The money sits at zero
Nothing forces a decision, so nothing changes and the balance grows.
USD accounts
Your idle cash is quietly costing you money.
USD operating cash at a big bank earns 0.000%. Insured USD terms pay up to 3.85%.
About a minute. Start with the balances you already know.
- USD in big-bank chequing
- $500,000 USD
- Interest at 0.000%
- $0 USD
- Insured 1-year term
- 3.85%
- Interest it would pay
- $19,250 USD
The cost of leaving it alone
$0 USD
Every year the balance stays where it is.
Committed for a year. Your report ladders it so part stays liquid.
What we heard
01
Three patterns showed up in almost every conversation.
We asked founders where their company's cash sits, and why it stays there.
Onboarding is where it ends
A founder reaches the document upload step and closes the tab.
The expected rate does not exist here
US headlines set the expectation. Published Canadian business rates do not reach it.
How it works
02
Four steps, and you keep your own account the whole way.
The deposit is yours, at the institution, in your company’s name.
1Step
Connect your accounts, or just enter balances
Start with what you already know. Balances and rough monthly burn are enough, in USD and CAD side by side. Connecting is optional.
2Step
Get your Idle Cash Report
We separate the operating buffer you actually need from the cash doing nothing, then show what the idle portion earns today and what it could earn.
3Step
Get a ladder plan matched to your burn
Most of the idle cash goes into insured terms, where the rate is. Terms are sized around your runway; your buffer stays liquid.
4Step · where it matters
Guided placement at a CDIC member institution, in your own name.
We prepare the paperwork, fill what can be filled, and walk the application through with you.
Where your money sits
03
Deposit insurance, stated plainly.
In the terms CDIC itself uses.
CDIC coverage
$100,000 CAD
Per depositor, per insured category, per member institution, including principal and interest.
USD deposits at CDIC members are covered too, to the CAD-equivalent of the limit, roughly $71,000 USD at 1.40. For plain corporate cash, one insured category realistically applies. Oaken spans two CDIC member institutions, Home Trust Company and Home Bank, so CAD coverage there can reach $200,000 CAD.
Our part in it
- Who opens the account
- You do
- Whose name it is in
- Your company
- Who holds the funds
- The institution
- Who moves the funds
- Only you
We recommend and we guide. We are not a bank.
Rate reality
04
The spread is wider than most founders think.
Same country, same company. The only thing that changes is which account the balance happens to be sitting in.
USD, verified August 13, 2026
- A big bank's USD business chequing0%
0.000% on every tier to $5,000,000 USD.
- Insured liquid USD0.9%
The only published insured business USD savings rate we found.
- An insured 1-year USD term4%
CDIC member. Terms from 90 days pay 3.45% and up.
CAD, verified July 28, 2026
- A fintech business account0%
Where a lot of startup cash actually sits.
- A big five business savings account1.87%
Effective blended rate on a $500,000 CAD balance.
- High-interest business savings2.25%
Liquid. No lock-up, no term.
- A 1-year business GIC3.5%
Term product. Cash is committed for the year.
For reference, the Bank of Canada overnight rate is 2.25%.
See every institution we track →