Surviscor | MoneySense - Canada's Best Banks and Credit Unions Review

The Surviscor and MoneySense Partnership

The MoneySense and Surviscor online brokerage partnership was established in 2013 and the yearly review continues to boast Surviscor’s depth of data and deep dive into the Canadian online brokerage marketplace. This year, the partnership has grown to introduce the inaugural consumer digital banking review which leverages Surviscor's 15-plus years of consumer banking analysis, using a custom designed methodology for MoneySense to include hundreds of data points, including rates and fees, customer service, general user experiences and digital capabilities through both desktop and mobile platforms.

The 2024 edition of the Best Online Banks and Credit Unions in Canada review represents the inaugural digital banking edition in the partnership. As with the annual online brokerage review, Glenn LaCoste, has penned the majority of the article, offering his take on the winners and valuable advice for the Canadian consumer bankers.

Go to the MoneySense ARTICLE and BANKING COMPARISON chart

2024 Overall Points by Firm

The following table depicts the scores awarded to the firms reviewed. Each firm was assigned a score based on the sum of its individual ranking within each of the ten sections of the custom review (10 points for 1st, 9 for 2nd, 8 for 3rd, 7 for 4th, 6 for 5th, 5 for 6th, 4 for 7th, 3 for 8th, 2 for 9th and 1 for 10th).

2024 Rank	Banking Firm	Overall Points	Surviscor Analysis
1	TD Canada Trust	72 pts	See Pros & Cons
2	CIBC	70 pts	See Pros & Cons
3	RBC Royal Bank	68 pts	See Pros & Cons
4	Desjardins	44 pts	See Pros & Cons
5	National Bank	38 pts	See Pros & Cons
6	Scotiabank	34 pts	See Pros & Cons
7	BMO Bank of Montreal	33 pts	See Pros & Cons
8	Coast Capital Savings	31 pts	See Pros & Cons
9	Tangerine	27 pts	See Pros & Cons
10	Conexus Credit Union	25 pts	See Pros & Cons
11	Meridian Credit Union	22 pts	See Pros & Cons
12	motusbank	16 pts	See Pros & Cons
13	Simplii Financial	14 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-14	ATB Financial	10 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-14	Manulife Bank	10 pts	See Pros & Cons
16	Servus Credit Union	8 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-17	Alterna Savings	7 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-17	EQ Bank	7 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-19	Motive Financial	6 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-19	Vancity	6 pts	See Pros & Cons
21	Alterna Bank	5 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-22	Laurentian Bank	4 pts	See Pros & Cons
T-22	PC Financial	4 pts	See Pros & Cons
Last	Blueshore Financial	0 pts	See Pros & Cons

COMING SOON

MoneySense Banking Categories

Open up the section to view how each digial banking experience category is evaluated

Desktop Banking Platforms

The category measures the five main categories of consumer banking: the pre-login and pre-customer experience; the general experience of using the platform; the experience of using, managing, and analysing account information; the experience of establishing and performing money transfers and payments; and the availability of supporting account and educational resources.

Banking Rates and Fees

The category measures the rates and fees offered on five types of consumer banking products: chequing accounts; non-investment savings accounts; registered savings accounts (namely, RRSPs and TFSAs); GICs and term deposits; and mortgages; using posted rates and ignoring promotional and/or account bundling deals.

Digital Account Opening

The category measures the complete non-human, electronic signature process of becoming a customer, or expanding a current relationship, by reviewing the types of accounts offered, the features and resources that support the onboarding process, the number of accounts available in one session, and the various service interaction methods offered.

Account Information and Management

The category measures everything that is account information in a digital banking relationship including the amount of account information, how well a user can sift through the information, how well a user can manage their personal details, and generally speaking, how easily a user can get a snapshot of their overall account standing on each digital visit.

Digital Educational Resources

The category measures the availability, presentation, and ease of use of written education material, quizzes, courses, videos, webinars, podcasts, and decision tools based on the products offered, that provide digital users with knowledge of banking and investment products and the impacts they have on their financial roadmap.

Mobile Banking Platforms

The category measures the same five criteria used for desktop-based platforms as our opinion is that both desktop and mobile platforms should provide the same depth of features and functionality and overall user experience.

Banking Service Assessment

The category measures three aspects of customer interaction, including pre-login and logged-in interactions, the methods of interaction offered through desktop and mobile platforms, and the overall service responsiveness of each firm. Our proprietary mystery shopping program has accumulated over 110,000 interactions over the past 15 years, covering 45 combined banking and brokerage firms.

Digital User Experience

This category measures each individual banker's user experience using one, or both, of the digital platforms both as a visitor and as a logged-in user by analyzing the features and functionality that impact investor choice, convenience, and control of the overall experience.

Completing Digital Transactions

The category measures the digital-based features and functionality that support the products available on both platforms, including internal transfers, third-party transfers, Interac transactions, bill payments, cheque deposits, investment purchases, and other miscellaneous processes, such as international transfers and precious metal purchases.

Account Analysis and Budgeting

The category measures the availability and usability experience of account analysis and budgeting tools by drilling down into the features that enhance and differentiate the analysis amongst firms.