TD Canada TFSA Plan

So one of last major banks is TD Canada Trust and I found its TFSA page located at http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/invest/tax_free.jsp. For the most part, the information on the site is extremely general. It seems like the complete opposite of the previous bank site I visited where this bank doesn’t seem to be trying too hard in attracting TFSA clients from what I see.

I wasn’t able to really find too much details about the account either if you decide to open one through this bank as they simply link to the official government site for the most part. Although, TD bank usually have these deals such as getting free items for opening accounts, so maybe they will introduce that in the launch date.

Scotiabank TFSA

I was just visiting the Scotiabank site to see what its TFSA plans were like. First thing that I noticed is that this bank seems to be going all out in trying to educate people about a tax free savings account as they have a full fledged flash presentation and tutorial about it at http://scotiabank.com/tfsa/scotia_TFSA_base.html.

As well, they have a load of resources such as a savings calculator tool as well as articles to further educate you the difference between a tax free savings account and others such as a registered retirement savings plan. You can find the links at the main page at http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,,CID12354_LIDen,00.html.

Unfortunately, similar to most of the bank sites I wasn’t able to immediately find what the interest rate is going to be as most people are more interested in trying to sign as many people up as possible before the launch. They seem to be working the hardest though I must say.

Royal Bank of Canada TFSA

At the Royal Bank page located at http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/services/taxfreesavingsaccount/tax-free-savings-account.html they have just general information about its tax free savings account. One interesting piece of information on the page is that this is the first bank that I have seen where it looks like they encourage people to have both an RRSP account and a TFSA.

Example, on the page they indicate how if you have maxed out your RRSP contributions then a TFSA would be perfect for you. For banking fees, it does state on its FAQ page “There will be no withdrawal fees or annual administration fees with a TFSA from RBC Royal Bank” which is great for people considering RBC.

President’s Choice Financial Tax Free Interest Plus

The next bank I looked at today was PC Financial. I know that they are usually a popular bank for a lot of people due to its no fee bank account options. For TFSA plans, they have one that is being called the “Tax-Free Interest Plus” plan where you can read about at http://www.banking.pcfinancial.ca/a/products/taxfreeInvestmentOptions/tfsa.page .

The interest rate seems pretty good too I must say at 3.75%. As well, you can apparently gain bonus interest rates annually which should sweeten the deal. I must admit, this bank is sounding like a favorable choice so far for me.

Some stipulations to the account seem similar to its other high interest savings account where you can’t use say interact purchases with it but would rather have to transfer your money to say a chequing account instead. Still sounds good though.

HSBC One Percent Interest Bonus

I was reading over the HSBC site and was reading how they are offering a 1% interest bonus on new deposits until March 16, 2009. You can read about it too at https://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/en/personal/chequing-savings/savings-accounts .

That offer should be valid for the upcoming TFSA accounts too as I read the line on the page stating “With several account options, like our High Rate Savings Account, Direct Savings Account and Tax-Free Savings Accounts, we can help meet your savings goals.”

I guess that can be a good incentive for anyone who is still debating about which bank to open up a TFSA account with.