Wealthsimple chequing & savings review 2026 | Up to 2.25% interest
Updated Jan 21, 2026
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Quick overview
A high interest savings account that acts like a chequing account — all with no fees. It's a full featured banking alternative. With a Wealthsimple chequing and savings (formerly Cash) account you get up to eight accounts, great for sinking funds like renovations, car maintenance, vacations and a stellar place to hold your emergency fund. It's all backed by 10 CDIC member institutions, meaning you get up to $1,000,000 in coverage on all your deposits (far exceeding the $100,000 at other institutions).You'll also get a Wealthsimple prepaid Mastercard to withdraw funds from any ATM with no fees, nor will you pay foreign transaction fees while travelling.
Who is Wealthsimple Chequing and Savings for?
If you invest with Wealthsimple, either self-directed or with a managed robo-advisor, a Wealthsimple Chequing and Savings account (called Wealthsimple Cash) is almost a no-brainer with the added perks.
No monthly fees, no minimums and you can auto-invest your pay—it's like your own little pension.
With the Cash account interest rate, Core clients (less than $100,000 invested) will earn 1.25%, Premium clients ($100,000+ invested) will earn 1.75%, and Generation clients ($500,000+ invested) will earn 2.25% on any cash held in the account.
If you don't currently invest with Wealthsimple, it's a versatile option due to its no-to-low fees, high base interest rate, multiple account options, free interac e-transfers and bill payments and a debit card that doubles as a prepaid Mastercard.
You can't walk into a brick and mortar branch, and I had to wait about 15 minutes on hold to speak to a customer service representative, but those things aren't important to me as an aging millennial.
If you're older and want the opportunity to speak to someone in person over a coffee, this is not for you. If you're under 50 years old, I highly recommend Wealthsimple.
Pros and cons of a Wealthsimple Cash account
Pros
- A minimum of 1.25% interest on cash in your account
- Up to eight accounts for your various savings goals
- $1,000,000 in CDIC coverage
- $0 monthly fees with no minimum or overdraft penalties
- Send up to $5,000 per day in free interac e-transfers
- Get more interest with qualifying direct deposits (up to 2.25% max)
- No annual fee
- ATM fee reimbursements up to $5
- Sleek, easy-to-use app
Cons
- No brick and mortar branches
How Wealthsimple Cash works
To use a Wealthsimple Cash account, all you have to do is download the app and set up an account (or use the Wealthsimple account you already have and just connect it to the Wealthsimple app).
Payroll deposits, or direct deposits are available within minutes after it hits your account.
The Wealthsimple prepaid Mastercard allows free ATM withdrawals and there are no foreign transaction fees — a savings of 2.5% per foreign transaction. The card is compatible with electronic wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Eligibility
Poor (up to 299)
Recommended Credit Score
$0
Required Annual Personal Income
$0
Required Annual Household Income
Pros
- Choose whether your cash back goes to your investments or crypto or cash account
- Earn up to 2.25% on your balance
- No foreign exchange fees
- No annual fees
- $5 reimbursement per withdrawal for any ATM fees
Cons
- No insurance
- Relatively low spending and transaction limits
Fees
$0
Annual Fee
0.00%
Foreign Transaction
0.00%
Balance Transfer
Rewards
1.25% to 2.25%
Earn at least 1.25% on your account balance*
0%
There are no foreign exchange fees
Eligibility
Poor (up to 299)
Recommended Credit Score
$0
Required Annual Personal Income
$0
Required Annual Household Income
Pros
- Choose whether your cash back goes to your investments or crypto or cash account
- Earn up to 2.25% on your balance
- No foreign exchange fees
- No annual fees
- $5 reimbursement per withdrawal for any ATM fees
Cons
- No insurance
- Relatively low spending and transaction limits
Fees
$0
Annual Fee
0.00%
Foreign Transaction
0.00%
Balance Transfer
Rewards
1.25% to 2.25%
Earn at least 1.25% on your account balance*
0%
There are no foreign exchange fees
You can have up to eight account "buckets" for sinking funds like car maintenance, vacation, Christmas, renovations and more.
If you have multiple Wealthsimple accounts, know that your Wealthsimple prepaid Mastercard will only pull from the individual chequing or savings account connected to your card. (To me, this is a nice feature to know I'm not drawing down my Christmas fund when all I want to do is pay bills from this account).
To deposit cash into your account, you'll need to use another bank and email the money to yourself or send it via Interac e-Transfer.
Wealthsimple Chequing and Saving features
E-transfers can take as long as three hours to receive; with the Wealthsimple app, you can send or receive money in mere seconds. Some financial institutions charge for e-transfers. Wealthsimple chequing and saving is free, and you can send as many transfers as you want. There are also no account fees or minimum balances required.
Account balances up to $1,000,000 are insured by the CDIC (10x more than any bank), and Wealthsimple protects your account with biometrics and fingerprint ID.
Most banks in Canada cap transfers at $3,000 per day. Wealthsimple lets you send up to $5,000 daily and up to $20,000, monthly.
Funds held in Wealthsimple chequing or saving accounts earn interest. The rate is currently 1.25% for core clients. You can earn up to 1.75% with $100,000 invested with Wealthsimple and a maximum of 2.25% with over $500,000 invested. You can earn an additional bonus of 0.50% if you set up $2,000 per month in direct deposits (still maxed at 2.25%)
The app is easy to navigate, and setup is simple and quick.
E-transfers can take as long as three hours to receive; with the Wealthsimple app, you can send or receive money in mere seconds. Some financial institutions charge for e-transfers. Wealthsimple chequing and saving is free, and you can send as many transfers as you want. There are also no account fees or minimum balances required.
New features coming soon
Depositing a cheque shouldn’t require a trip to the bank — and soon, it won’t. Wealthsimple is adding mobile cheque deposit, letting you snap a photo and move on with your day. It's a small but mighty upgrade that brings it one step closer to being your main bank account.
Need to send a wire or get a bank draft? You’ll be able to do both soon — right from the app. Automated wires (in and out) and bank drafts give Wealthsimple the muscle to handle big moves, like paying a contractor or buying a home, without heading into a branch.
Coming soon: full-featured USD chequing accounts. It’ll work like your regular chequing account, perfect for snowbirds, cross-border freelancers, or anyone spending in USD. It's a seamless way to dodge currency conversion fees and manage American transactions with ease.
Already a standout in Canadian savings, Wealthsimple now pays up to 3.5% interest on USD deposits. Whether you’re holding U.S. dollars for a future vacation, U.S. stocks, or a business need, you'll earn some of the best rates in the market — in either currency.
Depositing a cheque shouldn’t require a trip to the bank — and soon, it won’t. Wealthsimple is adding mobile cheque deposit, letting you snap a photo and move on with your day. It's a small but mighty upgrade that brings it one step closer to being your main bank account.
Wealthsimple chequing and saving interest rates
The Wealthsimple bank-like accounts interest rates are as follows:
| Client type | Amount invested | Interest rate |
|---|---|---|
| Core client | A new client without any existing investment products | 1.25% |
| Premium client | Someone with over $100,000 | 1.75% |
| Generation client | Someone with $500,000 in assets | 2.25% |
How to open a Wealthsimple Chequing or savings account
Wealthsimple makes it incredibly easy to set up an account. Just follow the below steps:
Head to the website, and under products, select “Wealthsimple Cash” and then download the app, which is available for iOS and Android..
Create a new account, or if you’re already a Wealthsimple client using one of their other products (like Wealthsimple robo-advisor), you can sign in using the same login information.
Start robo-investing with WealthsimpleI'm already a client and had a Wealthsimple Cash account I had set up, but never used. For me, I just had to continue the set up.
They asked what I wanted to do with my cash back — into the cash account, my RRSP or my TFSA (all my roboadvisor or managed investments are with Wealthsimple. I use Questrade for my self-directed investing).
Read: Questrade review
I chose my RRSP because I never hit my contribution limit and I have several years of missed contributions so lots of room to grow. 😬
Transferring cash to Wealthsimple is easy and fast
Add funds to your account (via bank transfer as you would with any other Wealthsimple account) to fund your account. Due to the fact I already have a Wealthsimple account, I already have my other accounts connected, so it was super easy to set up.
And yes, the money was there in 30 seconds for me to access and use. Well, I had the first $5,000 of my transfer. The remaining cash said it would take three days.
How does Wealthsimple Chequing and Saving make money?
To our knowledge Wealthsimple has not officially published details on how it plans to monetize from Wealthsimple; Wealthsimple merely emphasizes that the product is free, stating:
Wealthsimple says:
“With Wealthsimple Chequing and Saving there are no monthly account fees, no exchange fees on foreign transactions and no low balance fees. That’s because we believe your money should stay in your pocket.”
A Wealthsimple representative did confirm to us that Wealthsimple is not currently monetizing from Wealthsimple Chequing and Saving.
The company instead hopes that broad exposure to Wealthsimple Chequing and Saving will encourage more Canadian consumers to try other Wealthsimple products, like their investing products.
Start DIY investing with WealthsimpleShould you use Wealthsimple Chequing and Saving?
For the ease of use and speed, yes. For the high base interest rates, yes. For the prepaid credit card, yes.
The Wealthsimple app, however, is not a good fit for those who aren’t yet comfortable using a mobile phone to execute financial transactions, but even my 75-year-old father can do it, so you can, too.
Is Wealthsimple Chequing and Saving worth it?
Arguably, they market it as a chequing account. I believe this is the death of the chequing account as we know it, and their marketing material will eventually shift to a personal or hybrid account like its peers, like EQ Bank, Tangerine or Simplii Financial.
I can't justify paying $16 to $35 for a chequing account that offers me little to no value and convoluted, promotional earn rates requiring high minimum balances or multi-product offerings with one institution.
With that in mind, I've deposited my emergency fund there to start and test my experience. That high interest rate can't hurt.
FAQs
Disclaimer: Terms and Conditions apply. Visit Wealthsimple via our Apply Now button for up-to-date terms and conditions.
Tyler Wade
Personal finance content strategist & writer
Tyler Wade has worked in personal finance for over 5 years writing for brands like Ratehub, Forbes, KOHO, and now Money.ca.
Sandra MacGregor
Freelance Contributor
Sandra MacGregor has been writing about finance and travel for nearly a decade. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications like the New York Times, the UK Telegraph, the Washington Post, Forbes.com and the Toronto Star.
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