The Best Banking Products in Canada: 2016 Edition

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Interest rates may be low these days, but if you’re looking to make your money work for you in the best way possible, then there are still plenty of options. Canada’s banks offer a variety of products with competitive rates. Depending on how much you can put in, you may be surprised by what you get in return.

To examine the best savings and chequing accounts and GICs, we crunched the numbers using common deposit amounts for all three. None of the winning products carry monthly fees and all are examined over a five-year term. And the 2016 banking winners are*:

Best Savings Account with $5,000 Balance

WINNER: BMO Savings Builder

2nd Place: Scotiabank Savings Accelerator

3rd Place: Scotiabank Momentum Savings

Best Savings Account with No Minimum Balance

WINNER: EQ Savings Plus Account

2nd Place: Alterna Bank High Interest eSavings Account

3rd Place: Oaken Savings Account

Best Chequing Account with Low Balance

WINNER: Tangerine No Fee Daily Chequing

2nd Place: President's Choice Financial® No Fee Bank Account

Best 5-Year Cashable GIC - Registered

WINNER: ICICI Bank Canada GIC

2nd Place: BMO GIC

Best 5-Year Cashable GIC - Non-Registered

WINNER: ICICI Bank Canada GIC

2nd Place: Royal Bank GIC

3rd Place: BMO GIC

Best 5-Year Cashable GIC - TFSA

WINNER: ICICI Bank Canada GIC

2nd Place: Canadian Direct Financial GIC

3rd Place: State Bank of India GIC

Best 5-Year Non-Cashable GIC

WINNER: Oaken Financial GIC

2nd Place: Implicity Financial GIC

3rd Place: MAXA Financial

*All data was compiled between September 7 and 21, 2016.

The 2016 Best of Finance Awards also recognizes the best credit cards in Canada. Click here to view the full list of winners.

How we chose the winners

To determine the top performing savings accounts, chequing accounts and GICs, we calculated the total interest earned, based on the following:

Savings Accounts

Chequing Accounts

GICs

Looking to grow your money? Check out these and other great chequing and savings accounts today!