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Newbie questions on transfer fees and introductory rate offers
October 14, 2020
1:48 pm
Londonguy
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Alexandra said
For years that I know of, Equifax had my wrong birthdate. They had me a year younger than I actually am.

Probably 20 years ago the bank told me this when they checked my credit and that I should have it corrected. I never did get around to it until last year. I never had a problem with a mortgage, line of credit, getting a bank account or getting a credit card. So did nothing.

Then a year or so ago, I tried to open an account with an on-line bank because they were offering a good HISA rate. I can't remember which bank it was as I have so many accounts. Anyway they denied me on my online application. I talked with their rep and he said to get in touch with Equifax. So I did, and after sending them my birth certificate, passport & drivers license, they cleared it up. The reason for the birthdate error was my original social insurance application (from back in 1967), had the wrong birthdate. They probably still do. It was probably a keypunch error.  

And I'd be willing to guess that the reason you never had any problems in years past was because you were able to physically produce your ID to a bank employee, who could then see with their own two eyes that it was the credit report that was erroneous if there was any discrepancy. Now that we are mostly all applying online for bank accounts, that personal interface no longer exists.

@topgun makes a very good point about making the effort to get something as major as a birth date corrected. It will only case you grief down the road if you don't.

I had a bad data entry experience that was eventually discovered to have been caused by Capital One updating my file 20 years ago as part of a joint credit card application with my spouse. Seems whoever entered the information at TransUnion based upon our then newly-approved CapitalOne trade line overwrote my surname with my spouse's surname, which is not the same.

Since I hadn't had any cause to pull my own file for years, I wasn't aware it had happened. Then the CapitalOne breach occurred in 2019, whereupon I was offered free credit monitoring through TransUnion; all I had to do was sign up online, but I couldn't get it to work and couldn't understand why not. It was only from weeks of trying to figure out why TransUnion was rejecting me that the surname discrepancy was unearthed. Took me another 3+ months beyond that to get it corrected.

October 14, 2020
8:19 pm
ronjoh
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WOW
Thanks very much for all the responses to my questions. I sure learned a lot in a short period of time.
The reason for joining this web site and forum is that I decide to move the cash portion of my portfolio away from bonds and bond mutual funds / ETFs is that the rates offered by my bank TDW were quite unacceptable.
I will go with HIS accts or GICs looking for the best rates going forward. I will also max out at 100,000 for each Bank for the CIDC coverage.
My wife and I will have combined (joint) accounts at each institution. Is setting up joint accounts going to be a problem?
Secondly my wife had inherited a small amount of funds she wants to keep in a personal account so she can spend freely, gift to the Grandkids or whatever. Unfortunately the the DIY investments have become my responsibility, so I will have to set up a separate account for her and i will become the POA for that account.
So, we will need joints accts and a separate account for her with me as the POA.
Does this become a problem with online banking? I realize (from scanning this forum) that if her name is on a joint acct that account total will count toward the 100,000 at that institution.
I'm curious about joint accounts and POA with these online banking institutions.
Thanks for all information and feedback.

October 14, 2020
8:44 pm
Loonie
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It shouldn't be significantly more bother to set up a joint account. They all offer them now as far as I know.

The deal with CDIC insurance is that you get 100,000 coverage for total sum in joint names as well as in her own name alone (as well as TFSA, RSP, RIF). In this regard, beware that GICs and savings accounts in the same joints names must be added together to see if they are under 100K. Also, Simplii and CIBC are the same entity for insurance purposes, so, if you have money in both, you must add it together.

The banks will all have different policies about POAs but since your wife is mentally competent, you may have difficulty getting a POA recognized at this time. You can still do all the research and make the decisions for her. She may decide to give you her password, which is not exactly kosher, but it's what a lot of people do when the banks are obstinate. If you have any issues with her account, it will need to be her, not you, who phones them.

October 14, 2020
11:05 pm
Norman1
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ronjoh said

The reason for joining this web site and forum is that I decide to move the cash portion of my portfolio away from bonds and bond mutual funds / ETFs is that the rates offered by my bank TDW were quite unacceptable.

TD Waterhouse is not the only one. Scotia iTRADE is similar.

One can definitely do better by buying GIC's oneself instead of buying bonds, bond mutual funds, or bond ETF's.

Bonds are really meant for people who don't have a choice because they have way more funds than is practical to get deposit insurance for.

What I wrote in 2014 about bonds is still true today.

October 16, 2020
12:27 pm
ronjoh
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Loonie said
It shouldn't be significantly more bother to set up a joint account. They all offer them now as far as I know.

The deal with CDIC insurance is that you get 100,000 coverage for total sum in joint names as well as in her own name alone (as well as TFSA, RSP, RIF). In this regard, beware that GICs and savings accounts in the same joints names must be added together to see if they are under 100K. Also, Simplii and CIBC are the same entity for insurance purposes, so, if you have money in both, you must add it together.

The banks will all have different policies about POAs but since your wife is mentally competent, you may have difficulty getting a POA recognized at this time. You can still do all the research and make the decisions for her. She may decide to give you her password, which is not exactly kosher, but it's what a lot of people do when the banks are obstinate. If you have any issues with her account, it will need to be her, not you, who phones them.  

I thought the use of POAs would be quite common. For example at TDW my wife and I both have POAs on each others registered RRIFs and TFSA accts. The POA allows each of us to sell, purchase securities or make withdrawal on these account. Other non-registered account is joint.
I know there there is some paperwork to set it up, but was wondering if others had any difficulties with online banks.
Thanks for all the help

October 16, 2020
1:48 pm
ronjoh
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Loonie said

The deal with CDIC insurance is that you get 100,000 coverage for total sum in joint names as well as in her own name alone  

Here's my restrictions from my bank (TD ) for online transfers.
$3,000 every 24 hours
$10,000 every 7 days
$20,000 every 30 days
How do the folks here get around these limits or am I missing something?

October 16, 2020
2:18 pm
Londonguy
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ronjoh said

Here's my restrictions from my bank (TD ) for online transfers.
$3,000 every 24 hours
$10,000 every 7 days
$20,000 every 30 days
How do the folks here get around these limits or am I missing something?  

Those are Interac limits, whereas the transfers we're making between online banks and credit unions are via EFTs using pre-arranged links between institutions. The outgoing (i.e. "pushing") limits on EFTs vary between institutions, but you can generally drive around those restrictions by initiating your transfer at the receiving end and "pulling" your money out of the source account instead.

I should point out the BigBanks don't let you create your own external links to other banks. They don't want to facilitate your taking your business elsewhere.

Like many others who post here regularly, I have been making 6-digit EFT transfers between my various accounts for years in pursuit of the highest available rates. Some people couldn't be bothered but I've come to treat it like a sport

October 16, 2020
3:29 pm
ronjoh
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Londonguy said

I should point out the BigBanks don't let you create your own external links to other banks. They don't want to facilitate your taking your business elsewhere.

  

This may be a "show stopper". What are the alternatives other than possible sending a cheque? My accounts are with TD bank.

October 16, 2020
3:38 pm
Loonie
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Glad to hear you are getting cooperation from TDW re: POA. I think that if the two of you went into the bank and she set it up with them directly, that may have made the difference. Banks are not always cooperative about accepting POA drawn up by an lawyer of your choosing. I was htinking of the latter situation.

YOu might try a test run to see if it really works. I gave my spouse POA over an account at TD some years ago which worked for a while while I was out of the country but then they "lost" it. So, keep a copy. My best guess as to what happened when my POA vanished from their system was that they updated their forms and the old ones were considered no longer valid by them, but, of course, they didn't inform me of this.

I agree with what Londonguy has said. Another option is if you have a chequing account. You can write a cheque payable to yourself for any amount and deposit elsewhere with an app. You have to wait for it to clear before accessing, but you will usually be given interest starting immediately.
The banks sometimes have difficulty recognizing that it's actually YOUR money, not theirs.

October 17, 2020
6:59 am
fbeaulie
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ronjoh said

This may be a "show stopper". What are the alternatives other than possible sending a cheque? My accounts are with TD bank.  

My main account is with Desjardins. While Desjardins does not allow me to create links to external accounts, I can still create a link from my external accounts (e.g., LBC Digital). I can then pull or push money out of/into my Desjardins account using the external account.

October 17, 2020
2:28 pm
Londonguy
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ronjoh said

This may be a "show stopper". What are the alternatives other than possible sending a cheque? My accounts are with TD bank.  

As @loonie described, once your new online account is open you may be able to download that bank's mobile app and make a mobile deposit (or 2 or 3 or whatever it takes ) to move your TD money into your new bank. But be aware that (a) not all online banks support mobile deposit, and (b) all mobile deposit apps have a dollar limit on the amount of the transaction, some of which are as low as $10K per deposit. That would make moving $100+ a real PITA.

However, if you're talking about Simplii or Tangerine, you won't have that problem, as I believe their mobile deposit limit is $100K. I have used both their mobile apps before to deposit near-$100K cheques. And as @loonie also pointed out, when using cheques to move your funds this way, your deposit will be subject to a 5-8 business day hold at the receiving institution, but if you've deposited the cheque directly into your new savings account, the hold won't affect your earned interest.

The method @fbeaulie suggested will also work. In their case LBC Digital is being used as an intermediary hub with an external link to a Desjardins account. That provides the ability to pull Desjardins funds out to LBC, where the money can then be pushed onward to somewhere else. It's an extra step process but it gets the job done. FYI many people outside Quebec prefer to use EQ Bank as their intermediary hub because, of all the online banks, EQ allows you to have the most (10) external banking links.

One issue to be aware of when using the hub method is that if you "pull" funds from BigBank (or any bank for that matter), as previously described the amount of your EFT transfer will similarly be held in limbo before it becomes available for transfer elsewhere (because even though it's an EFT, it might still bounce, and the bank has to protect itself). So there is an extra delay in getting your money to its final destination using the hub method.

While this stuff may sound a bit complicated at first, once you have multiple HISAs open at all the usual suspects and have built up your network of links between them, you can move your money around fairly efficiently with just a few mouse clicks. You'll also gain experience using the features of the various banking platforms out there, which in turn will lead to you develop preferences for which ones best meet your needs. Not everyone is looking for the same thing, nor do they find the same features useful

October 17, 2020
4:44 pm
Norman1
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The funds transfers that fbeaulie and Londonguy described are known as direct deposits and pre-authorized debits.

Many of the online financial institutions, like Tangerine Bank, Hubert Financial, and EQ Bank, allow one to generate

  • pre-authorized debits to pull money in from and
  • direct deposits to push money out to

bank accounts at another financial institution.

Those are the same direct deposits used to send employee pay directly to their bank accounts. Those pre-authorized debits are used by authorized billers to pull money directly from people's bank accounts as an alternative to people sending the billers cheques or billing remittances.

October 20, 2020
8:56 pm
ronjoh
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Thank you all for the great information. I'm ready to finally make a move to a HIS bank.
I just have one question regarding this site. While scrolling around all the different topics on this site, I found an advertisement for Niverville credit union in Manitoba. The GIC rate for 1 year is 1.55 % (IIRC). I am looking for a a GIC rather than (for example) the Canadian Tire HIS which could change rates tomorrow. What's bothering me is that Niverville Credit union is not on the GIC list nor is it listed in the topic area, but it is advertised on this website. Is there something I am missing while doing my research?

October 21, 2020
2:23 am
topgun
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Londonguy said

As @loonie described, once your new online account is open you may be able to download that bank's mobile app and make a mobile deposit (or 2 or 3 or whatever it takes ) to move your TD money into your new bank. But be aware that (a) not all online banks support mobile deposit, and (b) all mobile deposit apps have a dollar limit on the amount of the transaction, some of which are as low as $10K per deposit. That would make moving $100+ a real PITA.

However, if you're talking about Simplii or Tangerine, you won't have that problem, as I believe their mobile deposit limit is $100K. I have used both their mobile apps before to deposit near-$100K cheques. And as @loonie also pointed out, when using cheques to move your funds this way, your deposit will be subject to a 5-8 business day hold at the receiving institution, but if you've deposited the cheque directly into your new savings account, the hold won't affect your earned interest.

The method @fbeaulie suggested will also work. In their case LBC Digital is being used as an intermediary hub with an external link to a Desjardins account. That provides the ability to pull Desjardins funds out to LBC, where the money can then be pushed onward to somewhere else. It's an extra step process but it gets the job done. FYI many people outside Quebec prefer to use EQ Bank as their intermediary hub because, of all the online banks, EQ allows you to have the most (10) external banking links.

One issue to be aware of when using the hub method is that if you "pull" funds from BigBank (or any bank for that matter), as previously described the amount of your EFT transfer will similarly be held in limbo before it becomes available for transfer elsewhere (because even though it's an EFT, it might still bounce, and the bank has to protect itself). So there is an extra delay in getting your money to its final destination using the hub method.

While this stuff may sound a bit complicated at first, once you have multiple HISAs open at all the usual suspects and have built up your network of links between them, you can move your money around fairly efficiently with just a few mouse clicks. You'll also gain experience using the features of the various banking platforms out there, which in turn will lead to you develop preferences for which ones best meet your needs. Not everyone is looking for the same thing, nor do they find the same features useful  

I have (7) external links with Simplii. Plenty. Good hub.

Have a Great Day

October 21, 2020
5:03 am
topgun
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ronjoh said
Thank you all for the great information. I'm ready to finally make a move to a HIS bank.
I just have one question regarding this site. While scrolling around all the different topics on this site, I found an advertisement for Niverville credit union in Manitoba. The GIC rate for 1 year is 1.55 % (IIRC). I am looking for a a GIC rather than (for example) the Canadian Tire HIS which could change rates tomorrow. What's bothering me is that Niverville Credit union is not on the GIC list nor is it listed in the topic area, but it is advertised on this website. Is there something I am missing while doing my research?  

Get a FATCAT savings account and a checking account (as long it has no monthly fee) to compliment your GIC. Have a good day.

Have a Great Day

October 22, 2020
4:21 am
RetirEd
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Just in case some readers don't have it clearly with all the terminology...

Financial Institutions that don't have lots of branches allow transfers by what is called

-pre-authorized debit/pre-authorized credit (PAD/PAC)
OR
-pre-authorized debit/pre-authorized deposit (PAD/PAD)
OR
-direct debit/direct deposit (DD/DD)

These are the ones to use (All different names for the same thing). I activate them with phone calls.

Most full-service banks won't allow you to initiate these EFT transfers from their end, but all of them will permit them to be executed from the OTHER financial institution. The banks will often play dumb when you ask for their transit and institution numbers and try to steer you to e-mail or Interac transfers, or other methods, which carry HIGH fees in most cases.

Many banks will allow you to set up recurring payments or payroll deposits as PAD/PAC, but not allow specific on-demand ones. Setting up PAD from government payments, paycheques or the like can get you bonuses from the financial institution - because they charge the payor a fee. I've gotten up to $200 for setting up a direct deposit/PAC for a few months.

I always use an empty account for PAC payments to me - for example, if I have shares or term deposits at an FI I will allow deposits into an dummy chequing account I never leave money in. There is always a danger that any party depositing by PAC is also able to PULL money out. I have witnessed and verified two cases where people allowing government payments by PAC into their accounts have had accidental overpayments pulled out WITHOUT WARNING, causing a cascade of payment failures and penalties. Nasty. And no recourse.

Cheques work fine and don't cost anything if you have some sort of minimum free actions, minimum balance or age qualification.
RetirEd

RetirEd

October 22, 2020
3:59 pm
Loonie
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I've never had any trouble getting transit codes etc, but, if you do, tell them you are expecting a transfer-in from overseae and the party in question requires this info. If necessary, tell them it's an inheritance, and the lawyer-executor requires it to be done this way. The FIs are much more keen on receiving money than they are on letting go of it.

October 22, 2020
5:05 pm
Norman1
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Generating direct deposits and pre-authorized debits is not a service that is normally offered by the large banks to personal banking clients. It is normally a service for business banking clients. One name for them is "Customer Automated Funds Transfers" or CAFT's.

Never had any problem obtaining institution, transit, and account numbers for accounts that can accept direct deposits or pre-authorized debits. The numbers are on the cheques for chequing accounts. For non-chequing accounts, just request the direct deposit or pre-authorized debit info for the accounts.

The tellers won't necessarily be familiar with the "push" and "pull" funds terms used here. But, they will know what a direct deposit or a pre-authorized debit is.

October 22, 2020
11:17 pm
Rick
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http://canada-banks-info.com/b.....anks-list/
Click on a bank and it shows all branch numbers

November 4, 2020
8:10 am
dentgal
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I would never (almost never) close down an account, thinking that perhaps one day the rate will entice me back and it's too much of a hassle to re-open an account. As long as there are no fees to keep the account open, I just keep $1 or less in the account.

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