shouldiuse.io

Categories

VERDICT

Should I use Simplii?

Skip to Sign On - simplii.com

Depends. A solid pick for Canadians who want no-fee, app-first everyday banking with CIBC backing. Not for Quebec residents, branch users, or anyone prioritizing USD savings rates or strong fraud support.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~40 public sources; snippets often truncated. Note: some 'Simplii' search results describe unrelated software products, not the bank.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0/month

No-Fee Daily Banking

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly fees$0
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Cash Back Visa$0 annual fee

Best for

  • Canadians wanting no-fee everyday banking
  • Mobile-first bank switchers
  • International students needing GICs
  • CIBC-ecosystem customers

Not for

  • Quebec residents — service unavailable there
  • Anyone needing in-branch or cash services
  • USD savings rate hunters
  • Budgeting-app users needing Mint-style exports

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

USD savings rates described by users as a 'trap'; verify current rates before opening.

medium

Wire transfer limits apply; large international transfers may need planning.

medium

No Mint aggregation support, complicating exports and migration to other tools.

low

Some users report verification codes required at every login.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • No monthly fees on everyday chequing and savings
  • Cash Back Visa carries no annual fee
  • CIBC-owned; deposits share CIBC's $100,000 protection
  • Positive word of mouth in Canadian personal finance communities
  • Dedicated GIC program for international students

Cons

  • Suffered a 2018 breach; ~90,000 customers affected across BMO and Simplii
  • Unavailable to Quebec residents
  • Users warn the USD savings account is poor value
  • Fraud department failure complaints from customers
  • Dropped support for Mint budgeting integration

Sources & method

Analyzed 10/03/2026 - 14 sources - Major 2018 breach (nearly 90,000 customers with BMO combined) triggered a class action; today it operates under CIBC-backed protections.

official x4review x4security x3news x3
  • 2018 data breach, Hackers accessed customer data at Simplii and BMO; nearly 90,000 customers affected combined.
  • Class action over the breach, Class action filed against BMO and Simplii over the 2018 data breach.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0/month

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. No monthly fees, no-annual-fee card
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Users call it good; app-first design
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Chequing, savings, GICs, loans, mortgages, cards
  • Support quality: 2/5. Fraud-handling and service complaints
  • Security posture: 2/5. 2018 breach hit ~90k; class action followed
  • $0 Monthly fee No-Fee Daily Banking
  • 2017 Founded CIBC-owned direct bank
  • $0 Credit card annual fee Cash Back Visa
  • ~90,000 2018 breach customers, BMO + Simplii combined

Pricing

No-Fee Daily Banking

$0/month

  • No monthly fee on daily chequing
  • Savings and GIC accounts available

Cash Back Visa

$0 annual fee

  • No annual fee
  • Cash back rewards

Security

Major 2018 breach (nearly 90,000 customers with BMO combined) triggered a class action; today it operates under CIBC-backed protections.

  • 2018 data breachHackers accessed customer data at Simplii and BMO; nearly 90,000 customers affected combined.⁹
  • Class action over the breachClass action filed against BMO and Simplii over the 2018 data breach.10
Full analysis

Based on ~40 public sources; snippets often truncated. Note: some 'Simplii' search results describe unrelated software products, not the bank.

No-fee online bank from CIBC: good for everyday Canadians; wrong for Quebec, branch users, or USD-rate hunters.

Methodology

Based on ~40 public sources; snippets often truncated. Note: some 'Simplii' search results describe unrelated software products, not the bank.

Sources

  1. Simplii Financial - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
    official
  2. Simplii Financial — Online Bankingsimplii.com
    official
  3. Bank Accounts – No-Fee Daily Bankingsimplii.com
    official
  4. Anyone using Simplii? : r/PersonalFinanceCanadareddit.com
    review
  5. Simplii USD Savings account is a trap. DO NOT OPENreddit.com
    review
  6. Fraud Department Failure : r/Bankingreddit.com
    review
  7. Simplii Financial No Longer supporting Mint.reddit.com
    review
  8. BMO and CIBC's Simplii Financial confirm customer data breacheszdnet.com
    security
  9. Canadian banks were hacked and nearly 90000 customer data were stolensecurityonline.info
    security
  10. BMO/Simplii Data Breach Class Action Casesotosclassactions.com
    news
  11. Is Simplii Safe? Why It Shares CIBC's $100000 Limitlodavo.ca
    security
  12. Is Simplii Financial unavailable in Quebec?wise.com
    news
  13. Simplii wire transfer limits guidewise.com
    news
  14. Simplii Financial Summary of Rates and Fees (PDF)simplii.com
    official

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.