Last Updated: August 9, 2024
Neo Financial is a new Canadian company created in 2019 by the founders of SkipTheDishes. Their goal is to disrupt the financial service industry the way they disrupted the food delivery industry. Neo doesn’t charge monthly or annual fees, offers substantial interest rates on savings and provides a completely digital experience with fast to instant approval. Financial Tech companies like Neo are important to the Canadian financial market because they create competition and lower the price of financial services for consumers. In essence, Neo is offering a fresh approach to managing your money, separate from traditional financial institutions.
Neo MasterCard®
The Neo MasterCard® is Neo’s answer to traditional Canadian credit cards. Neo Credit is available Canada-wide and can be entirely digitally managed. It is a card for all Canadians, from spenders to savers. There is no annual fee.
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Other general Neo Credit features include bonuses such as up to 15% cashback on your first-time purchase at most partners. There is also the guarantee of a minimum 0.5% cashback across all purchases. This means that if your overall cashback falls under 0.5%, Neo will top you up. The Neo Credit card also has no over-limit fees and can be frozen and unfrozen through the app at any time. Neo’s app is very convenient, notifying you about your account in real time, and can be used to apply through. Application only takes a few minutes and approval is instant. This means that you can use your digital card instantly, with a physical one usually delivered within a week or two. Something else to note is that the card is accepted anywhere where Mastercard® is accepted and it is backed by Mastercard’s® zero liability protection, meaning that you are fully protected from any unauthorized payments. There are some downsides to the card however, including the fact that there is no insurance included. The Purchase Credit Rate is also somewhat lofty at 19.99%- 29.99%. Neo’s Credit card provides an interesting alternative to regular credit cards as it offers many cashback rewards with no monthly or annual fees.
Neo Secured Credit Card
For those who may have a lower credit score, or no score at all, or are new to credit in Canada entirely, Neo offers the Neo Secured Credit card. This card comes with many of the same perks as the aforementioned Neo MasterCard®. The key differences are that the secured card comes with guaranteed approval, regardless of current credit score or history and helps build your credit. This means no hard credit checks. The card has no monthly or annual fees and requires a comparatively low security deposit of $50. This is so that anyone can start building their credit instantly regardless of their current financial status. The Secured Credit card comes with the same cashback rewards as the Neo Credit card. 
Neo makes it easy to adjust your credit limit to your needs as well, with all you need to increase it is add security funds. International IDs are also accepted. Find some of the features below.
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The Purchase Credit Rate on the Secured Credit card is the same as on the standard Neo Credit card and insurance is once again not included. Another benefit of Neo’s Secured Credit card is that your security funds will be returned to you if you close your account and the balance has been paid in full. Like its counterpart the Secured Credit card is MasterCard and has the same Purchase Credit Rate at 19.99%- 29.99%. All in all this card is a good alternative and competitor to the more traditional bank secured cards. It comes with $5 monthly fee with a low security deposit while rewarding you with high cashback earning opportunities, which is rare for a secured card.
Neo MoneyTM Account
Neo doesn’t only offer cards though, with the Neo MoneyTM Account serving as a blend between a chequing and savings account. The account does follow in the footsteps of Neo’s Credit cards in the sense that it has no fees of any kind. Free transactions are unlimited and there is no minimum deposit or balance. The interest rate sits at 2.25%, much higher than the average high interest savings accounts at most banks. Anything you want to do, from bill payments to Interac e-Transfers® to bank to bank transfers – it’s all unlimited and free of transaction charges. Your interest is also daily calculated and paid out every month. You can track everything already mentioned and more from the app, making it once again convenient and easy to use. The Neo Money account is eligible for CDIC deposit protection up to $100,000 across all accounts and is provided by Concentra Bank which is a CDIC member institution. Lastly, the application process is simple and can be done entirely online just like with Neo credit cards. The Neo Money account is a nice mix between a savings and a chequing account that differs from its competitors as it imposes no fees of any kind along with a fantastic interest rate.
Neo Financial offers a small but high quality range of products. With their cards, you can earn high cashback rewards from the multitudes of Neo partners. Their high interest Money Account allows unlimited free transactions. Complete security also comes thanks to Neo’s partnerships with Concentra Bank and Mastercard. The best part is that all these benefits cost no monthly or annual fees. In today’s financial climate Neo presents a fresh new option for Canadians to build their credit and wealth, questioning and challenging the practices of traditional financial institutions for the customer’s benefit. Neo Credit and Neo Secured Credit cards are issued by Neo Financial™ pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated.
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How difficult is to get this card?
The secured Neo card shouldn’t be difficult to get as you are putting down a security deposit in case you default on your credit card debt. The normal unsecured Neo card probably requires an average to good credit rating to qualify.
It shouldn’t be difficult. They approve almost everyone who has credit score of 600 and up.
It looks like there are serious money backing Neo Financial, as I see them advertising everywhere. They also have innovative financial products, while the big 5 Canadian banks are asleep at the wheel :).
They certainly have great cash back rewards.
I just saw that Neo Financial offer mortgages now. Anybody has any experience with their mortgage product? Is it easier to qualify compared to the Canadian chartered banks?
It’s nice to see an interest rate of 2.25%. Finally makes sense to have savings account. It still can’t beat GIC but it’s better than most banks.
The Neo Secured card is great for those who want to save on fees and build credit!
Can anyone apply for the Neo secured card?
It seems like it’s only available in certain provinces in Canada for now.
Thanks JGarcia, it looks like I’m in luck as they offer it in Ontario. To clarify my question, do they require a minimum credit score to qualify for their secured card?
Do you think this Neo card is a good option for people with bad credit?
It could be a good option for those who are looking to rebuild their credit, but it’s always important to do your research and compare with other options.
Is there a fee for the card?
There is no fee for the base card. If you get the premium card the fee is $4.99 per month.
The Refresh secured credit card no longer exists, so it looks like the Neo secured card is one of the few independent secured credit cards left. It looks like it offers nice perks too, so I’m considering getting it.
According to the article, the Neo Financial card requires a security deposit and has a low credit limit to help people build their credit.
Do you think that the Neo secured credit card is a good option for people with bad credit? Would I even qualify?
Yep, this card is designed for ppl with bad credit in mind. Did you apply?
Where is my deposit held and how/when do I get it back?
Looks like there is a monthly fee of $5 for the Secured card that Neo offers? Is this new?
Correct! Neo added new features and updated the monthly fee. There were two tiers before. One tier with no fee and the second tier with a fee but now they combined it into one option.