If you are tired of monthly banking fees, paying for e-Transfers, and earning less than 1% interest on your hard-earned money, you’ve likely stumbled across Wealthsimple.

While they started as an investing platform, their Wealthsimple Cash account (also called the WealthSimple Chequing Account) functions exactly like a premium chequing account, but without the traditional bank headaches.

Here is an honest breakdown of how it works, what it costs, and how you can score a cash bonus just for trying it.

What is Wealthsimple Cash?

Wealthsimple Cash is a hybrid spending and savings account. It gives you the high interest of a savings account alongside the day-to-day usability of a chequing account.

How Do WealthSimple chequing Rates Compare to Banks?

The Pros & Cons

The Good 👍

• High Passive Earnings: Traditional banks pay virtually nothing on chequing balances. Wealthsimple calculates your interest daily and pays it out monthly. The interest rate WealthSimple pays you blows traditional banks and credit cards out of the water.

• Automated Rewards: You can set your 1% cash back reward to automatically buy Stocks, ETFs, or Crypto within your investment accounts.

• No Foreign Transaction Fees: Most credit and debit cards charge a 2.5% fee when you buy things online or travel abroad. Wealthsimple waives that fee entirely.

The Bad👎

• No Physical Branches: You cannot walk into a brick-and-mortar building to talk to a teller. Everything is handled digitally or via phone support.

• No Cash Deposits: You can't deposit physical bills into an ATM; all incoming money must arrive via e-Transfer, direct deposit, or linked bank transfer.

Overall, if you want to receive high interest on your chequing balance and don't mind the fact that WealthSimple is a digital only bank, WealthSimple Cash might be a great fit for you.

How to Get Started & Claim Your $25 Bonus

Getting started takes less than five minutes. If you want to grab the sign-up bonus, make sure you follow the rules precisely:

1.Use referral link https://www.wealthsimple.com/invite/BM5_AG to signup for WealthSimple. If you prefer to enter the code manually, look for the gift icon in the top right corner of the app or website, or a section that says "referral code" and enter code BM5_AG

2. Open a WealthSimple chequing account (it's free).

3. Deposit at least $100 within 30 days. 

The money must come from an external source, like a linked traditional bank account (via Interac e-Transfer or direct deposit) or an institutional transfer from another investment firm. Moving money internally between existing Wealthsimple accounts, or receiving a peer-to-peer cash transfer from a friend, does not count

The 7-Day and 30-Day Deadline: You must apply the WealthSimple referral code BM5_AG within 7 days of first funding your account, and within 30 days of opening your account. If you don't add the code by those deadlines it won't work.

4. That's it!

WealthSimple will deposit the $25 bonus into your chequing account a few days later.