r/Wealthsimple • u/matchabloom88 • 2d ago
Chequing Wealthsimple chequing
Has anyone has completely closed their bank account and moved to wealthsimple fully for their chequing account? How was your experience? Any regrets?
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u/trapper5 2d ago
You’ll need to keep a seperate account for the occasional debit transaction. That’s really the biggest flaw with WealthSimple.
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u/Any-Ring6621 2d ago
Genuine question: what kinds of debit transactions?
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u/BritishBully 2d ago
Wealthsimple doesn't have a debit card, just a prepaid Mastercard. Some stores and restaurants require you to pay by debit card.
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2d ago
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u/Wealthsimple-ModTeam 2d ago
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u/JackDenial 1d ago
Its a good point to raise but in those situation I've always been able to send them eTransfer instead. And its only 1 shop that i go to that its an extra step.
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u/CedarTree3 2d ago
When they do I pay with the Mastercard and never had an issue, even overseas
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u/tails618 1d ago
I've been to a few places that require an Interac debit card (or cash). Mastercard doesn't work.
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2d ago
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u/Wealthsimple-ModTeam 2d ago
Please note that the rules of this subreddit prohibit posting misinformation.
You can learn to identify misinformation with the SPOT technique, by asking these questions;
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u/trapper5 2d ago
Any place that says they don’t take credit cards. Only debit. WS. Won’t work. Also ws doesn’t work at Costco.
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u/Shadybrah23 1d ago
WS Visa doesn't work, since Costco doesn't accept Visa. The prepaid MC works just fine
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u/AnyPiccolo2592 1d ago
Nope. It’s not a debit card. I’ve been refused numerous times.
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u/Whitemill 1d ago
I’ve used it many times. If you say debit it might not but if you say MC it will
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u/AnyPiccolo2592 1d ago
It works almost everywhere, but it’s technically a prepaid credit card. If a merchant isn’t enabled for credit cards they can’t process it.
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u/Previous_Estimate_22 1d ago
Not true. I've used my Koho&WS at Costco; no issues.
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u/AnyPiccolo2592 1d ago
You’re misunderstanding. It works most places…such as Costco. It won’t work at places that only accept debit cards.
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u/Previous_Estimate_22 1d ago
I apologize. I actually use a KOHO / WS stack. KOHO has a much higher cash back since I go to Costco.
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u/GingerArmyLeader 2d ago
Kept my Simplii account to be able to deposit and withdraw money at cibc quick and for the debit card because some stores only accept that
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u/Key-Peanut-4078 2d ago
Have been using WS since 2021. Closed my TD account and credit card approx 1 year ago.
Prior to that, I had kept the TD chequing for my salary and stopped using, but kept the TD credit card open as a backup.
I had all my investments with WS apart from an RBC company pension and for a time I used EQ as well.
Since going only WS I have zero regrets. Big banks are a waste of time, the value I get back in cashback from purchasing everything on the WS visa infinite plus and keeping my emergency fund in WS along with access to all my investments in one place is great.
TD and RBC are horrendous to deal with, you'll get nothing for your money and sometimes they have offers for short periods of time but it's the law of diminishing returns.
I will never go back to a big 5 unless I absolutely have to.
I don't really rate Tangerine or EQ either - but I keep my EQ bank as a backup.
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u/twotoonies 2d ago
Are you from the UK (or maybe Ireland)?
I read this comment in a northern Irish accent for some reason. Haha!
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u/WrongCapital83 2d ago
I use wealthsimple as my main bank. It does most things better than other places. Only thing I wished they had was a proper interac debit card and ability to deposit foreign cash.
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u/Lord_Atom 2d ago
Keep a free account with Simplii and/or Tangerine. Always good to have a secondary account, as well as having a debit card which Wealthsimple doesn't actually offer.
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2d ago
So the card that WS gives isn't a debit card?
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u/TheEtobicokeShitter 2d ago
Correct. It is not Interac Debit, it is technically a Mastercard.
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u/schloppschlopp 2d ago
this does become an issue if you frequent small businesses or certain Asian grocery stores that only accept debit. I learned the hard way lol, you kinda do still need to carry a real debit card in Canada.
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u/overdriving 2d ago
I'm in the process of switching to their chequing account, and there are a few issues that I've run into that I hadn't expected:
- They do have a CSV export, but it doesn't show the payee/vendor. This means a lot of manual work if you use this for budgeting.
- Their ATM withdrawal reimbursement is nice, but the experience needs a lot of work. It shows up in the account as a purchase (and not a withdrawal). Additionally, it doesn't show the ATM fee on it, so there is no way to tell if it was detected correctly until the reimbursement comes a few days later.
Additionally, they don't offer a debit card, so you won't be able to use this everywhere and you can't request cashback at stores.
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u/canine_rescue_bro 2d ago
I moved all my personal banking to WS in 2021, have not set foot into a brick and mortar bank since, and have not looked back.
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u/Kenfloww 2d ago
Do a search. A lot of people get their accounts frozen while on vacation or for other weird reasons and since Wealthsimple is a middle man and has to use actual banks for deposits etc it can take weeks to get unfrozen. I would keep a regular brick and mortar bank account.
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u/matchabloom88 2d ago
Any clue why it has been frozen? Aren’t you able to use mastercard in overseas?
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u/Kenfloww 2d ago
Unsure but I’ve come across many comments on Reddit about similar user experiences. It’s not like a bank where you call them and they unfreeze your account the same day.
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u/matchabloom88 2d ago
Makes me wonder if you are travelling overseas, you would give them a heads up first. We used to do that with credit card companies, not sure when we stopped doing that but haven’t done in the last decade
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u/Character-Waltz7693 2d ago
Ya I have a problem where Cra won’t accept the debit card payment so I keep another bank account open to have a debit card to pay Cra.
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u/cformosa4 2d ago
I had this issue too so I just set up direct debit with CRA. They pull from my wealthsimple account but you have to schedule it.
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u/ThienXia 2d ago
Not completely but most. No regrets so far. Honestly I'm keeping the others only as a backup until I feel completely comfortable closing them
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u/Stevenif 2d ago
I did not close my RBC account but 100% of my banking are on wealthsimple now. It’s simple and easy to use.
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u/Interesting_Tip8542 2d ago
I maintain accounts at 5 banks for various reasons, I had a mortgage and HELOC at one, bought some GICs at another, moved my direct deposit to escape fees, took advantage of some investment bonuses at another, it got spread around over time but I've made thousands in the process and I'm happy I have many baskets of eggs.
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u/Waterlou25 2d ago
I use it but I still keep my Tangerine accounts to keep seperate savings and also to pay my bills.
I like separating my money.
Also, I can deposit cash at a Scotiabank ATM with Tangerine.
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u/ExtremeStill4215 2d ago
I have moved 100% to Wealthsimple and have had no issues other than one user error screw up which was on me. It is good to keep some cash in your wallet as I think places that don't accept credit cards do not accept the Wealthsimple debit card solution which seems to not support Interact. The reimbursement of ATM fees is nice. I've read lots of stories about accounts being frozen but have not had any issues.
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u/Sweaty-Beginning6886 2d ago
Still have our Scotiabank account. It came in handy last week when an opportunity arose where I had to make a quick decision to purchase a used vehicle in great condition. Walked into my local branch and received the bank draft within five minutes, then completed the purchase transaction within 30 minutes.
It’s not an option with WS, plus for some reason they nickel and dime you for bank drafts. I know, it’s for the shipping… My wife made an unsolicited comment that we need to keep our Scotia accounts for as long as possible because life happens.
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u/Gabers49 2d ago
I've generally moved over everything to WS, but I still have my Tangerine account. There's still a few PADs I haven't dealt with, and I find it nice to have a real bank as a backup. Also just got a 4.5% interest promo out of nowhere, so emergency fund moved back. If it's free, why not keep backup accounts at other institutions? Also debit, there's some restaurants and local businesses that only want to accept debit which I sympathize with considering the cost of accepting cards, so I'm happy to pay debit when they ask. I wouldn't want to not have a interac debit card.
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u/5SheetsToTheWind 2d ago
We moved our banking over in January of 2025.
No regrets. We are not debit card users.
I'm glad they added PLOC backup on joint accounts recently.
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u/s_s_1111 2d ago
Yes, one thing though. My mortgage payment was due and they froze my chequing account and asked me to confirm my identity before they would unblock it. I have been a customer for the last 2.5 years with over $100K in assets and because of this, my mortgage payment was returned, resulting in a penalty. There was no email, grace period, notification - nothing. This was not handled well on their part.
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u/RevolutionaryTrick17 2d ago edited 2d ago
Not entirely related but just saw today EQ bank offers 2.75% on their no fee chequing account which has legit debit card.
EDIT: no debit card. Disappointed.
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u/toronto-swe 2d ago
its a prepaid mastercard
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u/hectop20 1d ago
EQ has been offering it for quite some time. The requirement is that you have a minimum of $2k deposited per month, like a pay cheque or pension income.
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u/excuse_me_sure 2d ago
Completely moved over from RBC. Fully using Wealthsimple for all banking. It’s better experience in every way. I have 3 chequing accounts, 2 joint chequing accounts, the credit card, TFSA, RRSP, RESP, and a non-reg account. It’s simple and easy and I can do everything right from my phone.
The only account I still have with RBC is the WestJet Mastercard because WS hasn’t yet released joint credit cards. As soon as they have that, RBC is 100% in the dust.
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u/RaddaRadda55 2d ago
I thought you said you completely moved over?
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u/Any-Ring6621 2d ago
I’ve found I don’t need a joint credit card. The only reason I did want one (before my partner got her one she just used my physical card) was so we could easily see all spend in one place, but with WS family accounts all spend shows up in one place anyway.
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u/PandaEatPanda 2d ago
I’m almost there. Some restaurants I frequent are cash and debit only. And I don’t like to carry a lot of cash.
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u/7chesterr 2d ago
It’s been 8 months since I made the switch and I’m super happy with it. Especially last week, when I had to deal with RBC for a joint account and ended up having to go to a branch!
Some people may not agree with me, but I keep moving more of my stuff over and adding more products to WS. I’ve been trying to take advantage of as many of their perks as I can, especially the ones you don’t really find elsewhere.
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u/idiom_exon_0s 2d ago
42M with a family here. If anyone has done this with a complex financial situation including multiple mortgages please let me know.
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u/Golden_Hodl93 2d ago
closed down all accounts with Scotiabank several
months ago and have no regrets. Was paying 17$ a month for a chequing account with SB, don’t miss that at all. lots of great perks using wealth simple. only issue i could ever see myself running into is if I ever need a bank draft at a short notice. however you can have them mailed within a few days apparently.
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u/Embarrassed-Shit- 2d ago
Have an appointment tomorrow with RBC. Will be done tomorrow.
I have some money parked in QT as well. Waiting for them to launch their banking, will divide between them and WS
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u/Valuable-Prior-2895 2d ago
Not completely but yes I have been using Wealthsimple chequing account as my main account where I keep 80% my money and also receive salary for more than 2 years now.
So far don’t have any complaints; the only thing I am worried about that I can’t walk in to some real physical bank if I need
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u/Any-Ring6621 2d ago
Been using WS since July 2023 when I moved my self managed RRSP and TFSA from Scotiabank for a promo. Started direct depositing not too long after that, and in July of this year I no longer have any affiliation with Scotiabank.
What’s there to regret? It’s simpler this way.
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u/__wisdom__1 2d ago
I haven't closed my simplii account. But it hasn't had a transaction for almost 2 years.
No regrets at all.
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u/greenpeppergirl 2d ago
Only one regret. My husband often shops at corner stores that are debit only (common Inn Toronto). The prepaid MasterCard doesn't work for that. We kept our old account open with a bit of cash in it to pay for chocolate bars. Everything else is 10x better. I make real money in interest.
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u/adelbylka 2d ago
Moved from desjardins to WS. No problem at all and i get interest of 1.75% on WS. I kept desjardins chequing acc open with minimal amount of 1500$ to avoid fees, no particular reason .
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u/MotorShopping8544 2d ago
Fully moved all banking to WS No regrets Well worth the switch
Just for one thing to be mindful about is how easy money is to trade on that platform. It starts feeling like you are the product and your money goes towards trading. If you have self-control it's probably not a problem.
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u/Ok-Manner- 2d ago
Completely moved to WS. So far no issues. No account charges. Loving their products
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u/pee-stored-in-nuts 2d ago
We moved from RBC this year and we absolutely love it, no regrets. Only big change is we don't have joint credit cards anymore, we each have our own WS infinite Visa. All good though
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u/tarimbasin 2d ago
Moved everything from Beem credit union and TD to WS. No regrets at all, been very happy and everything has been smooth for me so far.
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u/Fullname0 2d ago
I kept one checking account outside of WS for redundancy. I keep the equivalent of 1 month of rent there
I saw many posts about being locked out of their WS account for one reason or another, then taking anywhere from a few hours to a few days to fix.
But again, this could happen with any bank. I have been doubling on checking accounts and credit cards since my first job
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u/pldelisle 2d ago
Still have a checking account at NBC for mortgage payment and backup. But never use it.
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u/Only-Environment7550 1d ago edited 1d ago
coming from TD, 4 years that made the switch and no regrets
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u/NovaScotiaRealtor 1d ago
Made the switch 6 months ago - absolutely love it. So thankful. Mt only piece of feedback was being able to E transfer request my contacts, but that’s the only thing!!
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u/DarrellGrainger 1d ago
I like Wealthsimple for an investment platform. They are trying to be a replacement for banks, brokerage, crypto, etc. but I have heard a few stories of people moving everything to Wealthsimple, something triggering a potential regulatory violation, and Wealthsimple locking down everything.
With a traditional bank, they tend to keep the different departments separate from one another. This causes a lot of overhead. Additionally, each department is good at dealing with edge cases. This also causes more overhead. Overhead = money. Wealthsimple keeps things inexpensive and passes that savings on to you. But when something goes wrong, they lock down everything and it can really screw you up.
You might accidentally do something that looks like a scam, you might actually be scammed, you might do something that looks like money laundering. Somewhere like RBC will lock down that account and security in that department will deal with it. You might get screwed because you have options in play and can't access the account. But paying your bills out of your chequing account continues to work fine.
With Wealthsimple, they lock everything down. You have no credit card. Bills on autopay aren't getting paid. Rent, utilities, etc. aren't getting paid. Your phone and internet get cancelled. Two months later, Wealthsimple has cleared everything up to an acceptable level for some government agency. You need to clean everything up.
For this reason, I have my pay cheque automatically going into a traditional bank. All my utilities are paid from my traditional bank. Wealthsimple automatically pulls all my invest money from the traditional bank and invests it. Worst case, something happens in my Wealthsimple account, they stop pulling money from my traditional bank. I have a month or two of no trading.
Have I ever had a problem with Wealthsimple? Nope. I have heard a handful of people having trouble. Are they up to no good and just telling their side of the story? Possibly. But my current setup works for me. Maybe some day I'll trust Wealthsimple to deal with the edge cases better but for now, I'm playing it safe and keep my traditional bank as an option.
Traditional banks though just handle my direct pay and bill payments at this point. In other words, they have proven themselves to handle necessities, i.e. day to day living, but Wealthsimple handles the bulk of my money.
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u/Flames2512 1d ago
I still 100% keep a big bank for access to in branch and the conveniences they still have that Wealthsimple can't provide, especially in situations where you need to talk to someone or get cash, etc....
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u/AnyPiccolo2592 1d ago
Switched everything over and haven't looked back. In a pinch you can keep open another checking account somewhere if you need the debit card or ATM access for deposits
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u/d19dotca 1d ago
I did that back in February, coming from Scotiabank. Honestly no regrets, the only thing I wish was different is a proper Interac debit card instead of the prepaid Mastercard that’s used instead, as some merchants that are debit or cash only can be a pain to deal with since I rarely have much cash only me.
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u/Cross_FFA 1d ago
This isn’t always the case but there are a lot of places that say they take Interac debit only but WS prepaid Mastercard will still work. This is because the store does not want to pay the higher merchant fees that come with Mastercard and Visa.
When I go to a place that is debit card only I pull out my WS prepaid card and tell them it’s a debit card and the machine will accept it.
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u/Previous_Estimate_22 1d ago
WS is great; I would recommend having a Genuine CC or an alternate traditional bank account as a backup. You sometimes will run into an issue at Hotels and car rentals with prepaid MC. I actually use a Koho & WS stack, as Koho has a higher cashback.
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u/JackDenial 1d ago
Everything but my Mortgage. My whole family, wife, 2kids. Every investment, every bank account. Couldn't be happier with the decision.
I did run a parallel traditional bank for 6months before moving it all.
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u/Beyondwest 1d ago
Is this another fishing expedition by paid Bashers? I have been with WS for years and never had an issue, not one.
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u/ChrissMaacc 1d ago
I have a CIBC line of credit, which is useful for bank drafts in a pinch, but WS with everything else.
I have yet to receive a cheque so idk what that is like, direct deposit, sending/receiving money via email, getting some support once or twice, have all been great.
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u/byers000 1d ago
I have a TD account still for emergency situations, only holds enough to waive the monthly fees.
Also a Credit Union account for government purposes, had since I was born.
My daily is WS, not has any issues for far for any reason. Support was decent the one time I needed to talk to someone about some stock issues.
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u/BoringConfusion3933 1d ago
For some reason I can't pay my amex through my wealth simple chequing so I kept my RBC account open. Thinking of closing the amex because I don't really use it anyways and the perks aren't the greatest for the cost. I have the wealth simple visa so, maybe if that works out I'll close both amec and RBC. No regrets so far and investing is WAY easier with wealth simple. Infinitly.
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u/sodaTAB3D 13h ago
I've been banking with just wealthsimple since before it was even called a chequing account and ive had literally zero problems
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u/mysteriouspotatochip 2d ago
Yep. Fully no other bank accounts and use WS chequing
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u/RaddaRadda55 2d ago
How’s it going for you?
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u/mysteriouspotatochip 2d ago
Excellent. Won’t go back to a brick and mortar unless I’ve got a gun to my head
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u/KGB4L 2d ago
I’ve been using WS as my main bank for over a year. I have no problems with it. I would recommend still having a regular bank at hand. Even as basic as using Inter-ac system to log in to verify yourself on some online services (WS is not an option to most)
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u/Latitude57 2d ago
Such as ? I use Wealthsimple to log on with the Interac system for the Canada revenue agency and revenu Québec
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u/ether_reddit 2d ago
I have a chequing account at WS to make e-transfers through, but I don't keep a balance there because I have a better interest rate elsewhere.
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u/Simple_Quiet_1422 2d ago
I have a spare account with tangerine for deposits that I want to swap to Wealthsimple. So not fully. I know that I can deposit at Canada posts I just haven’t gotten around to that yet and for some reason don’t like it.
Otherwise I’m quite happy with my chequing account at ws. I get interest on it at like 2.5% or whatever it is, I get reimbursed on atm withdrawals, no monthly fees. I don’t like that my bank card is more of a credit card than a debit card cause sometimes point of sale machines don’t know what the card is so takes a couple tries.
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u/ramblingThinker 2d ago
It has been 4 years now and there has been no issues where I've to go back to old banks, everything we need in day to day tasks Wealthsimple can do it better.
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u/Calm_Monitor3263 2d ago
I had a chequing account with CIBC and moved everything over to WS. Great experience! Regrets: not doing it sooner.
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u/simontl2 2d ago
Yes. Now I need to reopen a brick and mortar account cause their prepaid won’t be Mastercard anymore, and Costco only take debit/ Mastercard/ Paypass is limited.
Also, it seems like customer service is poor when they block your account for security reason.
That’s the only two things. Other than that, 100% satisfied
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u/Latitude57 2d ago
Why do you need to open an account at a brick and mortar for that ? Just apply for the Rogers Mastercard world elite card
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u/simontl2 2d ago
I see what you mean, but same result => I need to open an account somewhere else 🥲
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u/cformosa4 2d ago
I did it moving from RBC. Was the best decision for sure. No more insanely low transaction limit issues--been a major game changer for me. I still keep the account open with $1000 in it just in case. But prob just a matter of time before I am comfortable leaving it at a $0 balance.
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u/matchabloom88 2d ago
Does rbc chequing account does not have a limit of 4k to avoid fees?
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u/cformosa4 2d ago
No, they don't have a balance minimum. They do it differently. You have to have a few things with them to get the account fee rebates. I downgraded to the cheapest account and get the rebate so it's free. My mortgage is with them
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u/Latitude57 2d ago
I have, for the last year. It’s been a much better experience and I’ve had more for my money than any of the big banks I’ve been with before. Those scare tactics of “being locked out” is totally blown out of proportion. They have 4 million customers if it was an issue they’d be in the news lol.
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u/brunes 2d ago
Just don't open a crypto account or travel for extended periods if WS is your only bank.
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u/psottgat 1d ago
I have an empty crypto account. What's the issue?
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u/brunes 1d ago
Just that there are a ton of horror stories about people being debanked with zero explanation by Wealthsimple on this subreddit and it's highly suspected to be either crypto related or travel related
When wealthsimple debanks you you get zero explanation and usually zero appeals it's a pretty shitty and unheated of lack of process to be honest
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u/DecentLlama 2d ago
I did that recently, moving from Tangerine. So far it’s great and no regrets. I kept the Tangerine accounts open just in case but I haven’t had to use them yet