Laurentian Bank Review

What is Laurentian Bank?

Laurentian Bank is an institution that has been around for over 175 years. Originally called the Montreal City and District Savings Bank, they changed their name in 1987. Laurentian Bank has a large presence in Quebec, with over 60 branches. However, their products are available to all Canadians through online banking.

Is Laurentian Safe and Trusted?

Laurentian Bank was founded in 1846 so they have a longstanding track record in the Canadian banking scene. 

Most importantly, they are a member institution of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). This insurance protects deposits of up to $100,000 for each eligible account category such as individual accounts, joint accounts, registered accounts such as RRSPs and TFSAs, and more.

As for their Visa credit cards, they have Zero Liability fraud insurance protecting you from unauthorized purchases made on your card. All that to say that Laurentian Bank is in fact quite safe. Naturally, I’m referring to safety from bankruptcy loss, and fraud protection here – not protection from bad investment choices.

Fees

Laurentian Bank certainly has more fees than we like for an online banking option. Even with free “basic features” when you hold $3,000 in your chequing account, you are still paying for things like Interac e-transfer transactions unless you’re paying for their premium chequing account. Fees for e-transfers have become nearly unheard of with many of Canada’s best chequing accounts. For example, they are free with top online banks: EQ Bank, Neo Financial, Simplii Financial, and Tangerine Bank.

With Laurentian Bank, Interac e-transfer transactions are $1.00 each as are Interac e-transfer request money. Interac debit transactions cost $1.25.

Transfers between Laurentian Bank accounts with LBCDirect and the mobile app are $1.00, as are withdrawals from a Laurentian Bank or THE EXCHANGE™ Network ATM unless you maintain a minimum monthly balance of $3,000.

Paper statements cost $3.00 per month. Cheques are $1.25 unless you hold a balance of $3,000 in which case they are free.

In terms of some of the heftier fees – you will want to be mindful of your account usage. Overdraft protection costs $5 per month of usage and the non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee is a whopping $65!

Dormant account fees start at $15 and go all the way up to $45 on the 9th dormant year. If you want to close an account, that’ll cost you $20 if you are closing it within the window of 15 to 90 business days of having opened the account.

Account Options

Laurentian Bank offers many different types of accounts. While the diversity of account options is impressive, the fees can be a bit much depending on what features you utilize regularly.

Chequing

Laurentian Bank currently offers five different chequing accounts, two of which are age-specific (youth & seniors). Some accounts also offer monthly discounts for students ages 16 to 25 and for those ages 60 and over. 

The main variance between the different accounts lies in how many monthly banking transactions are included. The transactions include: 

• Withdrawals, transfers, and bill payments at Laurentian Bank and THE EXCHANGE™ Network ATMs (over 3,000 across Canada)
• Transfers and bill payments with LBCDirect and the mobile app
• Interac® Debit transactions
• Cheques and pre-authorized payments

If you maintain a minimum $3,000 monthly balance, your basic features are free! 

Basic features include:

• Transfers between Laurentian Bank accounts with LBCDirect and the mobile app
• Withdrawal from a Laurentian Bank or THE EXCHANGE™ Network ATM
• Pre-authorized payment
• Cheque

Basic features do not include e-transfers.

Savings

The High Interest Savings Account (HISA) offered by Laurentian Bank has a fairly competitive rate when compared to the top Canadian High Interest Savings Accounts.

At the time of writing, the rates were as follows:

• 2.50% on balances of savings under $100,000
• 3.50% on savings from $100,000 to $5,000,000
• 1.00% on savings over $5,000,000

As you can see, the rate is best for someone with over $100,000. Otherwise, you’ll be best off in another HISA, such as EQ Bank’s Personal Account which delivers a 3.50% interest rate with no minimum balance.

US Accounts

Laurentian Bank offers an account called the “Day by Day Interest Plus US Account” which is intended for frequent travelers to the United States. This account functions as a bit of a hybrid between a Chequing Account and a Savings Account. Everything is in USD and if you hold a minimum $3,000 monthly balance then transaction and account maintenance fees are free.

A neat feature of this account is that you earn money on the cash in your account (simple interest calculated on daily minimum balance and paid monthly).

Unfortunately, this account is only available to residents of Quebec. If you are looking for a USD bank account, check out our Best USD Bank Accounts article.

GICs

Laurentian Bank offers both Fixed-rate GICs and Market-linked GICs with competitive rates and flexible terms. They can be held in registered or non-registered accounts. The minimum investment amount is $500. 

Fixed GICs are sought after by those wanting to predictably and safely grow their money.

Market-linked GICs (which Laurentian calls “ActionGICs”) are not really GIC’s in the traditional sense, and to be honest, I’d steer of these products completely. They are always calculated to operate in the Bank’s favour, and they are hard to comparison shop for. You end up paying a steep price for downside protection without that price being made clear.

You’re much better off buying a fixed-rate GIC and then opening a Canadian online broker account in order to invest in equities such as blue chip Canadian stocks (which “ActionGICs” are investing in on your behalf). Our top rated brokerage is currently Qtrade. You can read more about them in our Qtrade review that we update every month.

Fixed-rate GIC rates:

Laurentian Bank’s Market-linked GICs are called “ActionGICs”, of which there are 3 options:

• Canadian Sustainability ActionGIC: invests in publicly traded Canadian companies with a focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives
• Quebec Performance ActionGIC: invests in publicly traded Quebec-based companies including sectors of financial services, technology, and consumer goods
• Blue Chip ActionGIC: invests in large, publicly traded Canadian companies with a track record of strong growth

The ActionGIC offerings vary, but at the time of writing, these were the current options:

If you’re shopping around for great GIC rates, check out our comprehensive look at the current Best GIC Rates in Canada.

Registered Plans

The registered plans available from Laurentian Bank are as follows:

• Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)
• Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)
• Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP)
• Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF)
• Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA)
• Life Income Fund (LIF)

This is a fairly comprehensive offering with the majority of the most utilized Canadian registered accounts being offered. Hopefully, they will add the option for a First Home Savings Account (FHSA) in the coming years.

Extra Products

Laurentian Bank has a handful of other products available to clients, including mutual funds, term deposits, credit cards, mortgages, loans, and lines of credit.

Mutual Funds

Laurentian Bank offers mutual funds through Mackenzie Investments – one of Canada’s largest investment management firms. While mutual funds are easy to purchase and allow you to diversify your portfolio, we recommend readers learn more about ETFs and index funds before making a decision.

The mutual funds from Laurentian Bank include:

• “Symmetry Portfolios”: 7 all-in-one investment portfolio options 
• Monthly Income Portfolios: 3 portfolio options for steady predictable income
• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) funds: 8 different funds meant to have a positive impact on the planet

Term Deposits

Term deposits from Laurentian Bank provide a 100% guarantee on your initial investment and have a guaranteed rate of return. They are quite similar to a GIC. Term deposits require a minimum investment of $500 and are cashable without penalty after 30 days. Interest is only paid at maturity of the 14-month term length, however. The current interest rate is 2.75%.

Credit Cards

There are currently 4 different Visa cards offered by Laurentian Bank.

Annual fees range from $0 up to $130, and most of the cards offer points that can be converted to cashback. For more information on the available Visa cards check out the Laurentian Bank Credit Cards page. And for our top picks, check out our Best No-Fee Cash Back Credit Cards article.

Mortgages

Laurentian Bank also offers mortgages with the option of either a variable rate or a fixed rate. They also have mortgage insurance, home equity line of credit, and equity line of credit insurance.

Lines of Credit and Loans

In addition to HELOCs and equity lines of credit insurance, you can also get the following through Laurentian Bank:

• Personal Line of Credit
• Personal Line of Credit Insurance
• Personal Loan
• Student Line of Credit
• Student Loan
• RRSP Line of Credit
• RRSP Line of Credit Insurance
• RRSP Loan
• Loan Insurance

Mobile App Review

Laurentian Bank offers a mobile app intended for everyday daily banking. It allows for most of the basic functions we would expect to see with a mobile app. You can view your account balances and transaction history, move money between accounts, and send, receive, and/or request money with Interac e-Transfer. 

A huge downfall of this app is that it does not allow for mobile cheque deposits, however.

While the app has over 50,000 downloads on Google Play there are a limited 283 reviews and a star rating of 2.5 stars. Common complaints that Android users mention are trouble logging in, trouble with e-transfers, or the lack of ability to deposit a cheque using the app.

Apple users are much more satisfied with the app. There are nearly 10,000 ratings that have led to a rating of 4.5 stars. Hopefully, in the future, they can make some improvements to the Android app.

Laurentian Bank vs EQ Bank

EQ Bank consistently tops our list of best online banks in Canada, so every time we review an online bank, we always like to compare it with EQ Bank. 

Laurentian Bank and EQ Bank have a similar line of accounts and product offers. You’ll see in the table below, that while Laurentian Bank has a slightly higher GIC rate, and a comparable savings interest rate depending on your account balance, they also have a lot more fees than EQ Bank!

Products	Chequing and savings accounts U.S. Dollar (only in Quebec) Joint accounts GICs Laurentian Bank Visa Credit Cards Mortgages HELOC TFSA + RRSP+ RESP Additional Lines of Credit	Hybrid chequing/ wavings accounts Reloadable EQ Bank card U.S. Dollar savings Joint accounts GICs Cash Back card Notice Account Mortgage Marketplace RRSP + TFSA+ FHSA Global money transfers Elite currency exchange HELOC and Reverse Mortgage
Monthly Fees	$4.00-$14.75 for different chequing accounts	$0
INTERAC E-TRANSFERS	$1.00 each (unless paying for Unlimited Account)	Free & Unlimited
Savings Account Interest Rate	2.50% on balances under $100,000 3.50% on balances from $100,000 to $5,000,000.	3.50% or 3.05% with the EQ Notice Account.
GIC 1-Year Interest Rate	3.75%.	3.55%
Sign Up	Visit Laurentian Bank	Visit EQ Bank

Laurentian Bank Review – FAQ

Is Laurentian Bank Right For You?

Laurentian Bank offers a solid range of account options, competitive interest rates, and financial products. However, its fees are relatively high for an online bank. Compared to our top-rated Canadian online banks, Laurentian Bank charges significantly more while limiting the number of free transactions allowed within a chequing account before additional fees apply.

For those living outside Quebec, Laurentian Bank’s services come with further restrictions. For instance, opening a student account requires an in-person appointment, which is impractical to many Canadians given that all branch locations are in Quebec. Similarly, the USD account is available exclusively to Quebec residents.

That said, Laurentian Bank can be a strong choice for Quebecers, who often face eligibility barriers with other Canadian online banks. With approximately 60 branches in the province, customers can access in-person services and consolidate most of their accounts under one institution. For those willing to manage the associated fees, the bank may offer convenience and accessibility.

After a deep dive into reviewing Laurentian Bank, our recommendation for the top online bank in Canada remains EQ Bank. Their low fees, diversity of account options and products, and their superior mobile app have them coming out on top time and time again. To learn more about EQ Bank, read our thorough EQ Bank Review.