Neo Financial Canada launched in 2019 as a digital-first fintech. It offers innovative, fully-online products for spending, saving and borrowing, including the Neo Everyday Account (a cash back spending card), the Neo High Interest Savings Account, the Neo Credit Mastercard and Neo Secured Credit Card.
In this Neo Financial review, we break down what you need to know about the company’s flagship accounts, the Neo Everyday Account for spending and the Neo High Interest Savings Account for growing your money.
The Neo Everyday Account allows you to spend, save, and earn from one account. You'll earn interest on your savings, and there are no minimum deposit requirements, account fees or transaction fees. Download the Neo app and sign up in a matter of minutes, all from the comfort of your own home.
Hybrid account that works like a chequing and savings account
Earn Up to 4% cash back on your purchases
Free unlimited transactions
No minimum balance
No account fee
Online only (no physical branches)
$300 spending cap per cash back rewards category
Min. Age
18
Account Fee
$0
Transaction Fee
$0
Interac e-Transfer Fee
$0
NSF Fee
$0
International ATM Fee
$0
What is the Neo Everyday Account?
The signature spending account from Neo Financial Canada is the Neo Everyday Account, which lets you earn between 0.5% and 4% cash back on everyday purchases at popular retail, dining, grocery, gas and pharmacy retailers across Canada.
The Neo Everyday Account lets you keep more money in your pocket with unlimited free transactions, no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements.
Easily manage your money via Neo’s online platform or easy-to-use mobile app. Use your physical card to make in-store purchases, or spend online like you would with other Debit Mastercards.
Keep in mind, new Neo Financial clients get access to their virtual Neo Money Card instantly, so can make online purchases right away. But you need to go online, log into your Neo Financial account, and select Card under the main menu to get a physical card in the mail.
How does the Neo Financial Canada rewards program work?
It’s simple. Use your Neo Money Card at a Neo retail partner and earn cash back on the first $300 you spend per rewards category.
Earn up to 4% on gas and grocery purchases and up to 1% on everything else.
Popular Neo Reward partners include Subway, Boston Pizza, Booster Juice, Montana’s, Zara, Gap, Lululemon, Roots, The Bay, Ardene, Loblaw, Walmart, Real Canadian Superstore, Shopper’s Drug Mart, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Crave, SkipTheDishes, DoorDash, Disney+ and Spotify.
Cashing out your Neo Rewards is simple. Login to your Neo account, select Rewards Wallet, then select Cash out and indicate where you want your rewards to go.
What is the Neo High Interest Savings Account?
If you’re looking to grow your money, Neo Financial Canadian offers the Neo High Interest Savings Account, which comes with an impressive 3% interest rate. This is much higher than savings account interest rates offered by many of Canada’s Big Banks.
As with the Neo Everyday Account, there are no minimum deposits or monthly fees with the Neo savings account. Open up to 10 savings accounts on the Neo Financial app to track your progress towards different goals.
The Neo High Interest Savings Account and Everyday Account offers a lot of perks and advantages for anyone who wants to the ease of online banking with earn rates not commonly offered by other financial institutions in Canada. But there are some drawbacks to be aware of.
Pros of Neo Financial Canada
Here’s what we like about Neo Financial’s products and services:
High interest rate on savings. With a high interest rate of 3% on your savings account balance, your Neo High Interest Savings Account balance will grow quickly compared to many other accounts.
Cash back rewards. With the Neo Money card, you can earn up to 4% cash back on your purchases.
No account fees. Neo Financial aims to beat Big Bank fees by forgoing monthly and annual account maintenance charges.
No minimum balance. There’s no required balance for either the Neo Everyday Account or the Neo savings account.
Unlimited free transactions. Move your money as you see fit without worrying out expensive transaction charges.
ATM access. You can use your Neo Money card to withdraw funds at an ATM anywhere Mastercard is accepted.
Streamlined apps. It’s easy to use Neo Financial’s online or mobile app to manage your money and rewards.
Auto-Save feature. This Neo Everyday Account feature allows you to set up automatic deposits to your account to regularly grow your savings.
CDIC insured. The Neo High Interest Savings Account is offered through the Peoples Bank of Canada, and the Neo Everyday Account is offered through People’s Bank. Both of these external banks are CDIC insured, so your balances are covered up to $100,000.
Cons of Neo Financial Canada
These are the potential drawbacks of using Neo Financial:
Low minimum cash back rate. You’ll only earn 0.5% on any spending below $10,000 that falls outside the designated rewards categories.
Online only. Neo Financial Canada operates entirely online, so you won’t be able to do any banking in person at a branch.
Limited products. Neo Financial is not a full-service bank, so you it’s offerings are limited. For example, you can’t get personal loans or overdraft protection like you can with any of Canada’s Big Five banks.
How do Neo Financial interest rates compare with other banks?
Neo Financial provides a great incentive to stash cash with 3% interest earned on every dollar held in a Neo High Interest Savings Account. Traditional banks typically offer high promotional rates, but this rate stays the same. As such, Neo’s interest rate is among the highest you can get for a Canadian savings account.
Here’s a breakdown of Neo Financial interest rates and rewards rates:
Account
Regular minimum rate
Regular maximum rate
Neo Everyday Account
0.1%
0.10%
Neo High Interest Savings Account
3% interest
3% interest
Neo Financial fees and limits
Here are some Neo Everyday Account fees and transaction limits you should keep an eye on:
Paper statements: $5 per document
Inactive account fee: $0
Interac e-Transfer limits: $3,000 per transaction, $10,000 per day, $20,000 per month
Neo to Neo limits: $5,000 per transaction, $10,000 per day, $30,000 per month
Bill payment limit: $25,000 per payment
Electronic transfer limits: $30,000 per outbound transaction to linked external bank account, $100,000 per inbound transaction from external bank account
Is Neo Financial legit?
It’s hard for new companies to break into traditional markets, and this has been the experience for Neo Financial. As a Canadian fintech that got its start in the Prairie provinces, Neo Financial Canada helped to shape online banking in Canada.
Still, potential clients worry that money held with Neo Financial may not be as secure as more traditional banking models. This is not the case. In order to offer an Everyday Account, Neo Financial partnered with People’s Bank, a CDIC member institution. It’s similarly partnered with the Peoples Bank of Canada to offer a high interest savings account.
These partnerships mean that your Neo Financial Canada deposits are eligible for CDIC deposit protection up to $100,000 in each of your accounts.
Neo Financial review: Our verdict
The Neo High Interest Savings Account is an innovative savings account that lets you earn a high interest rate on any balance you hold. The Neo Everyday Account comes with cash back rewards, unlimited free transactions, no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements.
The main drawbacks are that these accounts are only accessible online, which means you won’t be able to do your banking in person. Plus, cash back rewards are limited for the Neo Everyday Account.
How to open a Neo Financial account
It’s easy to open a savings account with Neo Financial online. But before you do, you’ll need to make sure you meet the following eligibility criteria.
Age
You’ll need to be the age of the majority in your province or territory (18 or 19). You’ll also need to be opening a sole account in your name.
Residency
You’ll need to be a Canadian citizen or resident to open an account.
Required information
You’ll also need to provide the following information and documentation to open an account:
Your name, date of birth and contact information
Your Social Insurance Number (SIN)
Proof of ID
If you’d like to open a Neo Everyday Account, here’s what you need to do:
Go to the Neo Financial Canada website and select Get Started at the top of the screen.
Create your login details and password.
Provide your name, date of birth, contact details, SIN and employment information.
Upload a valid form of photo ID and a selfie to verify your identity.
Review the details to make sure they’re correct before submitting your application.
Transfer money to your new account. You’ll be given a virtual card so you can start making online purchases straight away, but you can also order a physical card to be shipped in the mail.
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If you’re searching for an account like the Neo Everyday Account, you might want to consider the EQ Bank Personal Account. It offers a high ongoing interest rate, and you can pair it with an EQ Bank Card to get easy access to your funds whenever you need.
Alternatively, if you’re searching for a savings account with a high promotional interest rate, the Simplii High Interest Savings Account is worth a look.
Neo Financial Canada FAQs
Neo Financial is a Canadian fintech that started in the Prairie provinces in 2019 when SkipTheDishes colleagues, Andrew Chau and Jeff Adamson teamed up with Kris Read. The current CEO is Andrew Chau, while Jeff Adamson is the Head of Partnerships and Kris Read is Head of Engineering. A fourth co-founder, Chris Simair, rounds out the leadership team as President and Head of Operations.
There is no monthly fee for the Neo Everyday Account or the Neo High Interest Savings Account.
Yes. The Neo High Interest Savings Account is offered through the Peoples Bank of Canada, which is CDIC insured. The Neo Everyday Account is offered through People's Bank, which is also CDIC insured. That means your balances in these accounts are covered up to $100,000 in the unlikely event that Neo Financial fails.
No. The Neo Everyday Account does not have any minimum deposit or ongoing balance requirements.
You can open a Neo High Interest Savings Account anywhere in Canada.
You can transfer funds to your account via bank transfer, Interac e-Transfer, direct deposit or by transferring between Neo Financial accounts. International transfers are not supported.
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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Stacie Hurst as part of our fact-checking process.
Tim Falk is a freelance writer for Finder. Over the course of his 15-year writing career, he has reported on a wide range of personal finance topics. Whether you're investing in stocks and ETFs, comparing savings accounts or choosing a credit card, Tim wants to make it easier for you to understand. When he’s not staring at his computer, you can usually find him exploring the great outdoors. See full bio
Romana King was the Canada group editor at Finder and a personal finance expert. As an award-winning personal finance writer and real estate expert, she has spent almost two decades helping Canadians make smarter money management decisions. Her first book, House Poor No More: 9 Steps That Grow the Value of Your Home and Net Worth, launched in November 2021, continues to be an Amazon bestseller and won the Excellence in Financial Journalism Book Award in 2022. See full bio
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Romana has written 27 Finder guides across topics including:
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