Motusbank Review

motusbank is here! The first thing you need to know is that motusbank is a Canadian digital bank which is a subsidiary of Meridian. In case you’re not familiar, they’re one of the most popular credit unions in Ontario and Canada.

For years, Meridian has been offering some amazing products including one of the best cash back credit cards in their Meridian Visa Infinite Cash Back Card, but now they’ve entered the digital banking sphere.

What makes motusbank interesting in addition to the various accounts they offer is the personal loan and mortgages you can get with them. Read my motusbank review now to find out what they’re all about

Motusbank review

motusbank account rates

  • High interest savings account – 1.30%
  • Tax free savings account 1.50%
  • RRSP savings account – 1.30%
  • No-fee chequing account – .25%

When motusbank launched, they had very generous and competitive rates. However, like all the other digital banks, they had to drop there’s when the bank of Canada lowered their interest rates. Right now, motusbank sits around the middle of the pack. They’re not my first choice, but they’re also definitely not my last choice.

Their high interest savings account has an interest rate of 1.30 which easily puts in the same category of the best high interest savings accounts in Canada. It’s worth noting that their TFSA pays a bit more with a rate of 1.50%. Like other digital bank accounts, motusbank doesn’t charge you any fees for your HISA and you get unlimited free e-transfers.

I love how motusbank offers a no-fee chequing account that pays you 0.25% interest. It may not sound like a lot, but what does your traditional bank pay you to put your money with them? I’m guessing nothing or next to nothing.

You could argue that what sets motusbank apart from their competition is the additional services that they offer. Homeowners may be interested in a home equity line of credit (HELOC) from them. They offer one of the lowest rates out there so it’s worth taking advantage of if you need it. But remember, you’re basically borrowing from yourself since you’re using your home as a security deposit.

motusbank also offers a variety of other products including mortgages and GICS, but I left their current rates out of the above list as they change quite often. motusbank also has various mortgage products such as 5-year fixed mortgages and a 5-year variable rate mortgages which have competitive rates.

How motusbank compares to others

motusbank’s High interest savings account is easily comparable to some of the best high interest savings accounts in Canada. It has no fees, a competitive interest rate, and gives you unlimited transactions. That being said, some other online banks have had recent promotions where the interest earned on new deposits is higher than what motusbank is offering. Both EQ Bank and Motive Financial both have higher rates.

The TFSA option from motusbank is excellent for a savings account and the HELOC rate is definitely attractive. motusbank is also a CDIC member so your eligible deposits will be protected.

Many people will love the fact that you will get a debit card with your account so you can quickly access your cash if you need it. You won’t be charged any fees to access your money as long as you use one of the over 3,700 EXCHANGE Network ATMs across Canada. However, international ATM withdrawals will cost you $5, plus a 2.50% exchange fee.

Final thoughts

My motusbank review is positive. With so many digital banks in Canada, it can be hard to set yourself apart, but motusbank does that by offering a variety of products that Canadians are interested in with great breaks. If you’re looking for a single bank to open up a TFSA, HISA, mortgage, and more, then motusbank is a good choice for you.

About Barry Choi

Barry Choi is a Toronto-based personal finance and travel expert who frequently makes media appearances. His blog Money We Have is one of Canada’s most trusted sources when it comes to money and travel. You can find him on Twitter:@barrychoi

20 Comments

  1. Enam higa on April 21, 2019 at 2:33 AM

    Does this ban make loans to Americans?

  2. Shannon Denhard on May 5, 2019 at 11:47 AM

    Do you deal with bad credit

  3. Nikki on June 19, 2019 at 6:55 PM

    Motusbank’s customer service is absolutely atrocious.
    For someone that calls themselves a digital bank, it’s pretty absurd you can’t even set their products up as a bill payment.
    One of the worst financial decisions I have ever made was switching to them.

  4. john yuma on July 17, 2019 at 9:54 AM

    I have been trying to purchase a GIC from them. They keep dodging about sending me a debit card so I could use it at exchange network and put money in my account. It looks like they opened a bank for fun but have real intent to do any business. Crazy fellers. I even visited them at Meridian Credit Union to get help open a GIC account with Motus but it was a wasted time and useless trip. I would recommend closing this bank down and be done with it.

    • Antoine on March 13, 2021 at 3:38 PM

      EQ Bank is much better. Their high interest savings earns you 1.50% Their regular GIC is 1.50%. Their TFSA, GIC TFSA and RSP TFSA are 2%.

  5. JF on August 2, 2019 at 3:55 PM

    I just opened my new Motusbank 2.50% TFSA saving account, and so far the experience is great. Website is simple, everything is easy. I like their built-in secured customer service messaging, it works like a charm. I’m a fan of Tangerine, I was doing 100% of my banking with them until now. I decided to invite Motusbank to the party. Their product offering is very nice. I just can’t ignore 2.50% on a TFSA saving account!!

  6. Shaun on September 17, 2019 at 2:57 PM

    Motusbank is the worst bank in the world! I opened an account used it less than 6 times since it was opened over 2 months ago. I accepted an e-transfer and when l went to use by bank card it would not work. I pumped 80 dollars worth of gas and was left completely stranded. They had no reason to freeze my account and to make matters worse, they never even had the a common curtesy to tell me. Now my money is frozen and all they said was l will receive a letter in the mail l could not speak to anyone in the fraud department

  7. Nicola Sciortino on September 30, 2019 at 9:41 AM

    Nicky Sciortino motusbank Woke up last night to my account being deactivated called in customer service and the answer I get Is I will get a letter explaining me WHY !! I am a diabetic with important medication to take and cant buy them cause my money is being held hostage by Motusbank !!!!!! FOR NO FUKIN REASON !

  8. Ehsan on October 10, 2019 at 2:35 PM

    Its customer service is awful. I started a mortgage application and I changed my mind before even submitting my information. There wasn’t any way to cancel it online. So I called them. They told me you have to submit your application, then we can cancel it, but I didn’t want to proceed with this application and submit it. Anyway, they made me to submit it, then I emailed them, no answer, I called them again to cancel it, they told me that we still can’t cancel it, the system doesn’t let us to do that, call us later. After calling them more than 5 times, and emailing them, I finally could cancel it, but it took around one week instead of just one click!
    Also, they don’t have online chatting, which is weird for an online-only bank!

  9. David on October 13, 2019 at 10:42 AM

    Created my profile few days ago. Try to login and unable to, reset password several times and still no luck.

    Sent them an email so will see if I get a response. Not a good first impression.

  10. todd on November 5, 2019 at 6:45 PM

    Horrible, filled out online mortgage application. Still waiting for a “mortgage advisor to be Assigned”. Sent them a message….”someone going to be assigned or should I go somewhere else?” Still waiting….

    • JF on November 5, 2019 at 8:13 PM

      How long have you waited?

  11. Huang Yang on January 19, 2020 at 3:00 PM

    They are worst credit union and bank meridian and motusbanki used them and closed them undemocratic as well meridian credit union moths bank is not even progressive takes forever to get customer service

  12. Motive Financial Review - Money We Have on March 10, 2020 at 9:54 AM

    […] rates than the big names, Motive Financial has even out-done fellow online favourites such as motusbank (2.10% on HISA) and EQ Bank (2.45% on HISA) both of which have reputations of being strong players […]

  13. Maureen on July 29, 2020 at 11:24 AM

    Their interest rates have been lowered quite a lot since the writing of this review. Their system is easy to use but don’t look for any sort of customer service should you need them. When you write to them they tell you up front that it will be 2 business days before you can even hope to hear back from them. That must be their absolute minimum as I have been waiting a lot longer than that. I phone them last Friday (it is now Wednesday) and told them that Vita would be calling me back in 10 minutes. So far I have yet to hear back. I think they need to change their tag line.

  14. Antoine on March 13, 2021 at 3:39 PM

    EQ Bank is much better. Their high interest savings earns you 1.50% Their regular GIC is 1.50%. Their TFSA, GIC TFSA and RSP TFSA are 2%.

  15. Tom Cruiser on September 3, 2021 at 10:50 AM

    Banked for almost 2 years with Motus, what they are clearly incapable of is handling checks. I have 2 incoming cheques cancelled, still waiting for my money to be returned 4 months later. They cancelled an outgoing cheque with sufficient funds in the account for some wishy-washy security reasons, and finally withdraw money for a post-dated check to my landlord. For the latter, I blame my landlord as well, still unclear to me, why they clear a post-dated check. As much as I like to support small businesses, I´m tired to call in regularly for cheque issues. Which in my opinion is an outdated system anyways, but that’s how it works here.
    Conclusion: I could not recommend banking with Motus

  16. Wren on September 16, 2021 at 4:29 PM

    I’ve been banking with them for about 6 months and had a great experience! I opened a non secured line of credit with them and have been doing all my banking with no qualms. I hope they get a credit card so I can shift that final piece over from the other bank.

    Anytime I had something come up I just called and they fixed it right away. Hopefully they will transition to more digital chat or self serve solutions. But for now the human touch is nice.

  17. Ian on June 30, 2023 at 11:44 AM

    I have been with them for 4 months and it’s the worst bank I have ever dealt with. They have frozen my accounts twice, causing me to miss my mortgage payments. Not a heads-up, no “sorry”. Just “our policy is to protect you”. I had to pay NFC charge from my mortgage lender. Then they decided to close my account. When I called them to understand the reason, it was “The last 2 transactions on your account were to a new person”. I told them that I used eTransfer to pay my therapist, but they only told me that it no longer matters as the decision to close my accounts has already been taken. My credit score is 650! I have never had any defaults or late payments. I regret having business with them.

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