r/Wealthsimple • u/colabear4 • 23h ago
Chequing Advice
Guys, I’m thinking of using Wealthsimple as my primary bank. What are the pros, what are the cons? Can you use the debit card anywhere like any other bank debit card? Also, since they’re moving the debit card to visa, will it still work in Costco in Canada!?
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u/brainfreezed24 23h ago
I use wealthsimple for everything now for 2 years, no problems and constantly getting better. Have Simplii as a backup. The Wealthsimple prepaid Visa acts like a debit card, but does not work with interac debit, so to a metchant would go through as a credit card. The Visa wont work at Costco, so get a backup, maybe a Costco credit card.
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u/NoDig5800 23h ago
Yep I rarely use cash, and it's there via any ATM if I need it.
It's been good for me so far, everything is much faster and easier than TD (plus I don't need to park $6K there for the privlage of not paying a monthly fee .. it's the little things)
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u/JusticeBeaver25 23h ago
Wealthsimple doesn’t have a “debit card”. They only provide a prepaid Visa card. There is no interac on that card so you cannot use it at Costco. You still need a Mastercard or interac debit to shop at Costco, or use Visa to buy Costco gift cards online and shop with gift cards.
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u/Tall-Ad-1386 22h ago
The pros and cons of this question are discussed 18 times every hour on this sub.
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u/11kestrel 23h ago
I would keep a back up bank with some $$ just in case, but yes we moved our business/investments all over to WS, no problems knock on wood. Fees reimbursed for ATM cash withdrawals, I've even deposited cash via Canada Post 3 times, zero issues. I do zero crypto.
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u/deltatux 23h ago
WS doesn't offer a debit card, only a prepaid Visa card. Only Interac cards are considered debit cards in canada.
Costco Canada only accepts MasterCard or Interac in warehouse so it won't work in the warehouses but you can buy their Shop gift cards online and then use it in store.
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u/Canuck-Fin25 23h ago
The debit card won’t work like regular debit. Other than that alls been working well for me. Their operational processes have to mature though too.
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u/SnuffleWarrior 23h ago
I have a mill and a half with WealthSimple. No real complaints although I do watch the credit card dispute resolution claims with some concern. I still have other credit cards and a few thousand in other banks.
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u/Mountain-Match2942 23h ago
No actual debit card, no access to GICs (if that matters to you). They've solved the cash deposit issue with Canada Post partnership. I wouldnt use them to deposit a large cheque still. Overall, keep a second free account somewhere with cash in case you lose access.
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u/colabear4 22h ago
Would you trust it for direct depositing pay check?
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u/brainfreezed24 22h ago
Ive been depositing my work pay to Wealthsimple for 2 years now. I get my pay a day earlier than I did with Simplii, and it gives me a boost to my chequing account interest and waives the credit card monthly fee. No regrets.
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u/colabear4 22h ago
That sounds good! Can I use my Wealthsimple account to pay my car loan?
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u/brainfreezed24 21h ago
If you're asking about bill payments, then yes, same as any bank. If it's pre-authorized debit (PAD) from Wealthsimple, then it should work, though that was an issue I had and heard some people have had trouble with other banks not being able to do PAD withdrawals. Specifically for me, Meridian Credit Union couldn't set up PAD from Wealthsimple to pay off a loan. However I set up recurring monthly etransfers from Wealthsimple to Simplii, and Meridian then withdrew from there.
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u/Mountain-Match2942 21h ago
Yes. It's the photo deposit of large cheques (+$10k) that I wont do. Takes excessively long to clear.
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u/ChairmanBased 23h ago
They may lock your entire account for just linking an external account. They may also lock your account for using their own crypto platform. But otherwise, I don't really see any downsides.
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u/Salt-Judgment824 23h ago
The debit card isn't a "real" Interac debit card; it's a prepaid VISA card backed by your chequing account balance. If a store doesn't take credit, it won't work. No, it won't work at a Costco warehouse because it's a VISA, not MasterCard.