What is the Wealthsimple Cash Card?
The Wealthsimple Cash card is a prepaid Mastercard available to anyone with a Wealthsimple Cash account. This card permits you to use the funds in your account to make purchases in-store or online. Essentially, it is a debit card.
Despite its simplicity, the Wealthsimple Cash card offers two vital features. First, you get 1% back in rewards on all purchases. This cashback could be applied to your account or invested in stocks or cryptocurrencies through your Wealthsimple self-management account.
Additionally, the cardboard has no foreign transaction fees. Most traditional bank cards charge a 2.5% foreign transaction fee whenever you make a purchase order in a currency aside from the Canadian dollar. The Wealthsimple Cash card also doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees on ATM withdrawals, making the cardboard an inexpensive option to withdraw money in local currency while traveling. (You should still be charged a fee by the retailer or financial institution involved in your transaction, or by the ATM provider.)
Is Wealthsimple Cash protected?
Deposits in your Wealthsimple Cash account are insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) as much as $500,000. This is five times the CDIC insurance coverage typically offered by HISAs in Canada.
That doesn’t suggest the cash in your Wealthsimple Cash account is sitting at five different banks. Instead, it’s backed by five different CDIC member institutions, each offering as much as $100,000 in coverage.
Pros and Cons of Wealthsimple Cash
Wealthsimple Cash and the Wealthsimple Cash card are linked, so it’s good to weigh the professionals and cons of each before deciding in the event that they are best for you.
Wealthsimple Cash Benefits
- High rate of interest: You can earn 4 to five percent interest in your savings.
- Strong CDIC protection: Your funds are insured as much as $500,000 through CDIC insurance.
- No foreign transaction fees: When you utilize the Wealthsimple Cash card, you pay no foreign transaction fees on purchases or ATM withdrawals.
Disadvantages of Wealthsimple Cash
- Possible distractions: Through the account’s rewards program, Wealthsimple encourages you to take a position your savings in riskier assets like cryptocurrencies and stocks.
- Not an actual bank card: The Wealthsimple Cash card is a prepaid Mastercard, not a bank card, so that you’re limited to what’s in your account (which is probably not a foul thing).
- Does not construct creditworthiness: Because it’s a prepaid product, you don’t construct a credit history with the Wealthsimple Cash card.
Alternatives to Wealthsimple Cash
Wealthsimple Cash’s claim to be the highest-interest checking account in Canada is accurate, but you mustn’t dismiss the competition outright. It’s all the time best to weigh your options to see what’s the perfect fit for you.
There are a handful of savings accounts in Canada that provide high rates of interest. However, Wealthsimple’s biggest competitor is EQ Bank’s latest termination savings account. This account allows you to earn as much as 5% interest in your deposits, with no minimum asset requirements and no fees. There is a catch, nonetheless. There is a 10-day or 30-day waiting period to withdraw your money if you ought to earn 4.5% or 5% interest, respectively. EQ Bank offers a private account which you can withdraw your money from at any time, but you simply earn as much as 4% interest (it includes 2.5% interest by default and a further 1.5% for those who direct deposit your salary). EQ Bank also offers a prepaid Mastercard with no foreign currency fees that could be used for purchases and ATM withdrawals.
