Motusbank is a newcomer to the Canadian banking scene, but the big players like Tangerine, EQ Bank and the rest don’t seem to intimidate them in any way. As a subsidiary to one of the biggest credit unions in the country (Meridian Credit Union), Motusbank enjoys all the credibility and goodwill that comes with having over 300,000 members and $20.6 billion funds under its parent’s company management.
Motusbank offers an online banking service that offers ‘full-service’ to its customers, a high-interest savings account, very competitive mortgage rates, enticing personal loans, and a no-fee chequing account.
Motusbank is a member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), and a chartered bank in Canada which makes it an official Canadian financial institution.
The big question here, is to determine how Motusbank performs in comparison to its competitors in Canadian banking.
Motusbank Chequing Accounts
Most traditional banks offer next to zero incentives when you open a chequing account with them. Motusbank offers some great incentives for a Canadian chequing account: they not only have a zero-fee charges on transactions, but they also give a 0.25% interest rate on the account. In comparison, Motusbank interest rates are one of the best in the country when you factor in digital banking competitors like Tangerine’s (also zero-fee) measly 0.15% on deposits under $50,000 and the Simplii chequing accounts which gives 0.50% only on deposits above $25,000.
No fee High-interest Savings Account (HISA)
Motusbank offers one of the best interest rates on Savings account in Canada (1.00% for HISA and 1.10% on TFSA). The rates that the Motusbank offers are regular rates rather than short term promotional offers.
Motusbank savings account charges nothing for monthly fees and does not demand a minimum deposit balance to have it. One of the best features of this account is the ‘no-limits’ on debit purchases and withdrawals with access to about 4,000 ATMs across the country.
Although Motusbank outperforms most of its competitors with their savings rate, EQ bank does offer a bit of an edge with a 1.40% rate.
Competitive Mortgage rates
Motusbank offers very flexible and practical mortgage rates to their customers; it varies depending on whether they are fixed rates or variable rates.
Currently, Motusbank features some good plans like
• a (1-5) years fixed rate of 1.95%
• a variable (1-5) years mortgage plan of 1.99%.
Motusbank also offers helpful features in your payments plan like their Lumpsum Payments which allows you to make 20% deposits on your principal each year without penalty.
Motusbank Guaranteed Investment certificates (GIC)
Everyone loves to have a secure and low-risk investment, and Motusbank offers one of the best services out there. Motusbank offers a better GIC rate than the Big 5 Banks posted rates for registered (RRPS, TFSAs, RRIFs) accounts and other non-registered accounts.
Some of the rates that they offer (Registered accounts):
• One year: 1.15 %
• One and a half years: 1.20%
• Two years: 1.25%
• Three years: 1.85%
• Four years: 1.35%
• Five years: 1.55%
The rates are a little lower for non-registered accounts on their GICs, and they are irredeemable:
• One year: 1.10%
• Two years: 1.20%
• Three years: 1.30%
• Four years: 1.40%
• Five years: 1.50
Motusbank personal loans
Motusbank offers assistance in terms of loans to individuals to finance personal projects.
• For personal loans, you can take out a loan between $5,000 and $35,000 with a duration between 1 month and 5 years with an initial interest rate of 5.15%.
• For personal Line of Credit, you can get a rate for as low as 5.65%
• For Secured Line of credit, you can utilize the equity in your home when you take out loans for as low as 2.75% interest rate.
The first things anyone wants to know about a bank before opening an account or registering with them is about safety and security. Motusbank membership with CDIC and its affiliation with a well known credit union which make it almost as safe as any other bank in Canada.
Motusbank beats many of its banking competitors with their relatively high-interest rates on accounts like HISA, GIC, and Chequing accounts.
View more information about Motusbank.