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Email this7:08 am
May 24, 2016
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Just seen. I don’t know anything about this Cr. Union, but thought the 3.25% term might be of interest to some.
“Proudly Serving Niagara. From St. Catharines to Welland, and Niagara Falls to Fort Erie, PenFinancial Credit Union has firm roots in Niagara.
The GIC with an extra guarantee!
3.25% for 15 months
Plus - if the Bank of Canada rate goes up, so does your GIC.”
9:03 am
May 27, 2016
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Good find, thanks. Never heard of them before.
Their online interface looks a lot like what WealthOne, DUCA, Ideal Savings and probably a few other FIs use. If so, it should be as easily navigated --
https://penfinancial.com/Personal/OnlineBanking/
"Becoming a member" link to the application process --
10:18 am
December 20, 2016
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12:47 pm
November 19, 2014
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Nehpets said
Good find, JenE
Stephen
+1
They are a pretty decent CU in the Niagara area. And that rate is great. With the recent reductions in the market, it is basically as good as what most places are giving for 3 year money.
6:49 am
February 20, 2018
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Have to go to branch to sign up not quite enough juice pullin back a bit on CUs
7:28 am
March 27, 2019
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Hi everyone,
I work at PenFi and found this forum post from a Google alert. We've had a lot of interest in the GIC since we launched it a few weeks back. Just wanted to give you a little inside scoop that we're going to be ending the GIC in a few days, so if you wanted to sign up for it, fill out the contact form at http://www.penfi.ca/investing, or feel free to just send me a message and I can have someone contact you.
Just a quick FYI, we're a growing Credit Union in Niagara, with 8 branches. You may have seen our two latest branches on Fourth Ave in St. Catharines, and HWY 20 in Fonthill. Your deposits are insured up to $250,000 by DICO.
Hope this helps, have a great day!
Colin
10:04 am
December 20, 2016
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Thank you for reaching out to the Forum, Colin! Your CU's offer is appealing.
Keep us in mind when future offers come available.
Do you require a personal visit to open an account or can it be handled online and telephone as long as you get all the required information for identification and authentication?
Stephen
10:27 am
March 27, 2019
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Thanks for having me! To open the account an in person meeting is required to sign the paperwork. We are going to be working on an online onboarding initiative next year.
1:47 pm
February 20, 2018
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Appreciate the deal was comparing it to hsbc 3.1 15mth. I would do Pen but dont have to at the moment. For those who havent loaded up on 3+ CUs id recommend
5:24 pm
January 28, 2019
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ColinPenFi said
Hi everyone,I work at PenFi and found this forum post from a Google alert. We've had a lot of interest in the GIC since we launched it a few weeks back. Just wanted to give you a little inside scoop that we're going to be ending the GIC in a few days, so if you wanted to sign up for it, fill out the contact form at http://www.penfi.ca/investing, or feel free to just send me a message and I can have someone contact you.
Just a quick FYI, we're a growing Credit Union in Niagara, with 8 branches. You may have seen our two latest branches on Fourth Ave in St. Catharines, and HWY 20 in Fonthill. Your deposits are insured up to $250,000 by DICO.
Hope this helps, have a great day!
Colin
Thanks for giving us more info Colin. When you say the deal is going to end in a few days do you know when the exact end date of the rate as I wasn't able to find it on the website. Also since I am about 3hrs drive to your nearest branch do we have any other option but going to the branch to open GIC.
7:46 pm
February 20, 2018
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he said u gotta go to the branch
eventually they will have another platform to book
my suggestion get it done before the weekend to be sure
11:09 pm
October 21, 2013
Online
The Fine Print:
"Offer available to new and existing PenFi members. Minimum deposit of $1,000 required. Registered and non-registered deposits applicable. Rate subject to change without notice. Deposits insured up to $250,000 (unlimited in registered plans) by the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario. If the Bank of Canada raises their overnight lending rate during the term of the GIC, PenFI will increase your GIC rate by an equal amount as of that date. For example if the bank of Canada increases their rate by 0.25% on April 5th, PenFi wil increase your GIC rate to 3.50% as of April 5th for the remainder of your GIC term. If the Bank of Canada lowers their rate, you will continue to receive 3.25% on your GIC for the rest of your term. Your rate will never go below 3.25%."
Questions:
1. Is this an annual rate that is compounded for the last 3 months?
2. Do all PenFI's GICs offer this feature, to match any BoC rate increases, or is it just this particular GIC offer?
The BoC will not be adjusting its rate until April 24, if then, so it seems a bit confusing to suggest April 5, but that's a minor point.
Seems like a good offer, but too inconvenient for me. Hamilton's my limit!
5:20 am
December 20, 2016
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If they plan to develop their online business, they would need to pay better attention to responding to incoming online inquiries from potential new clients in a timely manner. Perhaps their slogan of "truly local banking" conflicts with inquiries from a distance.
I sent a "Contact Us" inquiry using their website Tue, Mar 26, 5:55 PM, and received an email acknowledgement of receipt from their server from:(noreply-memberdirect@central1.com) but two days later, have not received a response to my inquiry.
If this is an example of their interest in online business, it is not impressive when other CU's with online services respond within a day or usually the same day....like DUCA, Hubert etc.
Stephen
5:39 am
September 7, 2018
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Nehpets said
If they plan to develop their online business, they would need to pay better attention to responding to incoming online inquiries from potential new clients in a timely manner. Perhaps their slogan of "truly local banking" conflicts with inquiries from a distance.I sent a "Contact Us" inquiry using their website Tue, Mar 26, 5:55 PM, and received an email acknowledgement of receipt from their server from:(noreply-memberdirect@central1.com) but two days later, have not received a response to my inquiry.
If this is an example of their interest in online business, it is not impressive when other CU's with online services respond within a day or usually the same day....like DUCA, Hubert etc.
Stephen
Stephen - I also sent an email as on their site (Contact Us - We want to hear from you) a few days ago - and I have not heard from them. I also phoned them several times at the Central Services and kept getting a voice message "no one is available to take your call etc. etc. etc." I am not impressed! At this point, I have no interest in dealing with them.
6:11 am
December 20, 2016
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canadian.100 said
Stephen - I also sent an email as on their site (Contact Us - We want to hear from you) a few days ago - and I have not heard from them. I also phoned them several times at the Central Services and kept getting a voice message "no one is available to take your call etc. etc. etc." I am not impressed! At this point, I have no interest in dealing with them.
That's unfortunate, and despite Colin's best intentions, the Company is not providing the necessary support for a growing market of distant investors who deal online.
Surprisingly, some credit unions, even larger ones, Meridian comes to mind, seem to have difficulty reorienting their thinking and culture to adopt the digital age of communication.
I think CU's have traditionally considered themselves dedicated solely to the local community to which they have direct ties, and in these days of internet banking where potential clients can come from a distance, their management and by extension their staff has difficulty seeing the the broader market opportunity.
The CU's that appear to have successfully made the transition are the ones most popular among Forum members, like Hubert, DUCA, Omnia Direct, that come to mind.
Stephen
6:28 am
October 21, 2013
Online
Pen may not have been able to respond to the increased business that this thread has created. i can sympathize with that. They didn't come begging to us for publicity. They were just a small local CU doing their thing.
I too have wondered if CUs might be having some kind of "identity crisis". Many of them started as a closed-bond organizations and now are open bond and have amalgamated with others, losing that local flavour. They all seem to want to expand, and they compete with each other to do so, whether they recognize that or not. And it seems a lot of them want to become banks when they grow up, but it's not clear to me why they need to do that.
I can think of several instances in Toronto alone where two or three of them exist in fairly close proximity to each other, and both are open bond.
I think it might be especially difficult, and confusing, to operate both physical and online under the same banner, although the banks are also doing this. Hubert, OmniaDirect, etc are set up as subsidiaries of bricks and mortar CUs which have a different name and different access, and I think that makes it clearer and easier.
Please write your comments in the forum.