See how easily you can earn 5% on your Savings?
30 July 2007
by
Jb
Filed under
Banks + Interest rates + Saving Money
While the article is a few weeks old, it just reminded me why I’m pleased to already have one of these accounts:
In the July 12th edition of the Globe and Mail, Rob Carrick talks about high-interest savings accounts, specifically one from HSBC Canada. This is a bank that most Canadians aren’t aware of, but it’s one of the world’s largest, with offices all over the world. He highlights the many reasons why you should have a savings account (saving money is always good, especially with a higher interest rate), and talks in depth about the major reason why I have my emergency fund in an HSBC Canada Direct Savings account:
You can’t write cheques on it or get access to it through HSBC’s 130 or so Canadian branches, but you can make debit purchases at stores and make withdrawals from automated banking machines.
I continue to use my ING Direct accounts, however for my emergency fund, I figured it was safer to have it in a place that was a little more accessible, just in case. And using either HSBC Canada’s own ABMs, or even one from The Exchange Network is definitely more convenient than waiting for the transfer from ING Direct. Granted, the transfers don’t always take a long time, but if I need the money this afternoon, then the HSBC Canada Direct Savings account wins, hands down.
So if you’re not uncomfortable dealing with a foreign bank, I’d recommend HSBC Canada’s Direct Savings account. And if you open an account now, you’ll actually earn 5% interest till October 10, and then afterwards it goes back to their “regular” 3.5%, still not too shabby. So go on, start saving today.
18 August 2007 @ 22:12
PC Financial has free banking, no fees EVER, with 24 hour access to your funds through the CIBC bank machines for FREE. And their savings account offers 4% interest, with no minimum balance required.
I quite seriously don’t understand why people are so fired up about ING and HSBC at 3.5% when you can use a domestic bank with no fees and earn higher interest rates.
But yes, HSBC is a really good bank to deal with, if you have a need for a bank with an actual branch office.
18 August 2007 @ 22:26
I hear ya canadian_sadie. In fact, I used to bank with PC Financial many moons ago, however they annoyed me one too many times, so I switched back to a bricks&mortar bank. Plus I realized that I was just the type that liked being able to go into the bank once in a while.