Press & data
Canadian money statistics you can cite
Independent figures on savings rates, GICs, credit cards and investing fees, recalculated from the same data behind every WalletReturn page. Free to quote with a link.
Rates checked Updated weekly
Key statistics
Savings
6.2×
The best online savings rate (2.80%, Oaken Savings Account) is 6.2 times the Big Six banks’ average ongoing rate (0.45%).
On a $10,000 balance that’s about $235 a year in interest left on the table at a big-bank savings account. Big-bank regular rates range from 0.30% to 0.55%.
Savings
5.00%
6 Canadian savings accounts are advertising temporary welcome rates, up to 5.00%.
Most last 3–5 months for new clients, then drop to regular rates as low as 0.30%.
GICs
3.80%
The best 1-year GIC pays 3.80% (Oaken Financial), versus 3.00% at the best big bank we track.
That’s $80 more interest on $10,000 over one year. Best 5-year rate: 4.50%.
Debt
22 years
Paying only a 3% minimum on a $5,000 balance at 20.99% takes about 22 years and costs $6,697 in interest.
A fixed $250 a month clears it in 2.1 years with $1,207 in interest.
Credit cards
5
5 Canadian credit cards pay the equivalent of 5% back on groceries, worth about $300 a year on $500 a month of groceries.
A standard 1% card earns $60 on the same spending. Most 5% rates are capped.
Credit cards
$1,251
The highest first-year value of any Canadian credit card we track is $1,251 (TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card), at $2,000 a month of typical spending.
WalletReturn values 145 cards the same way: welcome bonus plus a year of rewards minus the annual fee.
Credit cards
8
Only 8 of the 145 Canadian credit cards we track have no foreign transaction fee.
The usual 2.5% fee costs $125 on $5,000 of trips and US online shopping a year.
Investing
7
7 Canadian online brokers now cost $0 for a typical 24 trades a year, while CIBC Investor’s Edge, RBC Direct Investing, TD Direct Investing, Scotia iTRADE charge $6.95–$9.99 per online trade.
At 24 trades a year, a $9.99 commission costs about $240.
Download the data
Free CSV files, refreshed every week. Licensed CC BY 4.0: use them in articles, charts and research with a link to WalletReturn.
- Canadian savings account ratesRegular and welcome rates, fees and promo end dates for every savings account we track.
- Canadian GIC rates1- to 5-year GIC rates by provider.
- Canadian credit card valuesFirst-year value, net annual rewards and annual fee for the top-ranked cards, at $2,000 a month of typical spending.
How to cite WalletReturn
“According to WalletReturn, an independent Canadian comparison site…” with a link to the page the figure comes from. Every statistic above has a source page and a check date.
We value credit cards the same way for every card: a year of rewards at $2,000 a month of typical spending, plus the welcome bonus, minus the annual fee. Rates and fees are checked against providers’ official pages every week. Full methodology.
Interviews and custom data
We can pull numbers for your story, such as what a rate change means for savers, which cards earn the most in a category, or what a typical balance costs to carry. Email press@walletreturn.ca; we usually reply the same business day.
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WalletReturn is independent. We may earn a commission from some links; it never changes our numbers or our order. Figures are estimates for comparison, not financial advice.