Peoples Trust Review 2024: Is It Worth It?
Peoples Trust Review Rating: 3.0/5
Online-only banks continue to be a blessing to the Canadian banking industry as they compete against traditional brick-and-mortar banks.
Because their operational costs are relatively lower (as there are no physical branches to maintain), online-only banks make banking more affordable and convenient for Canadians.
Besides offering high interest on savings and GICs, online banks also charge low banking fees compared to brick-and-mortar banks.
Peoples Trust is one of the oldest online-only banks in Canada that distinguished itself with competitive interest rates, low fees and multiple products.
In this Peoples Trust review, I discuss everything you need to know about the bank in order to make an informed decision.
Overview of Peoples Trust
Let’s start with a highlight of the key features of Peoples Trust.
| Founded in | 1985 |
| Parent company | Triple Five Group of Companies |
| Headquarters | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Products | Savings accounts, GICs, mortgages, payment solutions, prepaid and credit cards |
| Monthly fee | $0 |
| Interest in savings accounts | 3.40% |
| Minimum balance on savings | $0 |
| Deposit protection | By CDIC |
| Availability | All provinces and territories of Canada |
| Contact | 800-663-0324 (toll-free) |
Who is Peoples Trust?
Peoples Trust is a multi-service Fintech company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s one of the oldest digital banks in Canada that has been around since 1985.
Peoples Trust is a part of People’s Group, a subsidiary of Triple Five Group of Companies, a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta.
Unlike other online-only banks, Peoples Trust offers access to a wide range of financial and investment products ranging from savings accounts, GICs, mortgages, payment solutions, and prepaid and credit cards.
The bank shared similar characteristics with some of the leading online banks which include offering high interest on savings, having low banking fees and requiring no minimum balance.
So what makes Peoples Trust different? That’s what this review helps you realize. Join me as I reveal the distinguished place of Peoples Trust in the Canadian online banking industry.
How Does Peoples Trust Work?
Peoples Trust works like other online-only banks out there. It operates entirely online through a web portal and mobile app accessible on Google Playstore and App Store.
To access the products and services of People Trust, you need to sign up by opening an account on your preferred product.
The account opening and management are entirely done online without commuting to a physical branch as is the case with brick-and-mortar banks.
Like other online banks, your deposits on Peoples Trust are covered up to $100,000 per insured category by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC).
Is Peoples Trust Safe?
Short answer, yes! Peoples Trust is safe as per the standard of online banks in Canada. First, your information on the bank’s website and mobile app is secured with advanced encryption (256-bit SSL).
Secondly, CDIC covers your deposit up to $100,000 per insured category on Peoples Trust. With this, you can be sure that you’re dealing with a safe online bank.
But as with any other bank, you need to take extra measures to guarantee the maximum protection of your bank account, especially with the increase in cybercrime.
Peoples Trust Products and Services
Peoples Trust directly offers high-interest savings accounts and GIC accounts. However, it also offers access to Peoples Group mortgages, payment solutions, and prepaid and credit cards.
Let’s take an overview of each of the products and services of Peoples Trust.
1. Peoples Trust High-Interest Savings Accounts
Peoples Trust offers direct access to high-interest registered and non-registered accounts.
Both savings categories have the same competitive rate, are covered by the CDIC and have no minimum balance required. The following is an overview of each of them.
TFSA Savings
This is a Tax-free savings account (TFSA) that offers a tax advantage on your savings. The account has a 3.40% high-interest rate that is calculated daily and paid monthly.
The following are the key features of the Peoples Trust TFSA savings account:
- Tax-free contributions and withdrawals
- Tax-free income and capital gains
- Annual contribution limit ($7,000 for 2024)
- You can carry forward unused contributions ($95,000 max contribution limit in 2024 if you have never contributed since 2009)
- $0 set-up, service and transfer fees
- CDIC protection
e-Savings
The e-Savings account is a non-registered account with a 3.40% high-interest rate that’s calculated daily and paid monthly.
As a non-registered account, your deposit, withdrawal, and earnings are taxable on the e-Savings account.
That said, the following are the key features of the account:
- No monthly fees
- No minimum deposit
- No deposit limitations
- Fund transfers between People Trusts accounts or your linked accounts at other financial institutions
- CDIC protection
2. Peoples Trust GIC Accounts & Rates
Peoples Trust also offers direct access to Guaranteed Investment Certificates (GICs) which require a minimum deposit of $1,000.
Like the high-interest savings account, the GIC accounts don’t also have monthly fees and transfer fees.
The Peoples Trust GICs are non-redeemable. This means you can’t access your deposit until maturity.
That said, the GICs are available in registered and non-registered accounts. Let’s take a look at each of them.
Registered GICs
The Peoples Trust registered GICs are available in TFSA and RRSP accounts. Both the TFSA and RRSP GIC accounts have 1-5 year terms with no fees.
The interesting part is that both the TFSA and RRSP GIC accounts have the same interest rates as shown below (valid as of April 8, 2024):
| Term | Rate |
| 1 year | 5.35% |
| 2 years | 4.75% |
| 3 years | 4.65% |
| 4 years | 4.55% |
| 5 years | 4.45% |
While both the TFSA and RRSP GICs offer tax advantages, they vary considerably.
TFSA will be more suitable for you if you’re looking to save for short-term or emergencies. This is because contributions and withdrawals on TFSA are tax-free.
On the other hand, you can consider RRSP GIC if you want to save for the long term as the account has no taxes on contributions but it’s taxable on withdrawals.
Non-registered GICs
The Peoples Trust non-registered GICs are taxable on deposits, contributions and withdrawals.
The GICs are available for short-term and long-term savings. The short-term GICs range from 30 days to 270 days while the long-term ranges from 15 months to 5 years.Â
That said, both the short-term and long-term GICs are assignable and transferable. They don’t also have set-up, service or transfer fees.
Below is a highlight of the current rate of the Peoples Trust’s short-term and long-term non-registered GIC rates (valid as of April 8, 2024):
| Short Term | Rate |
| 30 days | 3.40% |
| 60 days | 3.40% |
| 90 days | 4.00% |
| 120 days | 4.00% |
| 180 days | 5.00% |
| 270 days | 4.85% |
| Long Term | Rate |
| 15 months | 5.20% |
| 1 year | 5.35% |
| 2 years | 4.75% |
| 3 years | 4.65% |
| 4 years | 4.55% |
| 5 years | 4.45% |
3. Peoples Trust Mortgages
Peoples Trust offers access to mortgages through Peoples Group and Peoples Bank. The mortgage products cut across mortgage lending and investment.
The mortgage lending services involve commercial and residential lending. And the mortgage investing services include:
- Mortgage Servicing (e.g sourcing new business, underwriting, mortgage administration and investor reporting)
- Mortgage Syndication
- Mortgage Securitization
- Etc.
4. Peoples Trust Payment Solutions
Peoples Trust also offers access to Peoples Group payment solutions. The company partners with leading payment processing companies such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Interac.
Other payment solutions that the Peoples Group offers are highlighted below:
- Sponsorship Programs
- ISO Program
- Merchants
5. Peoples Trust Cards
Peoples Trust also gives you access to Peoples Group prepaid and credit cards in Canada. The cards are available in different processing networks such as Mastercard, Visa, American Express, and UnionPay International.
The following are the major prepaid and credit cards offered by Peoples Group in Canada:
- Single Load Prepaid (SLP)
- General Purpose Reloadable (GPR)
- Foreign Currency Card
Pros and Cons of Peoples Trust
Now that we know what Peoples Trust entails, we can easily identify the following pros and cons:
Pros
- High-interest rates: Peoples Trust’s interest on savings and GIC accounts are among the highest in Canada.
- No monthly fees: Like other online banks, Peoples Trust also converts its low operational costs to offer low-cost banking fees. Clients can access its competitive banking and investing products without worrying about monthly fees. Â
- No minimum deposit requirements: With the exception of GIC accounts, Peoples Trust’s high-interest savings accounts don’t have minimum balance requirements.
Cons
- Limited products: The only products Peoples Trust offers directly are high-interest savings accounts and GIC accounts. If you are looking for a one-stop shop, you have to look elsewhere.Â
- Transaction fees: Unlike other online banks, Peoples Trust charges transaction fees on deposits, withdrawals and Interac e-Transfers.
- Poor customer service: Peoples Trust has a bad reputation for customer service as expressed by numerous of its customers online.Â
Peoples Trust Fees
The following is the current fee schedule of Peoples Trust as of the time of writing this review.
| Service | Fee |
| Deposit | $0.9 |
| Withdrawal | $0.90 |
| Balance inquiry | $2.00 |
| Pre-authorized credit & debit | $0.90 |
| Internal transfers | $0.9 |
| Online bill payment | $1.00 |
| Interac e-Transfer | Outgoing = $1.50. Incoming = $0.35 |
| Wire payment | Incoming = $20.00. Outgoing (CAD) = $35.00 |
| e-Statement | 0$ |
| Printed statement | $5.00 |
| NSF | $45.00 |
Learn more about other Peoples Trust fee schedules here.
My Peoples Trust Review Rating
I rate Peoples Trust 3.0 out of 5 stars based on comparative analysis and the total rating of the following features.
Peoples Trust Review Rating Methodology
Overall Rating
With this, I can’t recommend Peoples Trust to individuals looking for an online-only bank with multiple products, low fees and better customer support.
Who Can Open a Peoples Trust Account?
Peoples Trust is available to Canadians across the 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada.
But to open an account with the bank, you must meet the requirements below:
- Be a Canadian resident
- Reach the age of majority in your province/territory
- Have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN)
- Have a personal cheque
How to Open a Peoples Trust Account
Once you meet the eligibility of Peoples Trust and find the bank suitable, you can proceed to open an account with it.
Interestingly, you can open a Peoples Trust account within a few minutes as everything is done online.
Below are step-by-step processes on how to do so:
- Click here to visit the sign-up page
- Click on “New” to open a new account
- Choose the account you want to open and enter your initial deposit (you can start with a $0 deposit)
- Select the account type (personal or joint account)
- Select your account opening reason from the drop-down menu
- Indicate whether it’s a third-party account and click “Next”
- Provide your personal details (full name, DOB, SIN)
- Follow the prompts to complete the application process
Once you’re done, you will receive an email from Peoples Trust staff, instructing you on what to do to complete your registration. Do as instructed to open your Peoples Trust account successfully.
Peoples Trust Alternatives
If you’re concerned about the drawbacks of Peoples Trust, you have different alternatives to consider.
The Canadian online banking industry is growing rapidly leading to more competition. As a result, you have multiple options to compare.
In what follows, I provide a highlight of some of the best online banks in Canada that serve as the best alternative for Peoples Trust on savings, GICs, mortgages and credit cards.
| Profile | EQ Bank | Saven Financial | Neo Financial | Tangerine |
| Best For | Savings, GICs and prepaid cards | Savings | Savings and credit cards | Mortgages |
| Products and services | Banking, RSPs, TFSAs, FHSAs, prepaid cards, mortgages, GICs & money transfers | GICs, TFSAs, FHSAs, high-interest savings accounts | Banking, mortgages, credit cards & wealth management | Banking, mortgages, investing, credit cards and lines of credit |
| Interest on savings account | 4.00% | 4.20% | 4.00% | 0.70% (5.75% promotional rate) |
| Minimum balance | None | None | None | None |
| Monthly fee | None | $25 initial Investment | None | None |
| Interac e-Transfer fee | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
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- Saven Financial Review
- Motive Financial Review
- Oaken Financial Review
Takeaways on Peoples Trust Review
The key takeaways from this Peoples Trust review are highlighted below:
- Peoples Trust is good for savings and GICs because it offers high-interest rates.
- The bank charges more fees than other online banks, especially on transactions.
- Peoples Trust has a few collections of banking products and services, limiting its access.
- In terms of good customer support, Peoples Trust scores low.
- If you’re looking for an alternate online bank, consider EQ Bank, Saven Financial, Neo Financial or Tangerine Bank.
This is where I will drop my pen. If you need more clarification, please hit me in the comment section.
FAQs on Peoples Trust Review
Who owns Peoples Trust?
Peoples Trust is owned by People’s Group, a subsidiary of Triple Five Group of Companies.
Is Peoples Trust a good bank?
Peoples Trust is a good bank for individuals looking for high-interest rates on savings or GICs.
But if you’re looking for a digital bank with low fees, multiple products and better customer support, you have to look elsewhere.
Is Peoples Trust CDIC insured?
Yes, Peoples Trust savings and GIC accounts are insured by the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) for up to $100,000 per insured category.
How long has Peoples Trust been in business?
As of 2024, Peoples Trust has been in business for 39 years, that’s about four decades.
Is Peoples Trust a Bank?
Peoples Trust is a Fintech company offering online banking solutions through Peoples Group and Peoples Bank.
If you have more questions on this Peoples Trust review, kindly drop them in the comment section.
Peoples Trust Review
Summary
Peoples Trust is good for savings and GICs because it offers high-interest rates.
