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Gravatar for Enoch Omololu, MSc (Econ)
Enoch Omololu, MSc (Econ)

Enoch Omololu, personal finance expert, author, and founder of Savvy New Canadians, has written about money matters for over 10 years. Enoch has an MSc (Econ) degree in Finance and Investment Management from the University of Aberdeen Business School and has completed the Canadian Securities Course. His expertise has been highlighted in major publications like Forbes, Globe and Mail, Business Insider, CBC News, Toronto Star, Financial Post, CTV News, TD Direct Investing, Canadian Securities Exchange, and many others. Enoch is passionate about helping others win with their finances and recently created a practical investing course for beginners. You can read his full author bio.

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26 thoughts on “Motive Financial Review 2024: Best Online Banks in Canada”

  1. Gravatar for Kemi

    Thanks Enoch. Is above 3℅ posted savings rate correct for Tangerine Bank? Thanks. –

    Kemi

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      @Kemi: No, need to update. Tangerine is now 2.75% for the first 6 months and 1.20% thereafter as of April 2019.

  2. Gravatar for Darlene

    Just curious. Since Motive has by far the higher interest rate why do you say that Tangerine and EQ are your favorite on line banks?
    Darlene

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      @Darlene: Good question. When this post was originally written, Tangerine was offering 3%. Since then, both Tangerine and Motive have updated their rates. I have been with Tangerine and EQ Bank for a while and love their service offerings. Based on the current rates, I consider Motive Financial a very good option as well.

  3. Gravatar for Graham

    I’m a little confused about the transaction fees surrounding the savvy savings account -> “2 free transactions per month, with additional transactions incurring a $5 fee.” Are deposits into the savings account considered a transaction? Or does it mean you’re allowed 2 free withdrawals per month?

    Thanks for the help Enoch,
    Graham

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      @Graham: The charges refer to withdrawals. Transaction fees are not levied on deposits. Cheers!

  4. Gravatar for Darlene

    I have been thrilled with customer service from Motive. Usually have a response within a few hours.
    Just one thing, the chequing account is not longer being offered to new customers. Maybe you can update your review. I was told that it is still listed because current customers still have it.

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      @Darlene: Thanks for the update.

  5. Gravatar for Talah

    I’m self employed and I have a small business account with TD bank. Would it be possible to transfer money from my TD’s business account into EQ or motive checking account?

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      @Talah: Neither EQ Bank nor Motive Financial appear to have any chequing accounts designated for business purposes.
      Tangerine has business savings and GICs, however, I don’t think they offer a business chequing either.

    • Gravatar for darlene

      Doesn’t sound like Talah is wanting a business account but just wanting to transfer money from his business account to EQ or Motive. I have been sending myself e transfers. (since my RBC account lets me send these free). When I receive it a few seconds later I deposit into my Motive account. Money it there instantly. Much quicker than transferring.

  6. Gravatar for Darlene

    Could you update this. apparently they are no longer offering the higher interest checking account. Clients who have it already can keep it but you can no longer get one.

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      Done! 🙂

    • Gravatar for Darlene

      Thanks

  7. Gravatar for Elena Lim

    I was trying to open a deposit account. They “decided not to go forward with my application” and didn’t even notify me about that. When I called them, they couldn’t even tell me a reason for refusing my application. Rude customer service.

  8. Gravatar for Stuart

    Can I open JUST a TFSA and have a debit card for just that?

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      @Stuart: Can’t say for sure. As per their website, you have the “ability to withdraw at any time.” Whether that includes ATM withdrawals is unclear. Best to give their customer service a call.

  9. Gravatar for Brendan

    How long do transfers take between a motive account and one of the big banks or visa versa?

    Do you know if motive will pay the transfer fee to transfer a registered account from one of the big banks?

    Thanks!

  10. Gravatar for LISE

    Motive’s online system is brutal. Every time I log in it locks me out and you have to wait 24 hours to reset it. They can keep my money at 2.8% but they make it too annoying to give them more.

  11. Gravatar for Russ

    Motive may be giving a high-interest rate however there service sucks. I applied for an account on the 28 of October. I filled out the forms and included the bank account I wanted to transfer my funds from. Since this is an internet bank that is the only way I can deposit my funds. Finally, I received my codes to access my account on the 21 of November so that’s more than 3 weeks. They say they have a lot of people applying well maybe hire a few more people to process the info.

    So I logged in thinking I could transfer my funds, as I had already given my information for the account I wanted to transfer from. Guess again I now need to fill out a form with this information and sign it. I understand signing, ok, however, why fill out the information online, to begin with. Better why not fill out the form and sign it and send it to them with the original application. Wait, it gets even worse. I try to download the PDF form to fill it out and print it. The site won’t let me, customer service had to email another form to me. So I fill out the form and send it in. It is now the 23 of November and I am still waiting to be able to transfer my funds. I am sure it will take another 3 weeks for them to process this form.

    So just for fun, I tried to access their other forms on the site. Well, guess what none of them are assessable just like the transfer form. It just seems they are not really interested to have me as a client. Now Lise is saying the site freezes up I really don’t know if I should actually deposit any money in this bank I may end up making a bit more interest but never be able to get it out.

  12. Gravatar for Tim

    Motive is a pain to setup. Very strange process asking for mail in etc. Then they just opened mine … before I sent anything in. Apart from that I dont really care about the ugly interface etc as I want interest not pretty things.

    Laurentian just upped the game with 3.3% offering.

    • Gravatar for David bull

      Sadly, effective 1 March 2020 Laurentian lowered their savings rate from 3.3 down to 2.8 per cent.

  13. Gravatar for Red

    Motive has been great for me – no issues at all (started in October 2019). There was some paperwork to do but I made sure to completely and correctly fill it in (it took me longer on my end compared to their end). Once the Savvy account was opened it took only 3 days to activate a new RRSP using minimum $50 from the Savvy account. Subsequent transfers between my regular bank and Motive only takes a day maybe two (incoming/outgoing) when the cash is cleared.

  14. Gravatar for Tony G

    Motive lowered TFSA to 2.05 in May/20. Still the best full time but I’m tired of fluctuating interest and would like to invest in a safe alternative with 3.5->5% minimum interest.

  15. Gravatar for Kelvin

    When did Motive reduce their Savvy Savings Account interest rate to 1.25%? I thought it was 1.55%.

    • Gravatar for Enoch Omololu

      As of today, it is 1.25%.

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