4.7% for 90 days on one's first eSavings account, opened by October 29, 2025 | Page 2 | RBC Royal Bank | Discussion forum

mustang said
Yes, my Meridian promo runs until Sept 24
So, the plan is to wait until then, write the check then, and deposit into the Royal account at that point
I was thinking of using the deposit app, but after experimenting with it a bit this morning, I'm now thinking taking the check to the bank might be a better idea  

My understanding is that the 90 day promo interest begins when account is opened so keep that in mind. I recieved an email confirmation that the promo interest was in effect at the time which was a nice touch.

mustang said
Turns out you were spot on, Norman
…
I asked the teller if funds accrued interest while on hold
She didn't know. Kudos to her for checking with her supervisor, who said "yes", they do accrue interest while on hold
So, at the end of the day, in answer to my question, I got
1 No
1 Yes
1 Darned if I know

Wouldn't something like this be covered in agents basic training?
From my experience, I guess not

It likely was. But, the tellers won't necessarily remember such details if they aren't asked regularly by clients.

For such technical questions, I try to find the answer in the account fine print. RBC describes the interest calculation in Personal Accounts Interest Rates:

Interest rates are subject to change without notice at any time.

Interest is earned in the currency of the account.

Interest is calculated daily on the closing credit balance and paid monthly on the 2nd business day of the following calendar month backdated to the previous business day. The interest rate is an annual interest rate. The interest calculation for each account is a simple interest calculation.

The monthly account statements will be generated on a monthly cycle that's based on the primary account holder's last name. This is from the definition of Month/Monthly Cycle in Personal Deposit Accounts: Disclosures and Agreements:

RetirEd said
In general, Canadian banking regulations try to prevent financial institutions from not paying interest on funds in transit or on hold. There seem to be some exceptions, what with all the complex transactions these days, and which (sending or receiving) institution is responsible can be difficult to divine. But it's always worth asking to see what's going on.

One odd exception is with respect to TFSA transfers - these are often concluded by certified cheque, and are both slow and no-interest. I don't know why.  

Not only TFSA, but also LIRA transfers are sent by cheque. That really hurt some people during the Canada Post strike. Not me, fortunately. My LIRA is fully invested at 5.1% until 2027.

Oscar said

My understanding is that the 90 day promo interest begins when account is opened so keep that in mind. I recieved an email confirmation that the promo interest was in effect at the time which was a nice touch.  

Yes, correct-- 90 days from opening date. (Which, in my case, the account was not yet "active" until I paid a visit to the branch)
I did get an email at that time--i.e., when it was made active-- but it did not mention the promo interest rate in that email.
I did make a point of dragging it out of the teller when I was in the branch. His first response was a vague "3 months", but I persisted in getting the actual expiry date out of him. In my case, that is Sept 24

Norman1 said

mustang said
Turns out you were spot on, Norman
…
I asked the teller if funds accrued interest while on hold
She didn't know. Kudos to her for checking with her supervisor, who said "yes", they do accrue interest while on hold
So, at the end of the day, in answer to my question, I got
1 No
1 Yes
1 Darned if I know

Wouldn't something like this be covered in agents basic training?
From my experience, I guess not

It likely was. But, the tellers won't necessarily remember such details if they aren't asked regularly by clients.

For such technical questions, I try to find the answer in the account fine print. RBC describes the interest calculation in Personal Accounts Interest Rates:

Interest rates are subject to change without notice at any time.

Interest is earned in the currency of the account.

Interest is calculated daily on the closing credit balance and paid monthly on the 2nd business day of the following calendar month backdated to the previous business day. The interest rate is an annual interest rate. The interest calculation for each account is a simple interest calculation.

The monthly account statements will be generated on a monthly cycle that's based on the primary account holder's last name. This is from the definition of Month/Monthly Cycle in Personal Deposit Accounts: Disclosures and Agreements:

Last Name Starts with	AA – BD	BE – BT	BU – CN	CO – DH	DI – FK	FL – GO	GP – HM	HN – KD	KE – LE	LF – MB	MC – MT	MU – PD	PE – RH	RI – SG	SH – SZ	TA – VZ	WA – ZZ
First Calendar Date of Month	2	3	5	6	8	9	11	12	14	15	17	18	20	21	23	24	25

  

Thanks for the clarification

mustang said

Yes, I was able to confirm that this morning at the ATM. My card did allow me access to the High Interest eSavings account, so yes, it appears I can deposit items via the ATM.  

There might be a difference between ATM and online transfers. I seem to recall an instance in my distant pass where I asked about the 1 debit transaction allowed by my HISA / month. I think that a transfer from my HISA to chq acct from the ATM constituted a debit, but that a transfer from online portal did not.

mustang said

… Looks like atm is probably superior. I do want to confirm that there is no upper limit on the amount of such a deposit

Client Card Daily Limits mentions a $500,000 limit on RBC ATM deposits:

NOTE:

Deposit: Deposits of up to $500,000 can be made to your deposit accounts through RBC Royal Bank ATMs or through Mobile Banking. Items deposited at ATMs or through Mobile Banking are subject to verification and may not be available for up to 5 business days or any shorter period required by law. Immediate funds are available up to your release amount. Postdated cheques are not negotiable when deposited at ATMs or banking machines and may be returned, causing a delay in receiving credit.

Transfer: Transfers from your deposit accounts can be made through RBC Royal Bank ATMs, Online Banking, Mobile Banking and Telephone Banking services. Transfers are limited to the available balance in your Account.

Bill Payment: $99,999 is the limit for bills accepted through RBC Royal Bank ATMs, Online Banking, Mobile Banking and Telephone Banking services. No single payment may exceed this limit.

Client Card Daily Limits mentions a $500,000 limit on RBC ATM deposits:

NOTE:
That's the answer that I was looking for-- thanks so much!
(And, I trust your answer a heckuva lot more than if I was to phone in-- or even ask a teller!!)

Deposit: Deposits of up to $500,000 can be made to your deposit accounts through RBC Royal Bank ATMs or through Mobile Banking. Items deposited at ATMs or through Mobile Banking are subject to verification and may not be available for up to 5 business days or any shorter period required by law. Immediate funds are available up to your release amount. Postdated cheques are not negotiable when deposited at ATMs or banking machines and may be returned, causing a delay in receiving credit.

Transfer: Transfers from your deposit accounts can be made through RBC Royal Bank ATMs, Online Banking, Mobile Banking and Telephone Banking services. Transfers are limited to the available balance in your Account.

Bill Payment: $99,999 is the limit for bills accepted through RBC Royal Bank ATMs, Online Banking, Mobile Banking and Telephone Banking services. No single payment may exceed this limit.

Can anyone tell me what Royal policy is re posting accrued interest to the HISA account? I opened my account July 23, and my first statement date is Aug 22
(So assuming their policy is issue statement on the date opened, not monthend?
No interest was posted on the statement
Just looked this morning, to see if they had posted interest to Aug 31, but nada

Mustang see bottom chart in post 24 for statement issue dates - based on surname as Norman1 pointed out (thanks Norman1). This was accurate for me.
I just checked and no interest posted yet but last month both regular and promo interest payments were posted on August 1 so maybe they will post a day later this month due to Labor Day falling on the first of the month.