Good options for HISA and TFSA | General comparisons | Discussion forum

Hi all, I'm a new user who is looking for advice on which HISA and TFSA accounts are a good fit for my situation. After several days of research, I don't have a clear winner for either category, and could use your help.

I'm in Ontario. I'm fine with digital-first banking -- my main spending accounts have been with Tangerine for years. I like no-fee accounts where I can handle routine tasks myself through apps or websites, often outside banking hours. I rarely need a human to help me, but when I do, I appreciate good-enough customer service. As long as my money is safe and customers are treated well, I'm not that concerned about whether it's a bank, credit union, or fintech.

I'd rather pick accounts with good everyday interest rates than be chasing promotions or changing accounts frequently. Another hurdle is that I was laid off and am not wealthy, so accounts where the best rates or features rely on receiving $1-2K monthly of direct deposits (EQ Bank, Koho) or on being wealthy already (Wealthsimple, Neo, others) are not the best fit for now. I need to grow the money I already have while keeping it liquid and low-risk in case the job search goes slowly. It's been hard for me to save up what I do have, so it would be a real setback to lose some of it to banking problems or bad investments.

I'd like to get at least one HISA or hybrid account to hold and grow money for goals like home improvement or travel. I also want to get 1-2 TFSA accounts to replace my existing low-interest TFSA. That could be one high-interest savings account, or I could split the funds into a HISA and an investment account. GICs aren't a good fit right now. It would be nice to keep these at one institution for easier transfers, but I can link accounts instead. I'll have to link my Tangerine accounts anyway.

At first I was looking at Saven Financial and Oaken Financial because they have high interest rates and offer both HISAs and cash TFSAs. The professional reviewers highlight them, but there many more negative user reviews than positive ones about their apps, websites, and customer service. What are they really like? Are they safe enough, but frustrating and slow? Are they bad enough that I'm better off picking somewhere else with a middling interest rate (probably around 1.8-2.5%) but better interface and service?

I'm tempted to try Haventree Bank's brand-new Everyday Growth account for the HISAs. The 2.5% rate is decent, and the reviews I could find were neutral to positive. (Sadly, they don't have a matching cash TFSA.) The 10-Day Notice account at EQ Bank is another option -- middling interest and slower access, but lots of positive reviews. Canadian Tire and Hubert Financial offer both HISAs and TFSAs, and middling interest rates, but I'm not convinced it's a good trade-off.

The TFSAs are trickier to choose than the HISAs. If none of the TFSA options above are worth pursuing, I could either get EQ's cash TFSA at 1.5%, or I could make 2 TFSAs at Wealthsimple -- one in cash for safety (but only 1.25% interest) and one with a low-risk portfolio (likely 3-4.7% interest after fees).

What do you recommend? Thank you!