Owning a GIC means you hold a secure investment. If you need access to your money before the term is up, a redeemable GIC is a good option.
Rates
Redeemable GICs allow you to access your money before the term expires. But having that privilege also means the rates are lower than non-redeemable GICs. For example, a one-year redeemable GIC from RBC Royal Bank has an interest rate of 0.65% while a non-redeemable one from the same institution has an interest rate of 0.9%. (Looking for a higher rate? check out the best GIC rates).
As of Dec. 22, these are the rates on one-year non-redeemable GICs (on a minimum $5,000 investment):
| Financial institution | Interest rate |
| Hubert Financial | 2.05% |
| MAXA Financial | 2% |
| Oaken Financial | 1.65% |
| Industrial Alliance | 1.15% |
| ICICI Bank of Canada | 1.1% |
| National Bank | 0.65% |
| RBC Royal Bank | 0.65% |
| Laurentian Bank | 0.6% |
| TD Canada Trust | 0.5% |
| HSBC | 0.45% |
| Manulife | 0.4% |
| CIBC | 0.3% |
| Scotiabank | 0.25% |
As you can see, the rates vary significantly. The GIC rates offered by smaller institutions are similar to the rates on their high-interest savings accounts. But the GIC rates offered by some of the big banks are much lower than the rates on their high-interest savings accounts although there are transaction charges associated with these accounts.
The bottom line
A redeemable GIC is a good investment option if you need to withdraw your money quickly. However, the rates aren’t as high as non-redeemable GICs and a high-interest savings account might be a better alternative.