From one of Canada's largest and most reliable banks comes the Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account, a no-fee savings account designed to help you save money and reach your financial goals faster. It offers "premium period" interest rates and account bonuses that give you up to 4.75%,* for the first three months.
While this account certainly encourages you to save, it also strongly dissuades you from touching your account until the premium period ends. If you're going to lock in your money for a period of time, you should be using a savings account with the best interest rate you can find – and this Scotiabank account doesn't fit the bill.
Scotiabank Momentum Savings Account features
Here's an overview of the various features that this account has to offer:
Why You Want It
Get up to 4.75%* interest on your money + No monthly fees.
Special Features
- Save for multiple goals at once
- Tiered Premium Period interest rates
- Unlimited tree transfers between Scotiabank accounts
Provinces
ALL
Interest Rates
Base interest rate
0.4%
Money left in for 90 days
0.6%
180 days
0.65%
270 days
0.7%
360 days
0.85%
Ultimate Package interest rate boost
0.1%
Preferred Package interest rate boost
0.05%
Features
# Of Free Transactions
0
# Of Free Interac E-Transfers
0
Max Promotion Rate
4.75%
Welcome Bonus Value
N/A
Promo End Date
See Issuer for Details
Scotiabank Momentum Savings Account rating: 4.1 stars
The Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account is designed to help you reach your savings goals through generous tiered interest rates as well as an excellent premium interest rate. With no monthly fees and unlimited free self-service transfers, this account has a lot going for it.
But if you want to maximize those interest rates, you have to lock your money away for 90 to 360 days. This certainly does incentivize you to save money, but there are other free savings accounts with even higher interest rates that won't punish you for making withdrawals.
Rating methodology
To calculate our Genius Ratings, we compare the features of the account or product in question with other similar products in Canada. We give each feature a score out of 5 based on that comparison. Once we’ve rated all the features, we run them through our proprietary algorithm to produce a final rating out of 5.
Learn more about our rating methodology.
The pros of the Scotiabank Momentum Savings Account
This is a somewhat specialized savings account, with several valuable features to encourage saving:
Pros
Savings goals with bonus interest rates
The "momentum" part of this account refers to its premium period interest rates. You can set up a savings goal in this account with a span of 90, 180, 270, or 360 days, and if you don't make a withdrawal during your chosen period, you'll earn up to 0.85%* interest. Withdraw early, however, and you lose the bonus interest entirely, only earning your regular base interest rate.
Multiple savings goals, one account
You can set up multiple savings goals within your Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account, each with a different timeframe. This is handy if you want to save money for an upcoming birthday or holiday, but also want to save for a vacation you're planning next year.
Bonus interest rates
The promo interest rate for this account is a sweet 4.75% for three months. You'll get that rate if you also have a Scotiabank Ultimate Package, which adds the additional 0.1% interest on any money in your Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account. A new Scotiabank Preferred Package instead earns an extra 0.05%, bringing you to 4.7% total promotional interest.
No monthly fees
As with most savings accounts, there are no monthly fees for the Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account – every penny counts, which is why it's still important and we consider this a perk. You will, however, pay fees for various transactions, which we talk about below.
Unlimited free self-service transfers
A "self-service transfer" is any transfer of money between any of your Scotiabank accounts without the help of a teller. So you can move money between your accounts all you want without having to worry about pesky transaction fees.
No minimum balance
No matter your balance or how often you make withdrawals, you'll earn at least the base interest rate on any funds held in this account. There isn't a minimum balance requirement, so your base interest earnings kick in immediately and consistently.
The cons of the Scotiabank Momentum Savings Account
There are still a few downsides to this account that potential clients should note:
Cons
Money is locked in if you want the bonus interest rate
Once you set up a savings goal to earn a bonus interest rate, your money is locked in until the end of that savings goal period. Making even a single withdrawal before the period ends will forfeit your bonus interest entirely. If you're willing to lock in your money for long lengths of time, you'd be better off investing with a GIC or high interest savings account.
No free Interac e-Transfers
Some savings accounts come with at least a few free Interac e-Transfers a month, but this one doesn't. You do have access to Interac e-Transfers, but your Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account will charge you $1 for each transfer made via this service.
No free debit transactions
Using your debit card to withdraw from this account at an ATM or a point-of-sale machine will incur fees of $5 per transaction. If you need access to the funds in your Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account, your best bet is to move it into another account with free debit transactions and go from there.
Scotiabank Momentum Savings Account alternatives
Here's how this savings account measures up against similar accounts available in Canada:
 |  |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account | EQ Bank Notice Savings Account | CIBC eAdvantage Savings Account | Simplii High Interest Savings Account |
| Genius Rating | |||
| Why You Want It | Earn up to 2.5% interest + Unlimited withdrawals with advanced notice. | Earn 0.25% regular interest + No monthly fee or minimum balance required. | Get a 4.5% special interest rate + $125 refer-a-friend bonus. |
| Interest Rates |
|
|
|
| # Of Free Transactions | Unlimited | 0 | 0 |
| # Of Free Interac E-Transfers | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Max Promotion Rate | N/A | 4.75% | 4.5% |
| Welcome Bonus Value | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Promo End Date | N/A | See Issuer for Details | January 31, 2025 |
| Open an account See more EQ Bank products Compare | Learn More See more CIBC products Compare | Open an account See more Simplii Financial products Compare |
* Interest calculated daily on the total closing balance and paid monthly. Rates per annum are subject to change without notice.
FAQ
How does the Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account work?
Account holders can set up "savings goals" and can earn boosted interest rates by leaving that money alone for certain periods between 90 to 360 days. You can continue making deposits but early withdrawals forfeit the bonus interest entirely.
Which Canadian Bank has the best savings interest rate?
Savings account interest rates change fairly frequently, but at the time of writing, Wealthsimple Chequing has the best regular rate at 2.75% and the Simplii High Interest Savings Account has the best promo rate at 4.5%.
Are savings accounts free?
Many savings accounts have no monthly fee but will charge for various transactions and add-ons. The Scotiabank MomentumPLUS Savings Account has no monthly fee but charges for Interac e-Transfers, debit transactions, and transfers made through a bank teller.
Editorial Disclaimer: The content here reflects the author's opinion alone, and is not endorsed or sponsored by a bank, credit card issuer, rewards program or other entity. For complete and updated product information please visit the product issuer's website.
Hot Money Deals This Month
- Get even more cash back with exclusive offers only available on the GeniusCash app
- Explore bigger GeniusCash offers that you won't find anywhere else.
- Connect your credit cards and unlock bonus cash.
- Explore customized recommendations to level up your rewards.
- Refer your friends and family to earn bonus levels and extra cash back.
- Take control of your money with a full-featured chequing account + $100 GeniusCash
- Get up to $500 in cash when you open a new account, complete specified actions, and open 2 registered investment accounts.
- Unlimited free transactions – including debit and Interac e-Transfers®.
- Earn Scene+ points on every debit transaction.
- $100 GeniusCash on approval – ends Dec 31, 2025.*.
- Unlimited transactions + Free identity theft protection + $125 GeniusCash
- Unlimited transactions and Interac e-Transfers.
- Free identity theft protection and access to Coursera online learning.
- $125 GeniusCash on approval – ends Dec 31, 2025.*.
- A low cost online broker with a $2,000 bonus + $80 GeniusCash
- Get $150 when you open and fund your new accounts with at least $1,000.
- No minimum investment requirement.
- Plenty of trade-free ETFs to choose from.
- $80 GeniusCash on approval – ends Dec 31, 2025.*.
- Bonus: Get one of the lowest brokerage rates from an online broker from a Big 5 Bank →
