Which Wealthsimple account should you open first?

What the referral actually needs from an account

Three things, and only three. First, a “Promotion Account” to fund: the standard terms name a Wealthsimple Trade, Crypto, Managed Investing or Chequing account. Second, at least $100 CAD of net deposits into it within 30 days of the referral relationship, from outside Wealthsimple: a bank deposit, a transfer from another institution or a crypto transfer from an external wallet. Internal moves, peer-to-peer payments, group RRSP contributions and Wealthsimple’s own bonus credits do not count. Third, a Chequing account you own as primary holder, because that is where the bonus is paid.

Notice what is missing. The terms never say “TFSA” or “RRSP” except in a clause about joint and spousal accounts. That is because, as the account overview shows, Trade and Managed Investing are product lines, and each is offered as a TFSA, RRSP, spousal RRSP, FHSA, RRIF, LIRA, RESP or non-registered account. Fund any of them with $100 of outside money inside the window and the referral condition is met. The confirmation article repeats the same list.

The order matters a little. The code is applied at signup through the link or within seven days of first funding. If you open a TFSA, fund it, then remember the code on day nine, the standard route has closed and you are into a manual support request. Open the profile, apply the code, then fund.

Why a Chequing account comes first for most people

The payout rule is strict. Under the terms, a client without a Chequing account when the bonus is issued has 90 days from the first notification to open one; a bonus not applied to a Chequing account within 90 days of issuance expires and is forfeited. Since July 3, 2025 bonuses are only applied to Chequing, and the referrer needs one too.

The Chequing account page lists no minimum balance and allows up to eight individual Chequing accounts. It requires Canadian residency, a Canadian phone number and the provincial age of majority. For a reader whose only goal is to satisfy the referral with the least decision-making, Chequing does double duty: it can receive the $100 external deposit and it receives the $25. The money is then available to move into an investing account later, although that internal move will not count as new external funding for any other promotion.

Chequing is a non-registered account. Interest it earns is reported on a T5 when it reaches the usual threshold, and the bonus itself is covered in our tax article. If you would rather have the first $100 working inside a registered account from day one, read on; the referral does not mind either way.

Choosing by each account’s own rules

The useful comparison is not “which account gets the bonus faster” but “what does each account let me do with the money.” Here are the published features side by side, checked October 19, 2026.

Sources for each row are the TFSA, FHSA, RRSP, non-registered and crypto help pages, with limits from the CRA’s TFSA room page, FHSA contribution page and registered-plan limits table. The pricing page shows a $0 account minimum for every tier. Limits are the CRA’s, not Wealthsimple’s, and a bonus paid into a registered account would count as a contribution, which is one more reason the payout now goes to Chequing.

Managed or self-directed is the decision you cannot undo

Every registered and non-registered account above opens as either a managed portfolio or a self-directed trading account. The comparison page puts the managed fee between 0.2 and 0.5 per cent a year and self-directed stock and ETF trades at no commission, with currency conversion charged on U.S. holdings. Then it says the part that matters: you cannot switch an account from one type to the other once it is open. You would open a second account and transfer.

For a first $100 this is a small stake, but the habit forms around the account you fund first. If you plan to pick your own ETFs, open the self-directed version. If you want the allocation handled, open managed and accept the fee. A direct-indexing managed option carries its own product minimums, separate from the $0 account minimum, so read the product page before choosing it for a small first deposit.

Two fictional first weeks

Maya, 24, in Winnipeg, has never had a TFSA and wants to try choosing ETFs. She signs up through a referral link, opens a Chequing account and a self-directed TFSA on the same day, and sends $100 from her bank to the TFSA. The external deposit satisfies the referral, the TFSA holds the money with its full room available, and the bonus has a Chequing account to land in. Nothing about the referral steered her toward the TFSA; her situation did.

Luis, 31, in Surrey, is saving for a first home and already has a TFSA elsewhere. He applies the code within seven days of his first deposit, funds a managed FHSA with $100, and has 90 days to open Chequing if he had skipped it. Because the FHSA’s $8,000 annual room is the smaller of his limits, he checks the CRA page before adding more. Both examples are illustrative; neither shows a real account or guarantees acceptance of any code.

If you want to pin down the exact funding deadline for your own dates, the referral date planner on the Tools page applies the 30-, 90- and 180-day periods from the terms.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)