.
Simplii No-Fee Chequing Account
Simplii Financial Offer: Earn $350 cash if you open a Simplii Financial No Fee Chequing Account by January 31, 2023. To qualify, you must add an eligible direct deposit of at least $100 for three consecutive months.
Key Features:
- No monthly fee
- No minimum balance requirement
- Unlimited transactions, including bill payments and withdrawals
- Send and receive free e-Transfers
- Free access to over 3,400 CIBC ATMs Canada-wide
In my opinion, the best thing about online banks is the no-fee banking. Online banks like Simplii Financial lack the overhead expenses of brick-and-mortar banks, so they can pass the savings to their customers through low fees.
Simplii Financial offers a no-fee chequing account with no minimum balance requirement, unlimited transactions, and free e-Transfers. And if you need to withdraw cash from an ATM, you have access to the CIBC ATM network of more than 3,400 ATMs.
Open a Simplii Financial No-Fee Chequing Account Today
Simplii Financial High-Interest Savings Account
Simplii Financial Offer: Open a Simplii Financial High-Interest Savings Account and earn 5% interest until January 31, 2023.
Key Features:
- No monthly fee
- The competitive interest rate on every dollar
- No minimum balance requirement
- Free, unlimited transactions
Simplii Financial is offering a limited-time 5% bonus interest for new customers who open a high-interest savings account. While their standard interest rate (0.40% at the time of this writing) is respectable, it lags behind offerings from competitors like EQ Bank. But if you’re looking for a place to park money for the short-term, and avoid fees, then the Simplii high-interest savings account is a good option. As with other Canadian banks, deposits are protected by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).
Open a Simplii Financial High-Interest Savings Account Today
Simplii Financial US Dollar Savings Bank Account
You can use your Simplii Financial US Dollar Savings account to store your US cash or transfer money for free to over 130 countries with a Global Money Transfer. There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, and the account earns interest.
Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa Card
Simplii Financial has it’s own rewards credit card, the Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa Card, which lets you earn up to 4% cash back on select purchases. Let’s take a closer look at the card’s many features:
Card Features:
- No annual fee
- 9.99% introductory purchase interest for the first 3 months
- 19.99% standard purchase interest rate
- 4% cash back on eligible restaurant, bar and coffee shop purchases, up to $5,000 per year.
- 1.5% cash back on eligible gas, groceries, drugstore purchases and pre-authorized payments, up to $15,000 per year
- Earn 0.5% cash back on all other credit card purchases (unlimited)
- Up to 3 additional cardholders
- Purchase Security and Extended Protection Insurance (included)
- Optional – CIBC Payment ProtectorTM Insurance
- Optional – CIBC Travel Medical Insurance
- 650 minimum credit score
While there are other rewards credit cards that offer a higher standard earn rate, the Simplii Cash Back offers fantastic value for a no-fee card. If you spend a lot of money eating out or at coffee shops, you’ll benefit from the 4% cash back on related purchases. Other premium rewards credit cards offer more insurance coverage, but most charge an annual fee of at least $120.
Apply for a Simplii Financial Cash Back Visa
Simplii Financial Investment Products
Let’s face it, no one deals with an online bank because of its investment products. But it is nice to know there are options available if you need to park funds in an RRSP or get a higher interest rate on your cash savings. Simplii Financial has plenty to offer, from savings to GICs to mutual funds.
Simplii Financial RRSP Savings Account
If you’re a Simplii Financial customer and need a place to temporarily park your RRSP funds or make a quick RRSP contribution, you can transfer money into a Simplii RRSP Savings Account. You won’t be charged any fees, and you’ll earn Simplii’s standard savings interest rate until you are ready to invest the funds for the long term.
Simplii Financial TFSA Savings Account
Simplii’s Tax-Free Savings Account works like the RRSP Savings, with no fees and a standard interest rate. While it’s a convenient place for short-term savings, you wouldn’t want to keep long-term investment funds in this account.
Simplii Financial GICs
Simplii Financial offers Guaranteed Investment Certificates ranging in terms from 1 to 5 years. Their current GIC rates are as follows:
GIC Term Annual Percentage Yield (APY) % (Dec 8, 2022)
1 Year: 4.50%
2 Years: 4.05%
3 Years: 4.10%
4 Years: 4.15%
5 Years: 4.20%
For more information on Guaranteed Investment Certificates, check out our GIC guide.
Simplii Invest Mutual Fund Accounts
You can invest long-term with Simplii through their Simplii Invest Mutual Fund Portfolios, which can be held in a non-registered, RRSP, TFSA, or RESP account. Choose from the following 7 professionally-managed portfolios, which are designed to cover the full asset mix range:
Mutual Fund Portfolios % Asset Mix: Cash/Income/Growth MER (Annual)
Conservative Income 15/80/5 0.95%
Income 5/75/20 1.03%
Income Plus 3/62/35 1.05%
Balanced 0/50/50 1.09%
Balanced Growth 0/35/65 1.11%
Growth 0/20/80 1.11%
Aggressive Growth 0/10/90 1.12%
If you want to keep your investments under the same roof as your day-to-day banking, it’s nice to know that you have that option with Simplii. With 7 portfolios to choose from, you won’t have any problem finding an asset mix to match your investment objective. And while the MERs are higher than what you would pay for exchange-traded funds, they are lower than your typical actively-managed mutual fund and comparable to Tangerine’s family of Core investment funds.
Simplii Financial Lending Products
Existing Simplii accountholders don’t have to go elsewhere when they need to borrow money. Simplii offers competitive pricing and low fees on the following borrowing products:
Simplii Financial Mortgage
Simplii Financial fields a broad mortgage offering, with competitive interest rates. In addition, through their website, Simplii provides several tools and educational materials to help you determine which mortgage is right for your financial situation.
Simplii Financial Loans
There are several loan options available from Simplii Financial. You can apply for a personal loan or line of credit, as well as a home equity-secured line of credit. There is no application or annual account fee on Secured Lines of Credit, and existing Simplii mortgage holders will qualify for VIP rates.
Simplii Cash Pickup Service
Launched in April 2022, Simplii Financial offers Canada’s only cash pickup service with a $0 transfer fee. You can send money to recipients in more than 40 countries. Your recipient will be able to pick up the selected amount in Cash at any participating MoneyGram cash pickup location.
The service is caters to newcomers to Canada, first-generation immigrants, and those coming from underbanked countries.
Benefits:
- Supports more than 40 countries
- Highest limits of money transfer amounts per day ($2000 transaction, $2,999.99 per day)
- Due to the transaction limits of $2,000 clients will be eligible for $50 after their first transfer using promo code CASH
- You can send USD + local money for select key corridors. Will also be able to send in EUR.
- Pay with your CIBC or Simplii credit card with no additional fee (CIBC cards for CIBC GMT; Simplii Card for Simplii GMT. It will not be considered a cash advance but a purchase and payable within the billing cycle of the Simplii or CIBC credit card used)
- Refer a friend eligible
Simplii Financial Mobile App
Simplii Financial has a mobile app for both iOS and Android devices. You can perform most banking functions on the app, including mobile cheque deposits, bill payments, account transfers, and credit card payments. You can even set up balance alerts.
Simplii vs. Tangerine
You may wonder how Simplii Financial compares to its closes competitor, Tangerine. While the online banking arm of Scotiabank was once the clear leader, Simplii Financial has made up a lot of ground. Both banks offer generous welcome bonuses; Tangerine has two credit cards to one for Simplii, but Simplii’s Visa card is comparable in its value and features.
Simplii offers more choices with its mutual fund portfolios, with 7 portfolios versus 5 for Tangerine. However, Tangerine now offers 4 ETF portfolios, with lower fees than their Investment funds.
Overall, the two online banks are almost interchangeable. If you’re an existing CIBC client, Simplii will have more to offer – the same goes for Scotiabank clients and Tangerine.
Open a Simplii Financial No-Fee Chequing Account Today
Simplii Financial Review: Final Thoughts
Simplii Financial is an online bank that provides you with everything you need to keep your finances on track. By opening a Simplii chequing and savings account, along with a cash-back credit card, you can manage all of your spending and saving with no fees, and earn cash back on your purchases. You can’t get that kind of value from a traditional bank.
Comments
Thanks for this article. I also like Simplii, because when i need cash i can go to a CIBC bank machine and withdraw cash with my Simplii debit card. What bank is associated with Tangerine for cash withdrawls? Thanks
Tangerine is owned by Scotiabank. Tangerine customers have free access to Scotiabank ABMs in Canada and the Global Alliance Internationally.
With both Simplii and Tangerine, it is more difficult to deal with when making arrangements for the transfer of funds to another estate account than with a brick and mortar bank where you can make arrangements with a face to face person. Had I known this, I would have closed the accounts prior to my mother’s passing. With all banks, it is wise to have checked with their probate requirements to access the funds when shutting down accounts for a person who has passed.
Good article. I’m with Simplii also and am generally satisfied with their service.
Note that you did not mention one of their best features: free, unlimited Interac e-transfers.
I was with PC Financial for probably close to 20 years (since it started) and was always happy with the customer service and of course, no fees. I continue to be happy with Simplii since it changed hands last year. My only concern is if I need a new bank card, I have to wait for one to be mailed out. I’m not sure if there is a faster option but originally, my understanding was that a replacement card would be sent out in the regular mail which seems inconvenient if you rely on your bank card for daily usage. Having said that, my experience overall has been positive.
I have been with PC Financial, now Simplii Financial since its inception some 20 years ago. For the most part I have been very happy to never pay any fees.
However, since the separation CIBC removed all of their ATM machines from Superstore and they also removed their ATM machines from Petro Canada. Normally, this would not be a huge issue if you lived in a big city like I used to. However, I moved to Vernon BC three years ago and there are only two CIBC banks in the city. One bank is located downtown with no parking and trying to find street parking is almost impossible and you have to pay for parking. The second CIBC branch is located deep into the mall and it is quite a walk. There are no other CIBC ATMs in Vernon where we can deposit cash or withdraw without paying to use another bank’s ATM. I have written to them on numerous occasions and it appears that we are banking on “their terms” and not “our terms” as they so comfortably advertise. For that reason I will eventually leave this bank and find a bank that appreciates my business.
My daughter uses Simplii and until late last year she liked the service until her card was compromised. She found that the customer service was not very helpful in dealing with the problem and she had to do a lot of the work to clear her credit rating.
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Terrific review of Simplii Tom Drake!!
Have been a user of PC Financial/Simplii for over 15 years with a chequing and savings account. I too love the no-fee feature of the account (the main reason for originally opening the account with PC Financial).
Have seen improvements in the online banking functionality since the Loblaws partnership dissolved in the following areas; charts and graphs and a more updated user-friendly dashboard.
I have experience using a telephone customer service agent on a couple occasions and have found the service professionals to be excellent and service times reasonable.
To date have not used other Simplii products, but would not hesitate to in the future.
Pleased with Simplii in Kitchener/Waterloo
Tom
I read your Feb post, then tried to get the Chequing but I think the cash-bonus has expired.
Your thoughts, please.
Simplii has a great cash-bonus offer for up to $200 going on until January 31st, 2019.
For the first $100, all you have to do is set up your chequing account, then set up payroll or pension direct deposits. You’ll get your $100 after you receive 2 payments
I’m sorry but requiring a full credit bureau check to open a chequing account…. Thats right a chequing account is not client friendly. I can understand if you are looking to apply for credit but an everyday chequing and savings account is no no. They tried to justify it by saying it will be for your limits allowed… To use my own money?
I’ve used PC Financial then Simplii for many many years and love the no fees.
I tried to get a mortgage through Simplii, well because they are my mainstay banking and were encouraging to me. I got a run around from the start, please provide this, this, this and more. As my closing date drew nearer, they still weren’t making any commitment, then they started back at the beginning in having me jump through their hoops. I began to think this was never going to happen so I quickly applied elsewhere because time was running out. When another person got on the phone because my contact was away for a number of days, which went past my closing date, I began to see the writing on the wall. No one was prepared to turn me down for the mortgage but neither were they going to approve it. When I realized what was going on and figured out their game I became upset at which point the person at the other end said ” before you go any further, please note this call is being recorded”…as in don’t get mad at me and start swearing. They must do this to people regularly since they are so prepared when the penny drops.
If there were somewhere else to go I would.
I have banked with Simplii Financial, formerly PC Financial since it first started online. I have recently had problems logging in, because it no longer allows drag and drop, or cut and paste from my password manager. For obvious security reasons, I have to type a long and complex password in by hand. Very annoying! And if somehow by update I lose my account number I have to type in that by hand too. It did not use to be like this. All my other banks and websites accept my password manager drag and drop system, but not Simplii Financial. I spent over an two hours when this problem first began trying different options to login, even contacting Simplii Financial. However, they just say they will inform their IT department and nothing seems to happen.
I understand the reason for security, but making it difficult and sometimes impossible to login to pay bills is unacceptable.
Jeff, what password manager are you using? I use LastPass with Chrome and can still log into Simplii. Whenever I do have issues like that though with some sites, I also have the option to copy the username or password from LastPass to my clipboard to manually paste. If you’re using a different manager, maybe it has an option like that to hack your way around it?
Can no longer sign on from iPad, what gives, phoned PC help line they seem to be morons, have to use my laptop for banking very irritating!
I have 2 issues with Simplii
1) For GIC’s, how do I know what happens when they mature? Does it automatically start a new GIC with the same term, or does it pay out to the chequing account?
2) Setting up Mutual Funds is a hassle. You have to call them. With Tangerine, everything is done online.
If I could give zero stars to Simplii I would. I’ve been a loyal customer for years and because they partially messed up on their end on the mobile app, I’m FULLY RESPONSIBLE for the amount owed. Customer service is horrible and not empathetic. The agents give different answers for one single question. Questionable knowledge and training. I have switched back to RBC already as I’ve been with them for almost 20 years now and they haven’t let me down.