Comparison of bank account options for a student

As mentioned in my article on choosing a bank account as a student and beyond, I decided that my best options are regular accounts that aren’t specifically advertised as being for students. I’m already 19 years old, so I can open any bank account. I detailed my requirements and decided to put them into a table to help me decide:

Feature EQ Bank Simplii Financial Neo Financial Wealthsimple Tangerine Bank
Minimum age Province’s age of majority (18 or 19) None 14 for Quebec residents and 13 for other provinces Province’s age of majority (18 or 19) 16
Unlimited transactions Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
No monthly fees Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Separate chequing and savings Yes, by opening multiple accounts Yes Yes Yes, by opening multiple accounts Yes
Debit card Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mobile banking Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Free ATM access Yes, fees are reimbursed CIBC ATMs only No Yes, fees are reimbursed Scotiabank ATMs only
Savings account interest rate 2.50%
Or 4.00% with direct deposit
0.40% 4.00% 3.50%
Or 4.00% with direct deposit
0.45%
Intro savings account interest rate No 6.25% for 5 months No No 6.00% for 5 months
Mobile cheque deposit Yes Yes No No Yes
Cheque writing No Yes No Yes Yes
Branch access No No No No No
Debit card rewards 0.5% cash back None Variable; no base rate 1% cash back None
Referral bonus $20 $50 $10 $25 $50
Sign-up bonus No $400 with 3 months of direct deposit No $100 with first direct deposit $250 with 2 months of direct deposit

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