{"id":1038225,"date":"2024-05-13T13:53:42","date_gmt":"2024-05-13T17:53:42","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-05-01T09:18:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T13:18:30","slug":"savings-accounts-ratings-methodology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/ca\/savings-accounts\/savings-accounts-ratings-methodology","title":{"rendered":"Methodology for savings accounts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Finder&#8217;s banking experts assess savings accounts across five key categories to help you objectively evaluate a savings account&#8217;s overall perks and suitability for your unique needs.<\/p><p>The five categories we measure are:<\/p><ul><li>Perks<\/li><li>Fees<\/li><li>Customer experience<\/li><li>Banking access<\/li><li>Minimum requirements<\/li><\/ul><h3>Data collection<\/h3><p>We collect data manually through online research and from providers directly. For many of the savings accounts we review, our banking experts perform hands-on testing.<\/p><h3>Category weightings<\/h3><p>We weigh each metric based on factors we believe are most important to customers looking for a good savings account. Accounts earn a score in each category and then an overall score based on the weightings detailed on this page.<\/p><ul><li>Perks: 45%<\/li><li>Fees: 20%<\/li><li>Customer experience: 15%<\/li><li>Banking access: 10%<\/li><li>Minimum requirements: 10%<\/li><\/ul><h3>Scoring and rating<\/h3><p>Wondering how we work out Finder Score? We look at 50+ savings account products across 30+ lenders and we compare them against each other to get our simple score out of 10. Metrics like interest rates, fees and features are weighted and scaled to come up with individual Finder Scores. <\/p><p>Accounts are evaluated on the five key categories outlined on this page. These categories are broken down into 13 different data points. Some of these data points are features that Finder&#8217;s experts consider perks to the main features. Accounts that offer any of these perks are rewarded with additional points.<\/p><ul><li><b>9+ Excellent<\/b> &#8211; The cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me of savings accounts. These products offer the best interest rates and the best features.<\/li><li><b>7+ Great<\/b> &#8211; Slightly lower interest rates and fewer features, but these products are still competitive.<\/li><li><b>5+ Satisfactory<\/b> &#8211; Typically offering average interest rates and possibly lacking in the features department.<\/li><li><b>Less than 5 \u2013 Basic<\/b> &#8211; The least competitive in terms of both interest rates and features.<\/li><\/ul><h3>Data points<\/h3><p>Data points are weighed differently, depending on their importance. The 13 data points we took a look at when comparing savings accounts included the following.<\/p><div class=\"u-grid\"><div class=\"u-grid__col u-1\/2@s\"><ul><li>Promotional interest rates<\/li><li>Regular interest rates<\/li><li>Other tailored rewards<\/li><li>Monthly fee<\/li><li>Ability to waive monthly fee (if necessary)<\/li><li>Transaction fees<\/li><li>Minimum deposit requirements<\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"u-grid__col u-1\/2@s\"><ul><li>Minimum balance requirements<\/li><li>In-branch banking<\/li><li>Online banking access<\/li><li>Apple app store rating<\/li><li>Google app store rating<\/li><li>Live chat availability<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><p>No single savings account will be the best choice for everyone, so thoroughly compare your options before picking an account.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s our methodology for scoring the features that matter, and picking the top savings accounts in Canada.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[483],"tags":[],"asset_tag":[],"class_list":["post-1038225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-savings-accounts"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- 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