Financial Product Reviews
The RBC Day To Day Banking Account account is the most basic chequing account offered by RBC with a monthly fee of just $4.00 compared with some premium accounts that have fees in excess of $30.
- Monthly fee waiver for 12 months + 15,000 Avion Points
- Unlimited Interac e-Transfers
- Extra perks at Petro-Canada
- Get personalized financial insights with NOMI
- Only 12 free debit transactions per month
- Non-affiliated ATM withdrawals are $3 each in Canada
- Overdraft protection not included
- At least the age of majority in your province
- Opening a sole account in your own name
- Living in Canada
- Free with a multi product rebate
- Save on fuel at Petro-Canada and earn bonus points
- Earn 50 extra Be Well points per $1 spent at Rexall
- Earn Avion points on debit purchases
- Free transactions for public transit use
The EQ Bank TFSA Savings Account is an easy way to take advantage of tax-free savings without having to worry about complicated investments or accounts. All you have to do is deposit your money as you normally would, and you'll earn a modest amount of interest that won't be taxed upon withdrawal.
- 1.5% interest on every dollar
- The tax-free benefits of a TFSA
- No minimum balance or fees to worry about
- Low risk means low reward
- Though convenient, still have some registered-related hoops to jump through
- Everything is done online
- You must be a Canadian resident
- Be the age of majority in your province/territory
- Transfer to linked accounts via Electronic Funds Transfer
- Competitive interest rate
The EQ Bank RSP Savings Account adds a touch of convenience to your retirement savings plan. Everything is done online and is easily accessible on your accounts, so you know exactly how this portion of your savings is doing. It also provides a low-risk investment option for people who don't have a long savings timeline ahead of them.
- Convenient and transparent retirement savings
- A modest 1.5% return on your money
- No fees and no minimum balance
- Low risk means low reward
- Convenient to deposit, difficult to withdraw
- Completely digital bank
- You must be a Canadian resident
- You must meet your province's age of majority
- Competitive interest rate
- Easy EFTs to other EQ Bank accounts
- High rate RSP GICs available
- 10 years
- 15 years
- 20 years
- 25 years
- 30 years
- 35 years
- 40 years
When you think about life insurance companies, RBC Insurance doesn't immediately come to mind. But they're a full-fledged life insurance company with a wide range of products. They might be a good fit for you if you want the comfort of knowing your insurance policy is backed by one of Canada's largest, oldest companies. Their rates are competitive and it's easy to get a quote online.
- They offer a wide range of insurance products and options
- You can get an immediate, anonymous online quote
- RBC uses commissioned insurance advisors
- There have been reports of poor customer service
- Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or landed immigrant (must be in Canada for over 12 months)
- Ages 18 to 85
- Many customization options available
- Accidental death benefit for beneficiaries
- 30-day review period in case you change your mind
- 10 years
- 15 years
- 20 years
- 25 years
- 30 years
- 35 years
- 40 years
Litecoin launched in 2011 and is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that enables instant payments to anyone in the world. Litecoin shares a lot of similarities with Bitcoin, which is the reason why it is often referred to as the digital silver to Bitcoin’s gold.
- 4x faster than Bitcoin
- Scalability
- A top 5 cryptocurrency
- Litecoin transactions are non-reversible
- Copy of Bitcoin
- Price remains volatile
- 5 year: 6.09%
With mortgage rates hitting record highs, you may be wondering if a variable rate mortgage is right for you. If rates stay high, you could end up paying more...but if rates go down, you save money on payments. If you're willing to roll those dice, a variable rate mortgage might be right for you.
- You can save money compared to a fixed rate mortgage
- RBC offers a 120 day rate guarantee
- Flexible mortgage repayment options
- RBC rates are average at best
- Variable rate mortgages are slightly risky
Founded by 19-year-old Russian-Canadian Vitalik Buterin in July of 2015, Ethereum is an open-source platform that uses blockchain technology to create and power tamper-proof decentralized financial contracts and digital applications. It's currency, ether (ETH), is currently selling at around US$4,895.53 per coin, though this is subject to change regularly.
- Smart contracts
- The team behind Ethereum
- Name recognition
- Transactions aren't as fast
- Smart contracts hack
- Trouble with scalability
Bitcoin is the world’s first and most favourite cryptocurrency coin in terms of users, market cap, and value. It's an innovative payment network and a new kind of digital money that can be sent from user to user without the need for intermediaries – meaning, no banks.
- Open financial system
- Decentralized system
- Brand recognition
- Early adoption
- Relatively anonymous
- Little to no regulatory oversight
- Not widely accepted as payment
- Price remains volatile
- 5 to 50 years
Canada Life was established in 1847, becoming the first domestic life insurance company founded in Canada. Today’s Canada Life is an amalgamation of Great West Life, London Life, and Canada Life to form one of the largest life insurance companies in Canada. Each of these companies was founded over 125 years ago, so there's a lot of history there.
- You have your own insurance advisor
- They offer a complete solution
- They don’t offer guaranteed acceptance life insurance
- There's no permanent term life insurance either
- Canadian citizen
- Age of majority
- Many customization options available
- One of the longest standing insurance providers in Canada
- 5 to 50 years
If you have U.S. income or other sources of U.S. dollars, you can save on the USD to CAD exchange rate by depositing that money into a U.S. dollar account. The Scotiabank U.S. Dollar Daily Interest Account is one of these. Not only does it give you a place to stash your American dollars, it also has a tiered interest rate that goes up based on your daily balance in the account.
- Avoids currency exchange costs
- Tiered interest based on daily account balance
- Free with a minimum daily balance
- Also free with a Scotiabank Preferred Package
- Minimum balance to earn any interest at all
- Even top tier interest is pretty paltry
- Only 2 free transactions per month
- Tiered interest rate depending on balance
- Competitive foreign exchange rates
- No fee for U.S. dollar drafts











