Savers Roundup October 2025: Sunsetting Motive Financial; 2026 TFSA contribution limit remains $7K

September 17 was a rare case when both Canada and the US made policy interest rate decisions on the same day. They both cut their rates by 25 basis points. In the current rate cycle, Canada has cut its key interest rate a total of 8 times (starting on June 5, 2024), while the US has done so 4 times.

The predictable drop in savings account interest rates followed swiftly, including 2/3 of the accounts we track. Exactly one year ago, the top savings account interest rate on our chart was 4.25%, whereas today’s leader WealthONE has a 2.85% savings account.

GIC rates have not dropped as quickly recently, and the top rate for any term, whether through a broker or not, is 3.95%.

No more cash back for the Wealthsimple prepaid Mastercard

Wealthsimple has completely eliminated the 1% cash back it was offering on its prepaid Mastercard (which essentially functions as a debit card, since it is tied to your chequing account). However, it is now offering unlimited ATM fee reimbursements anywhere in the world.

EQ Bank still offers 0.5% cash back on purchases made on its prepaid Mastercard, and unlimited ATM fee reimbursements in Canada only.

More details on Motive Financial’s transition to National Bank

National Bank has released more product migration details for Motive Financial clients, following National Bank’s acquisition of Motive Financial’s parent company Canadian Western Bank last June.

In late fall 2025, non-registered savings accounts will move to a hybrid / all-in-one chequing/savings account offering the same rates as Motive Financial currently does (2.00% for the Savvy Savings account for example), and a $28.95 monthly fee that is waived for the first 12 months only. After that, you’ll need a minimum $6,000 balance to waive the monthly fee. TFSAs will move to an account with a 2.00% rate for 3 months only.

Lightning round(up)

• We had over 400 responses to last month’s newsletter poll, with 68% of respondents saying that they do not pay an annual fee for any of their credit cards. Some of the written responses say that they get the credit card annual fee waived as a perk of their chequing account. Those who do pay an annual fee say that they get more than enough value out of points and other benefits such as waived foreign currency transaction fees or travel benefits.
• The 2026 TFSA contribution limit will be $7,000, which is the same as the past 2 years.
• As per our promotions page, there are currently no fewer than 7 bank account promos offering at least 4.50%.