Tangerine Bank Review

Since being acquired by Scotiabank in 2012, Tangerine Bank has quickly become one of the best online banks in Canada. Formerly ING Direct, customers love Tangerine’s promise of no fees, competitive interest rates, and high-quality financial products. In this Tangerine Bank Review, you can take advantage of some sweet sign-up perks: you can now earn by switching to a Tangerine Chequing account.

We’re revisiting our initial Tangerine vs. Scotiabank review to see if Tangerine has lived up to its promise as Canada’s premier online bank. However, if you’re looking for an in-depth comparison, the best place to see how Tangerine stacks up against its current online-only competitors is our Ultimate Guide to Canada’s Online Banks.

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card Blows Away the Competition

Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card

Apply for a Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card by May 2nd, 2023 and earn an extra 10% back (up to $100) when you spend up to $1,000 in everyday purchases within your first 2 months.*

Apply Now

Tangerine has succeeded in making a big splash with its popular no-fee Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card. This credit card stacks up really well against Canada’s other no-fee cards and it is highly ranked by the experts. Check out our full Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card review for more information.

Here’s how it works: at sign-up, applicants choose two of Tangerine’s money-back categories on which they want to earn 2% back in cash – an automatic monthly reimbursement that is applied directly to either their credit card account or deposited into their Tangerine Savings Account. With the latter choice, users get a bonus third spend category at 2%—and users can change their categories whenever they want. All other purchases earn 0.5% cash back.

New cardholders are also eligible for another bonus: Special 10% extra cash back rate on the first $1,000 spent with the card ($100 cash back) in the first two months, apply by May 2, 2023.*

At Young and Thrifty, we love the simplicity and flexibility of this rewards program and how it can be customized to suit your needs. There’s no worrying about rewards expiring or complicated rules about point redemption – it’s just simple, sweet, cash back right into your account.

The Details

• Annual Fee: $0
• Income Eligibility: $12,000
• Credit Score Required: Fair;Good
• Additional Perks: Purchase Assurance and Extended Warranty
• Purchase APR: 19.95% | Cash Advance APR: 19.95%
• Welcome offer: Special 10% extra cash back rate on the first $1,000 spent with the card ($100 cash back) in the first two months, apply by May 2, 2023.*

*Terms and conditions apply

Competitive Mortgage Rates and Straightforward Online Process

Get a competitive interest rate up front. So don’t stress over the numbers and calculations – Tangerine will walk you through it all.

learn more about Tangerine Mortgages

Tangerine now offers mortgages in addition to its banking and credit card products. Like with its other products, Tangerine Mortgage provides a simple, straightforward approach to its mortgages—whether you’re looking to purchase, refinance your property, switch mortgage lenders or get a home equity line of credit. If you visit the Tangerine website, you can see the current rates for fixed and variable-term mortgages. If you see a rate you like, you can secure it for up to 120 days by signing up as a client, without going through the application process. Like with Tangerine’s other products, you’ll do everything online, however, once you’re approved for the mortgage you’ll have a Mortgage Account Manager to help guide you through everything.

One convenient feature is that if you move, they will transfer your rate, term and loan amount to the new property without charging you a penalty or fee. Another benefit is that you can pay up to 25% of your original mortgage amount each year or increase your regular payments by 25% at any point in the year without penalty as well.

Competitive High-Interest Rate Savings Accounts

Big banks just can’t compete with Tangerine’s free high-interest savings accounts. For one, Tangerine often throws out some great promotional offers. With no fees, service charges, or minimum balance, Tangerine offers a slate of services that very few of its competitors can match, and once you set up an automated savings account, you’ll really grow your savings.

*Terms and conditions apply

Tangerine Online Banking is Convenient and Easy

Since the get-go, Tangerine has truly been a leader in providing innovative online banking services to customers. For one, Tangerine’s “Cheque-In” offers an easy and fast way to deposit a cheque: simply snap a photo of the cheque with your smartphone or tablet, type in a few details, and you’re done – the cheque is deposited into your account. No line-ups or listening to annoying elevator music while on hold on the phone.

Tangerine was one of the first Canadian companies to embrace this method of online banking. It makes sense given the fact that they don’t have any brick-and-mortar branches. Instead, you can do all your banking from the comfort of your home or office. Using a computer, tablet or smartphone, you can manage your Tangerine accounts with a click of a button. You can review and categorize transactions, transfer and email funds, deposit cheques, or chat with a Tangerine Associate – all through your device. Its mobile app is also excellent and has challenged the competition to catch up over the last couple of years.

Fantastic Customer Service

While there’s no brick-and-mortar building to visit, Tangerine has earned the highest ranking in customer satisfaction among midsized banks in Canada for seven consecutive years, as well as the highest overall satisfaction ranking of any size bank in Canada. As far as banks go, Tangerine gets top marks for products and fees; communications and advice; account opening, and channel activities (online and mobile).

As mentioned above, there are many ways of getting in contact with a Tangerine Associate, whether it’s through an online chat session, a Twitter DM, or the 24/7 customer service line. If you’re applying for a mortgage, you can even complete the entire application online. Getting in touch is that easy – and it doesn’t require queuing in a branch to talk to someone.

No Fees

Tangerine has made its name by offering no-fee chequing and savings accounts with high-interest rates. They also offer low-fee, diversified investments for those clients with long-term financial goals. Whatever you choose, you’ll be saving big bucks by not paying monthly account fees.

One caveat: there are some charges for certain transactions. However, Tangerine’s fees are generally much lower than other major Canadian banks and similar to its online competitors. It’s not a deal-breaker in our books.

Final Word

Tangerine Bank may not be one of the biggest or best-known names in Canada, but it’s certainly proving that it can compete with the big banks. Thanks to incredibly competitive credit cards, low fees, and high customer satisfaction, Tangerine Bank is quickly making a name for itself.