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Wealthsimple Cash Review

Wealthsimple Cash review

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Sandra MacGregor
Author: Tyler Wade

By Sandra MacGregor & Tyler Wade

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Updated: July 02, 2024

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Quick overview

A high interest savings account that acts like a chequing account — all with no fees. 

With a Wealthsimple Cash account you get up to eight accounts, great for sinking funds like renovations, car maintenance, vacations and a stellar place to hold your emergency fund. 

It's all backed by five CDIC member institutions, meaning you get up to $500,000 in coverage on all your deposits (far exceeding the $100,000 at other institutions). 

You'll also get a Wealthsimple Cash card to withdraw funds from any ATM with no fees, nor will you pay foreign transaction fees while travelling. This prepaid Mastercard earns 1% cash back on all purchases, earns at least 4% on your balance and all without an annual fee. 

Who is Wealthsimple Cash for?

If you invest with Wealthsimple, either self-directed or with a managed robo-advisor, a Wealthsimple Cash account is almost a no-brainer with the added perks. 

No monthly fees, no minimums  and you can auto-invest your pay—it's like your own little pension. 

If you're a generation client (over $100,000 invested), you'll earn 4% on any cash held in your account. 

If you don't currently invest with Wealthsimple, it's a versatile option due to its no-to-low fees, high base interest rate, multiple account options, free interac e-transfers and bill payments and a debit card that doubles as a prepaid Mastercard. 

You can't walk into a brick and mortar branch, and I had to wait about 15 minutes on hold to speak to a customer service representative, but those things aren't important to me as an aging millennial. 

If you're older and want the opportunity to speak to someone in person over a coffee, this is not for you. If you're under 40 years old, I highly recommend Wealthsimple Cash. 

Pros and cons of Wealthsimple Cash

Pros

Pros

  • 4% interest on cash in your account

  • Up to eight accounts for your various savings goals

  • $500,000 in CDIC pcoverage

  • $0 monthly fees with no minimum or overdraft penalties

  • Send up to $5,000 per day in free interac e-transfers

  • Get 0.5% more interest with qualifying direct deposits

  • No annual fee, free ATM withdrawals with the Wealthsimple Cash card

  • Sleek, easy-to-use app

Cons

Cons

  • No brick and mortar branches

  • Wealthsimple doesn't charge ATM fees, but the ATM might (and they don't reimburse like EQ bank)

How Wealthsimple Cash account works

To use Wealthsimple Cash, all you have to do is download the app and set up an account (or use the Wealthsimple account you already have and just connect it to the Wealthsimple Cash app).

The Wealthsimple Cash card allows free ATM withdrawals and there are no foreign transaction fees — a savings of 2.5% per foreign transaction. The card is compatible with electronic wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. 

Every time you use your Mastercard, Wealthsimple automatically gives you 1% of the total back into your account and you choose whether that's in stock, crypto or cash back. 

Wealthsimple Cash features

Send money instantly – E-transfers can take as long as three hours to receive; with the Wealthsimple Cash app, you can send or receive money in mere seconds.

Free – Some financial institutions charge for e-transfers. Wealthsimple Cash is free, and you can send as many transfers as you want. There are also no account fees or minimum balances required.

Secure – Account balances up to $500,000 are insured by the CDIC, and Wealthsimple Cash protects your account with biometrics and fingerprint ID.

Send More Cash – Most banks in Canada cap transfers at $3,000 per day. Wealthsimple Cash lets you send up to $5,000 daily and up to $20,000, monthly.

Easy to Use – The app is easy to navigate, and setup is simple and quick.

High Interest rate – Funds held in Wealthsimple Cash earn interest. The rate is currently 4% for core clients. You can earn up to 4.5% with $100,000 invested with Wealthsimple and 5% with over $500,000 invested. 

Wealthsimple Cash card

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Pros

  • Earn 1% cash back on all purchases

  • Choose whether your cash back goes to your investments or crypto or cash account

  • Earn up to 5% on your balance

  • No foreign exchange fees

  • No annual fees

Cons

  • No insurance

  • Will not reimburse ATM fees

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Poor

Required Annual Personal Income

$0

Required Annual Household Income

$0

Pros

  • Earn 1% cash back on all purchases

  • Choose whether your cash back goes to your investments or crypto or cash account

  • Earn up to 5% on your balance

  • No foreign exchange fees

  • No annual fees

Cons

  • No insurance

  • Will not reimburse ATM fees

Eligibility

Recommended Credit Score

Poor

Required Annual Personal Income

$0

Required Annual Household Income

$0

Earn at least 4% on your account balance

4%

Get 1% cash back on all purchases

1%

There are no foreign exchange fees

0%

Annual Fee

$0

Foreign Transaction Fee

0.00%

Wealthsimple Cash interest rate

The Wealthsimple Cash Account interest rates are as follows: 

  • As a core client, or a new client without any existing investment products, you earn 4% interest 
  • As a premium client, someone with over $100,000, you earn 4.5% interest 
  • As a generation client, someone with $500,000 in assets, you earn 5% cash account interest 
  • All core and premium clients can get an extra 0.5% interest with a direct deposit of at least $2,000 within  a 30-day period 

How to apply for a Wealthsimple Cash account

Wealthsimple Cash makes it incredibly easy to set up an account. Just follow the below steps:

Head to the website, and under products, select “Wealthsimple Cash” and then download the app, which is available for iOS and Android.. 

Create a new account, or if you’re already a Wealthsimple client using one of their other products (like Wealthsimple robo-advisor), you can sign in using the same login information.

Start robo-investing with Wealthsimple

I'm already a client and had a Wealthsimple Cash account I had set up, but never used. For me, I just had to continue the set up. 

They asked what I wanted to do with my 1% cash back—into the cash account, my RRSP or my TFSA (all my roboadvisor or managed investments are with Wealthsimple. I use Questrade for my self-directed investing). 

Read: Questrade review

I chose my RRSP because I never hit my contribution limit and I have several years of missed contributions so lots of room to grow. 😬

Transferring cash to Wealthsimple is easy and fast

Add funds to your account (via bank transfer as you would with any other Wealthsimple account) to fund your account. Due to the fact I already have a Wealthsimple account, I already have my other accounts connected, so it was super easy to set up. 

And yes, the money was there in 30 seconds for me to access and use. Well, I had the first $5,000 of my transfer. The remaining cash said it would take three days.

How does Wealthsimple Cash make money?

To our knowledge Wealthsimple has not officially published details on how it plans to monetize from Wealthsimple Cash; Wealthsimple merely emphasizes that the product is free, stating:

“With Wealthsimple Cash there are no monthly account fees, no exchange fees on foreign transactions and no low balance fees. That’s because we believe your money should stay in your pocket.”

A Wealthsimple representative did confirm to us that Wealthsimple is not currently monetizing from Wealthsimple Cash.

The company instead hopes that broad exposure to Wealthsimple Cash will encourage more Canadian consumers to try other Wealthsimple products, like their investing products.

Start DIY investing with Wealthsimple

Should you use Wealthsimple Cash?

For the ease of use and speed, yes. For the high base interest rates, yes. For the prepaid credit card, yes. 

The Wealthsimple Cash app, however, is not a good fit for those who aren’t yet comfortable using a mobile phone to execute financial transactions. 

Is Wealthsimple Cash worth it?

Arguably, they market it as a chequing account. I believe this is the death of the chequing account as we know it, and their marketing material will eventually shift to a personal or hybrid account like its peers, like EQ Bank, Tangerine or Simplii Financial. 

I can't justify paying $16 to $35 for a chequing account that offers me little to no value and convoluted, promotional earn rates requiring high minimum balances or multi-product offerings with one institution. 

With that in mind, I've deposited my emergency fund there to start and test my experience. That high interest rate can't hurt. 

FAQs

  • Is Wealthsimple Cash safe?

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    Yes, Wealthsimple Cash is safe. Access to a Wealthsimple Cash account is secured via biometric and fingerprint identification; up to $500,000 in funds held within the account are eligible for protection by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.

  • Does Wealthsimple Cash still earn interest?

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    Yes, funds held in Wealthsimple Cash earn 4% interest. If you have over $100,000 invested with Wealthsimple, you can earn even more. Direct deposit your paycheque for an additional 0.5%.

  • Is Wealthsimple a bank?

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    Wealthsimple can be classified as an alternative financial institution, but it is not technically a bank. They are a FINTRAC-registered money services business working closely with banking partners to keep deposits safe.

  • Does Wealthsimple Cash have fees?

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    No fees, not even overdraft fees. And the Wealthsimple Cash card lets you withdraw money from any ATM without fees and charge you no foreign transaction fees abroad.

  • How to withdraw money from a Wealthsimple Cash account

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    Use any ATM with your Wealthsimple Cash prepaid Mastercard to withdraw money. Wealthsimple charges you no fees.

  • Is Wealthsimple cash a chequing account?

    +

    They call it a chequing account. You can direct deposit your pay, pay your bills from it, and send interac e-transfers. Unlike a chequing account, it doesn't charge you any fees.

Sandra MacGregor Freelance Contributor

Sandra MacGregor has been writing about finance and travel for nearly a decade. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications like the New York Times, the UK Telegraph, the Washington Post, Forbes.com and the Toronto Star.

Tyler Wade Content strategist & writer

Tyler Wade has worked in personal finance for over 5 years writing for brands like Ratehub, Forbes, KOHO, and now Money.ca.

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