Simplii High Interest Savings Account Review for 2023 – Get $350
Is a Simplii High-Interest savings account right for you? Unfortunately, all your cash, chequing and savings accounts are losing money to inflation. It’s essential to keep a certain amount of cash on hand for emergencies, but even that money should be invested in a low-risk, easy-to-access account that earns you interest.
There are several high-interest savings account options in Canada. In this review, I look at all the pros and cons of the Simplii high-interest savings account.
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What is Simplii Financial?
Simplii Financial opened its first bank accounts to customers in 2017 to help clients bank, borrow and invest better. Simplii Financial is the online banking branch of CIBC formed after CIBC and Loblaws ended their joint venture under President Choice’s Financial brand.
In 2019, Simplii Financial received a Forbes magazine award for being one of the World’s Best Banks. They offer many products to customers, such as:
High-interest savings account
No Fee chequing account
Mortgages
Investment accounts (registered, non-registered, tax-free savings account)
Cash-back credit cards
Details of the Simplii high-interest savings account
The Simplii high-interest savings account allows you to earn higher interest than a typical chequing or savings account at a larger financial institution. This Simplii financial account pays between 0.4% to 2.0%, whereas a traditional chequing account will pay as low as 0.01%.
Interest is calculated based on your ending daily closing balance, and interest is paid to your account monthly. To access these funds, you must transfer money from your high-interest savings account to your regular bank account for everyday banking.
If you plan, you can store any excess cash in the HISA and transfer it as needed. That are no monthly fees or transaction fees to worry about. This is a great account to use, along with your main bank account.
Simplii high-interest savings account Promotional interest rate
Until April 30, 2023, new clients can take advantage of two fantastic promotional offers:
Earn $350 if you sign up before March 31, 2023. Additionally, using my sign-up link, you can increase this to $400. Referral link
Get a 5.25% interest rate until April 30, 2023, regardless of your account balance
Both offers are enticing and are some of the best available from high-interest savings accounts today. Unfortunately, the offers are only available for new customers.
Current interest rates
Outside of the promotional interest rate offer of 5.25%, the simplii high-interest savings account interest rate is on the low end for a savings account. Rates on a high-interest savings account are tied to the bank of Canada’s prime rates. As these rates go up, a high-interest savings account will pay more; as rates go down, they pay less.
The current rates as of February 2023 are as follows:
| Account Balance: | Annual Interest Rate: |
|---|---|
| $0.00 to $50,000 | 0.4% |
| $50,000.01 to $100,000.00 | 0.4% |
| $100,000.01 to $500,000.00 | 0.4% |
| $500,000.01 to $1,000,000.00 | 1.0% |
| $1,000,000.01 and up | 2.0% |
I wouldn’t recommend putting aside this much money in a high-interest savings account. At most, I would put in excess cash that I may need within the next six months or a 6-month reserve. Anything over this amount should be invested differently to earn you more interest. You can lock up a GIC at a higher interest rate for six months or more.
Overall, this is not a very competitive interest rate and is not much better than a regular chequing account. This is the main downside of the Simplii high-interest savings account vs other companies.
Fees and costs breakdown
The Simplii savings account is terrific because it is completely free, meaning there are no monthly fees, minimum balances, or transaction costs to worry about. They can offer this because you cannot access your money as quickly as a chequing account.
So what is the benefit to Simplii financial if they are not charging you fees? Depositing your money in a high-interest savings account allows Simplii Financial to use your money in different ways, where they earn more interest than they pay you.
Pros and Cons of the Simplii high-interest savings account
Pros:
Cons:
How to open a Simplii high-interest savings account
Signing up for a Simplii high-interest savings account is as easy as visiting their website and completing an online application. I recommend signing up through this referral link to earn an additional $50 on top of the promotional offer of $350. To qualify, you need to:
Be a Canadian resident
Have a Social Insurance Number
Be 16 years of age or older
Have a valid email account
By signing up for any banking-related product with Simplii through this referral code, you will receive an additional $50, bringing the total welcome bonus to $400.
Review
The high-interest savings account from Simplii Financial is a fantastic account to use with a regular bank account. All the extra funds you won’t need in the next seven days can be placed into this account to earn you higher interest than a traditional bank account. I have reviewed the best chequing accounts to use in combination with a high-interest savings account.
I would strongly recommend not putting more than six months’ worth of excess cash into this account. Anything you won’t need for six months or more can be invested into GICs, the stock market, or any investment you choose, depending on your investment strategy and risk tolerance.
FAQ
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions.
What is a high-interest savings account?
HISA’s are used to earn you higher interest on money that you will need over the short to medium term. Keeping these excess funds in a regular chequing account makes you almost no interest and is losing value to inflation.
Is your money secure and safe?
Your money is secured by the Canada deposit insurance corporation, ensuring that your funds are secure. The CDIC is a federal crown corporation that protects over a trillion dollars of Canadian deposits across many banking services in Canada.
Is the interest tax-free?
The money you earn is not tax-free. You will receive a T5 from Simplii Financial if you earn more than $50 per year in this account. Even if you do not earn $50 per year and do not get a T5 from Simplii Financial, you still need to report the interest you did earn in this account on your personal tax return.
Conclusion
The simplii high-interest savings account is an excellent free account to open and is one of the top high-interest savings accounts out there. The promotional offers to get $350 (and an additional $50 through my referral link) & a 5.25% interest rate are among the best options available for accounts in Canada.
Using a HISA is a great tool to add to your personal finance strategy, and I highly recommend all Canadians use one along with their regular bank account. If you didn’t already know this, I recommend checking out my post on Personal finance for Canadians.
About the Author
Nick Robert is the founder and creator of Nickrobert.com. I created this website to educate Canadians about everything related to personal finance. As a Chartered Professional Accountant & Chartered Accountant, I have worked with many Canadians to achieve their personal finance goals.
To contact me, you can visit my contact page to email me directly, or you can visit and participate in my subreddit. Let me know about any topics you would like me to cover. If you are interested in guest posting on this website, message me through the contact page.
