4% chequing account? | Page 2 | EQ Bank | Discussion forum

I walk over to the cash machine at the bank a few minutes away, a nice walk, can go 24/7, never a wait, grandchildren very much like dealing in cash when I slip them some without their parents seeing, I use cash a lot at the businesses on my rambles around my neighbourhood, everybody seems to like getting it.

Doug, I have had a TD account for decades that I always get a fee rebate for (every month) when I keep the required minimum balance, CIBC account is not the only account doing that.

In banking fee terms, Interac and cheque payments are the same everywhere I've looked. (Except in a few cases where there are high withdrawal fees)

I use about 25 cheques a year, a dozen of them for rent. I buy by cheque when mail-ordering, and have used cheques to purchase large GICs (as much as $90K). I sometimes transfer funds by cheque out of an account that receives Direct Deposit from a payer (when I am forced to use it) because it's faster than transferring with a phone order - the cheques are credited on deposit. On the other hand, some outfits lift holds quicker one way or the other.

For clients, I only accept cash (with paired receipts to file) or cheques. The cheques are copied to attach copies to my tax returns.

Until there are more changes in our banking system to allow for easier electronic movement of large sums of money without 'percentage' transaction fees, cheques will likely stay with us for some time to come.

From a consumer's point of view, handling cheques has become a lot easier though with 'photo deposit' via phone apps or ATMs. There is no need any longer to leave the comfort of one's home to deposit a cheque.

The problem is that cost of some of those electronic payments solutions. Not all of them are as cheap as the ones in places like China and India.

I remember one critic of our cheque clearing system writing on RedFlagDeals.ca that in one European country he spent time in, cheques could be collected in real time!

He went into the bank with a cheque from another bank and the teller could confirm that the cheque was good on the spot! The cheque could then be deposited with no hold.

It all sounded good until someone asked how much that real-time cheque collection option costs. The answer was €10.