How NerdWallet Canada Evaluates Banking Products

Our banking product evaluation philosophy

What’s helpful to know about our banking evaluations:

Evaluations are based on proprietary formulas that factor in the overall value of a banking product — the costs of holding and using the product, offer value and terms, interest rate and other features that affect the product’s benefit for our readers.

Investment, chequing and savings account products are evaluated using different formulas, called rubrics. The factors that make a great savings account, for instance, are distinct from the ones that make a best no-fee chequing account. Therefore, you will see each product category using a unique rubric to score products.

All banking products considered for the various category lists are available to Canadians in more than one province. Selections are re-evaluated on a regular basis, or any time a new banking product becomes available, to ensure accuracy for our readers.

NerdWallet’s business relationships have no effect on evaluations. Many of the banking products included on our pages are offered by NerdWallet Canada partners, but the evaluations are determined only by the features of each product. Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we remain objective in our evaluations.

Our savings account scoring methodology

The best savings accounts rubric analyzes the registered and non-registered savings accounts based on annual percentage yields, fees, features and banking experience.

To select the best savings accounts in Canada, NerdWallet Canada examines nearly 100 currently available high-interest savings accounts (HISAs), tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) and registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) from over 50 financial institutions. We make these selections using following criteria and relative weights:

Our GIC scoring methodology

The best guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) rubric evaluates the long- and short-term GICs based on annual percentage yields, available terms, minimum deposits, GIC features and banking experience.

To select the best GIC rates, NerdWallet Canada examines over 280 currently available fixed-rate, non-registered and non-redeemable guaranteed investments from over 50 financial institutions. The GICs offering the best rates are evaluated using following criteria and relative weights:

Our chequing account scoring methodologies

Each chequing account is judged based on criteria relevant to the account type. The features that make a great no-fee chequing account, may not apply to the best chequing account offer, for example. To get the most accurate chequing account evaluation, we score accounts using one of our four rubrics:

To determine the best overall chequing accounts, across the various account categories, each chequing account is first run through a specific rubric. It is then weighted against the accounts in its corresponding category to judge if the account qualifies for selection as a best chequing account.

Best chequing account offers and promotions evaluation methodology

The chequing account offers and promotions rubric factors in intro offers, fees, number of transactions and banking features when evaluating accounts, using the following weighting:

Best no-fee chequing accounts evaluation methodology

The no-fee chequing accounts rubric factors in fees, number of transactions and banking features when evaluating accounts, using the following weighting:

Best senior bank accounts evaluation methodology

The senior bank accounts rubric factors in fees, number of transactions, banking experience, as well as offers and perks when evaluating accounts, using the following weighting:

Best student bank accounts evaluation methodology

The student bank accounts rubric factors in intro offers, fees, number of transactions, special perks and banking experience when evaluating accounts, using the following weighting:

Best overall chequing accounts methodology

The best chequing accounts rubric examines the overall value of the accounts based on intro offers, fees, number of transactions and unique perks when evaluating accounts for specific types of consumers.

To select the best chequing accounts, across a variety of account types, NerdWallet Canada gathers nearly 20 data points on over 130 currently available chequing accounts. The criteria and their relative weights include: