Chequing Accounts Compared: CIBC vs. Tangerine
Shopping for a chequing account may seem like a chore when there are so many options to choose from.
If you’re looking at either CIBC or Tangerine, here’s an overview of the chequing accounts each bank offers:
CIBC’s chequing accounts
Read:Checking account and CIBC checking accounts
Tangerine’s chequing account
There are five different CIBC chequing accounts, three of which aren’t aimed at students or seniors. Those three accounts have fees of between $3.90 and $28.95 a month. For the Everday Chequing account, the fee is waived if you have the required minimum balance of $2,000 in your account. If you have the Smart account, you need to keep a minimum monthly balance of $3,000 and have two pre-authorized monthly payments or a recurring direct deposit. The accounts have optional overdraft protection. There are two options, a monthly fixed option ($4 a month) or a pay per use option ($5 per use). CIBC’s overdraft interest rate is 21% annually.
CIBC also offers the PremierService account, which costs $28.95 a month. The account comes with unlimited transactions, unlimited Interac e-Transfers, free overdraft protection, unlimited withdrawals at non-CIBC Interac bank machines in Canada, and an annual fee rebate of $120 on three CIBC rewards credit cards: the CIBC Aventura Visa Infinite card, the CIBC Aventura Gold Visa card, or the CIBC Aerogold Visa Infinite card. If you get an additional card, you’ll also save the $50 annual fee. Money orders, certified cheques, personalized cheques, bank drafts, and stop payments are also free.
Tangerine offers just one chequing account, the Tangerine No Fee Daily Chequing account. As the name implies, there are no regular monthly fees. There are also unlimited withdrawals, bill payments, debit purchases, pre-authorized payments, and Tangerine Email Money Transfers, all of which are free. You can also earn interest on your balance, which is rare for a chequing account. The rate is 0.15% for a balance of $0 to $49,999.99, 0.55% for a balance of $50,000 to $99,999.99, and 0.65% for a balance of $100,000 or more.
Tangerine’s overdraft protection is optional. If the negative balance on your account is unpaid at the end of the day, you’ll be charged $5. The maximum fee is $5 a month in addition to overdraft interest charges of 19% annually.
The bottom line
CIBC offers the most number of chequing accounts and many of them come with a monthly fee. Although the fee can be waived on some of the accounts, you’ll need to maintain a minimum monthly balance. On the other hand, Tangerine’s only chequing account doesn’t have a monthly fee and it comes with an unlimited number of transactions. Best of all, it also pays interest.