Looking for a place to park your money at no risk and still be able to earn a decent income?
Look into high-interest savings accounts, that aren’t one of the Big Five banks.
It can make a huge difference; you can often get over 100 times more in interest.
Let’s go over this Neo MoneyTM account review to see whether it may be the right product for you.
Hybrid everyday spending and saving account
No monthly/annual fee account with unlimited transactions and a fantastic interest rate.
- One of the best saving account interest rates in Canada (2.25%)
- Free and unlimited transactions (inc. Interac e-Transfers)
- Fantastic user experience
- Offered through Concentra Bank: CDIC protection up to $100,000
- No monthly or annual fees
- Cheques or cheque deposits are not available
- Not yet available in Quebec
Who Is Neo Financial?
Neo Financial is a digital financial services company founded in Saskatchewan on the premise that Canadians have been underserved in their finances for too long.
With fantastic financial products and a powerhouse of a team (who actually founded SkipTheDishes back in 2012), this company is on its way to revolutionizing finance in Canada with smarter saving, spending, and rewards.
Intending to help Canadians make the most of their time and money, they currently offer the following financial services/products with an aim to expand in the future.
- The Neo Card with instant cash-back and no monthly or annual fees
- The Neo Credit with a guaranteed approval regardless of your credit history (or lack thereof if you’re new to Canada)
- The Neo Money Account combines the best of chequing and savings accounts, offers unlimited transactions and pays a great interest rate
- Neo Invest for private wealth management
- Neo Mortgage for fully digital mortgages with great interest rates
With great products and a fantastic user experience, Neo is where technological innovation meets finance.
The company has more than 650 employees, is rated 4.8 on the App Store for its easy-to-use financial app and has raised nearly $300 million in funding since its inception.
Needless to say, this company is on the rise and fast.
What Is The Neo Money Account?
The Neo Money account is Neo Financial’s product that allows you to spend, save and earn all in one place.
The account is provided by Concentra Bank, a Schedule I chartered bank and a Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) member institution.
This means that your deposits in the Neo Money account are combined with your deposits at Concentra Bank (if any) and protected up to $100,000 per category and per depositor (you can learn more about this at cdic.ca.)
The Neo Money account has great features such as unlimited transactions (including e-Transfers and bill payments) and a fantastic interest rate on your balance that is paid out monthly.
Let’s dive deeper into the features and benefits of this account to help you decide whether it is right for you.
Features and Benefits of the Neo Financial Money Account
The Neo Money account is a single account that combines the best features of a standard chequing account and a high-interest savings account. Here are the details on the features and benefits!
Neo Money Account Features
The Neo Money Account is provided by Concentra Bank. It is equipped with fantastic features, including:
- Free and unlimited transactions, Interac e-Transfers and bill payments
- No monthly or annual fees with no minimum balance
- A 2.25% interest on your savings, calculated daily on the closing balance and paid monthly (currently one of the best rates in Canada!)
- CDIC deposit insurance up to $100,000 (through Concentra Bank)
- Ability to set up automated bill payments (never miss a payment and negatively affect your credit score again)
- Link your accounts at other banks for easy transfers
- Set up direct deposit from the government, employer or other income sources
This account is a fantastic digital option that combines the features and freedom of an everyday chequing account with the high interest of a savings account.
In fact, it is so good that the Financial Post voted it as the best savings account in Canada in 2021.
Just one thing to be aware of: Neo Money is not yet available in the province of Quebec but will be soon.
Account Fees and Limits
The Neo Money account has no monthly or annual fees. It also requires no minimum balance.
This is specifically impressive given that the account is equipped with unlimited and free transactions (including Interac e-Transfers, which can cost up to $1.50 at other financial institutions) and pays out a fantastic interest rate.
The Neo Money account also has no fees for many of the things that other accounts charge for, including:
- Non-sufficient funds (NSF) Fee: $0
- Transaction tracing/recall: $0
- Dormancy or inactivity: $0
- Stopping Interac e-Transfers: $0
There is a $5 charge for each document requested to be printed, such as a monthly statement or other documentation. This charge is quite common in Canada.
Let’s also cover some of the limits on this account.
- $25,000 limit per bill payment
- $30,000 outbound transfer limit to an external bank (per transaction)
- $100,000 inbound transfer limit from an external bank account (per transaction)
- $200,000 balance limit per customer
Standard Interac e-Transfer limits apply to this account. You can find out more about these limits in this post.
User Experience
As a FinTech company, Neo Financial offers its users a fantastic user experience.
This specifically includes their easy-to-use mobile application that is equipped with great features, including:
- Insights and analytics to track your spending habits and financial progress
- Auto-save feature to help you put more money aside each month
- Bill payment portal that helps you organize and pay your bills from one place with ease
- Scheduled bill payments for peace of mind
- Ability to link your other accounts to simplify moving money (inward or outward)
- Ability to automate accepting your Interac e-Transfers (auto-deposit)
- Auto-Invest to help you grow your money faster
- Instant card freeze (and unfreeze) from the app in case of emergencies
- Biometrics and two-factor authentication for increased security
The Neo mobile application is available for download on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. You also have access to your account through Neo’s website.
How To Sign Up For Neo Financial
You can sign up for Neo Financial Money here.
Before doing so, make sure that you meet the requirements. This means that you must be a Canadian resident, have a Canadian photo ID and be at least the age of majority in the province from which you are applying.
Neo Money is available Canada-wide, with the exception of Quebec.
Is Neo Financial Safe?
Yes, Neo Financial is both safe and legit.
This applies to their Neo Money account, which is offered by Concentra Bank and thus allows your deposits to be protected up to $100,000, as well as the rest of their products, including the Neo Card, Neo Invest, and Neo Mortgage. You can learn more about your deposit insurance at cdic.ca.
Although Neo is a FinTech company and not a registered bank, the company works with trusted partners to protect your money, identity and personal information.
Specifically, they are partnered with Mastercard and ATB Financial to offer the Neo Card and Concentra Bank to offer the Neo Money account.
Neo also has great security features in place, such as:
- Instant card freeze (to use if you ever misplace your card)
- Biometrics to access your account (such as face and finger ID)
- Two-factor authentication (2FA)
- Real-time notifications
- The ability to control what your card can and cannot do
With that last feature, you can control whether or not your card can perform things such as online transactions, contactless payments, or ATM withdrawals.
Neo is partnered with OneVest to offer their Neo Invest product and various lending partners such as CMLS Financial, Home Trust, CWB Optimum Mortgage, Strive and First National to offer Neo Mortgage.
Our Final Verdict
Although we see so much innovation and change in the world of technology, it can sometimes feel like this is lacking in the world of personal finance, especially in Canada.
That is where financial technology (FinTech) companies like Neo Financial aim to make a difference.
Whether it’s monthly fees or pay-as-you-go, it’s time for Canadians to stop dishing out hundreds of dollars in fees each year for their financial products. Better yet, it’s time to stop settling for that 0.1% interest rate on your savings account.
Neo Financial is a leader in Canada when it comes to financial innovation. With little to no fees, amazing interest rates, state-of-the-art technology and top-tier security, they are changing the world of banking without even being a traditional bank.
We are big fans of Neo Financial in general, and their Neo Money account is no exception. We would highly recommend this account to you. You can sign up for Neo here and read more about their Neo Card offering here.
