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Email this1:33 pm
October 21, 2013
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There is a reference to this on the Meridian website but there are few details posted there.
Here's the deal:
"Meridian Credit Union is offering a one and a half percent bonus ("1.50% Cash Bonus Offer") to new and existing Members, subject to satisfaction in Meridian Credit Union's sole discretion, of the eligibility criteria set forth in these terms and conditions.
Eligibility Criteria
In order to qualify for the 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer, Members must satisfy all of the following eligibility criteria:
1. Meridian Members who have achieved the age of majority in Canada.
2. Cash, investments, or a combination thereof ("New Assets") must be transferred into a new or existing registered account at Meridian ("Qualifying Accounts") from a financial institution
outside of Meridian Credit Union, Credential Asset Management Inc., Credential Securities Inc., and Credential Direct. To qualify as New Assets, the assets must not have been transferred out of a Qualifying Account at any time within the previous twelve (12) months.
3. The transfer of New Assets from a financial institution into a Qualifying Account must be initiated no earlier than June 26, 2017 at 9:00a.m. Toronto, Canada time (the specific date of
transfer is referred to as the "Transfer-In Date").
4. New Assets must be received into a Qualifying Account not later than 4:00 p.m. Toronto, Canada time on September 29,
2017. The 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer will be paid as described herein on New Assets.
5. New Assets received on or before September 29, 2017 must remain in the Qualifying Account until payment of the 1.50% Cash Bonus is made into the Qualifying Account. Transfers between Qualifying Accounts are permitted.
6. The Member must transfer in a minimum of $10,000 per Member from an account held at another financial institution.
7. Qualifying Accounts can be (a) registered retirement savings plan accounts; (b) spousal registered retirement savings plan accounts; (c) registered retirement income fund accounts; (d)
spousal registered retirement income fund accounts; (e) tax free savings accounts; (D any combination of the above. Other accounts may qualify.
Validation and Payment
8. At the time of receiving the 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer the Member must be a resident of Canada.
9. Valuation of New Assets will be based on the market value of the New Assets as of 4:00 p.m. Toronto, Canada time on the
Transfer-In Date.
10. The amount of the 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer will be 1.50% of the market value of the Qualifying Investments provided the Net Qualifying Investments are $10,000 or more. The maximum bonus payable is $750 per Member.
11. The 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer is determined by Meridian Credit Union in its sole discretion and is payable on the date funds are received on New Assets that qualify (Qualifying Investments).
12. The 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer will be deposited into a registered term deposit of at least one (1) year(s) in length, under the same Qualifying Account as the New Assets, and will be made in the depositing currency.
13. All payments pursuant to the 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer will be made by Meridian Credit Union.
General Terms
14. This offer may not be combined with any other offer.
15. Meridian Credit Union reserves the right at any time without prior notice and in its sole discretion, to add, alter, modify all or any of these terms and conditions or to replace this offer, wholly or in part, with any other offer, whether similar to this offer or not, or to withdraw this offer altogether.
16. Additional terms and conditions apply to opening an ccount with Meridian Credit Union, and the transfer in, and operation of, accounts at Meridian Credit Union.
17. Meridian Credit Union shall have the exclusive right to determine the amounts, if any, payable under any offer.
18. Meridian Credit Union is not responsible for transfers that are not initiated or received and completed by the dates stated in Sections 3 and 4 due to problems or technical malfunctions of telephone networks or lines, computer online systems or servers, computer software problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website, or any other delays on the part of the delivering institution."
Works best for 1year with 50K.
3:36 pm
November 19, 2014
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Their current rate on TFSA and RRSP ISA seems to be 1.5% So, do you think this would effectively make it 3% ? Their wording is quite vague.
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Build your TFSA Savings with these great products
Meridian Good To Grow High Interest Savings Account - 1.50%
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4:15 pm
December 20, 2016
Online
Koogie said
Their current rate on TFSA and RRSP ISA seems to be 1.5% So, do you think this would effectively make it 3% ?
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The way I read it, Meridian pays one time cash bonus of 1.5% on an incoming deposit. The deposit itself would be eligible for the current interest rate.
Loonie said Works best for 1year with 50K.
Therefore 1.5% of $50,000= $750 as was stated by Loonie.
4:17 pm
April 15, 2015
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The way I read it is if you deposit 50,000 they add 750.00 to that & you get 1.5% on 50,750 for your term.With the additional 750.00 collecting 1.5% it is a little more than 3% yield.
8:08 pm
October 21, 2013
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I'm unclear whether HISA would qualify. I think they want you to take a GIC. It's not clear, but they do give themselves discretion so would be best to ask. I find it hard to imagine they would let you transfer in, give you 750, and then let you take your money and run shortly after, withholding only the 750 in a regular GIC (condition 12).
1 year GIC at their going rate of 1.25 plus 1.5 would give you 2.75%, wouldn't it?
6:30 am
November 19, 2014
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Loonie said
I'm unclear whether HISA would qualify. I think they want you to take a GIC. It's not clear, but they do give themselves discretion so would be best to ask. I find it hard to imagine they would let you transfer in, give you 750, and then let you take your money and run shortly after, withholding only the 750 in a regular GIC (condition 12).1 year GIC at their going rate of 1.25 plus 1.5 would give you 2.75%, wouldn't it?
Nope, pretty sure it just HISA and not GIC. Firstly, it is only for registered funds, as I see it.
When you click on the special to get it, it says TFSA, RRSP or RRIF. I choose RRSP and then it said:
"What you get:
Good To Grow RRSP High Interest Savings Account
Limited Time Promotional Offer
Membership in Meridian"
So, I think it is for a HISA in a registered account only.
I guess they are not to worried about registered money switching that quickly and I do notice the HOLD TO date restriction in the terms you posted above.
If they have registered fund transfer fees (which most do) it would eat into the bonus a little too.
2:12 pm
December 20, 2016
Online
semi-retired said
The way I read it is if you deposit 50,000 they add 750.00 to that & you get 1.5% on 50,750 for your term.With the additional 750.00 collecting 1.5% it is a little more than 3% yield.
Was speaking with the local Meridian branch and asked for clarification.
The 1.5% cash bonus is paid up front, but held for 90 days before being paid out. The deposit earns the current interest rate, for new customers on registered money.
2:21 pm
October 21, 2013
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They just lowered their HISA rate to 1.4, as mentioned in another thread. If this is just for HISA, then I don't think I'd want to touch it, considering that they are going against the trend with that rate.
I phoned and was told the bonus money would count as interest and thus would not affect contribution room, but they didn't mention the 90 day hold. Why not just call it interest in the first place? It's looking kind of sleazy. Too many unwritten words.
2:34 pm
October 21, 2013
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Nehpets said
Was speaking with the local Meridian branch and asked for clarification.
The 1.5% cash bonus is paid up front, but held for 90 days before being paid out. The deposit earns the current interest rate, for new customers on registered money.
I don't know what this means, considering #12 above:
"12. The 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer will be deposited into a registered term deposit of at least one (1) year(s) in length, under the same Qualifying Account as the New Assets, and will be made in the depositing currency."
This does not sound like 90 days - unless they mean they are going to hold it for 90 days and THEN put it into one year GIC?
And, since it is going into the same "qualifying account", that seems to imply that the QA will also have a term of a year, but that contradicts what koogie found on the application. Very confusing.
3:18 pm
January 16, 2017
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I think that the "90 days" condition has nothing to do with the 1.5% Cash Bonus promotion.
The "90 days" is mentioned on the other 150$ promotion:
https://www.meridiancu.ca/personal-banking/Offers/OOP/omo140.aspx
https://www.meridiancu.ca/Meridian/media/images/PDFs/OMO_0717140_T-C.pdf
" point 6: ...The offer is awarded on the condition that the recipient agrees to keep the awarded funds on deposit with Meridian for at least 90 days from the deposit date and therefore these funds are not available for withdrawal or other use by the recipient until that time..."
I have spoken to a Meridian rep today and he told me that the 1.5% Cash Bonus will need to stay for one year in the TFSA account, which could be a HISA-TFSA.
There is no mention of "90 days" anywhere in the T&C of the 1.5% Cash Bonus on the Meridian site: https://www.meridiancu.ca/Meridian/media/images/PDFs/Canada_150_0617150_T-C.pdf
4:22 pm
October 21, 2013
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thanks for the clarification, Alain. Sometimes, when questions are asked verbally, the people on the other end don't really hear what is being asked. They only hear the question they are prepared to answer.
This still leaves us with a bit of uncertainty regarding the GICs. Hard to imagine they wouldn't accept your money into a GIC, especially since their rates are low for that.
Looks like they added those T&C since the other day when I first saw the promo, as they weren't there then. I had to ask for them.
4:59 pm
April 6, 2013
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Loonie said
This still leaves us with a bit of uncertainty regarding the GICs. Hard to imagine they wouldn't accept your money into a GIC, especially since their rates are low for that.
Would it be possible that Meridian doesn't need to have separate accounts for each registered GIC and for the registered savings account portion?
If multiple GIC's and a savings component can be in one RSP, TFSA, or RIF account, then #7 and #12 can mean having the new assets in any combination of GIC's and savings alongside the 1.5% cash bonus in a term deposit of at least one year in the same account:
7. Qualifying Accounts can be (a) registered retirement savings plan accounts; (b) spousal registered retirement savings plan accounts; (c) registered retirement income fund accounts; (d) spousal registered retirement income fund accounts; (e) tax free savings accounts; (D any combination of the above. Other accounts may qualify.
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12. The 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer will be deposited into a registered term deposit of at least one (1) year(s) in length, under the same Qualifying Account as the New Assets, and will be made in the depositing currency.
5:08 pm
January 16, 2017
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Loonie said
...This still leaves us with a bit of uncertainty regarding the GICs. Hard to imagine they wouldn't accept your money into a GIC, especially since their rates are low for that...
Just to clarify, I have only enquired for TFSA when I called today. So all my comments are about TFSA.
The GIC option was available for TFSA, but at 1.25% (1 year, with interest deposited once), the HISA-TFSA, currently @ 1.4% (compounded monthly) appears more interesting. Even the Meridian rep told me to go with the HISA-TFSA.
12:52 am
October 21, 2013
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Norman1 said
Loonie said
This still leaves us with a bit of uncertainty regarding the GICs. Hard to imagine they wouldn't accept your money into a GIC, especially since their rates are low for that.
Would it be possible that Meridian doesn't need to have separate accounts for each registered GIC and for the registered savings account portion?
If multiple GIC's and a savings component can be in one RSP, TFSA, or RIF account, then #7 and #12 can mean having the new assets in any combination of GIC's and savings alongside the 1.5% cash bonus in a term deposit of at least one year in the same account:
7. Qualifying Accounts can be (a) registered retirement savings plan accounts; (b) spousal registered retirement savings plan accounts; (c) registered retirement income fund accounts; (d) spousal registered retirement income fund accounts; (e) tax free savings accounts; (D any combination of the above. Other accounts may qualify.
…
12. The 1.50% Cash Bonus Offer will be deposited into a registered term deposit of at least one (1) year(s) in length, under the same Qualifying Account as the New Assets, and will be made in the depositing currency.
You could be right. I think it's a matter of interpretation. They haven't been very clear on what their terms of reference mean. All we know about a "Qualifying Account" is that it's a registered one. Normally, I think "account" means one defined chunk of money with its own rate, deposits, term or not, etc. But this looks like you could theoretically have the bonus in a GIC and the principal in HISA or a GIC with a different term, which would normally be two accounts. Will have to ask them directly as I don't like to assume, where lawyers are involved!
I will say that in the past I have found Meridian to have a broader definition than most of "account". Spouse and I are somehow deemed to be in one account even though we did not set up a joint account per se. It's fine with us, makes life easier actually.
6:10 pm
January 16, 2017
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Does anyone know if the "1.50% Cash Bonus" on TFSA will be considered as "interest" or as a "contribution" ?
I am not sure of the rules the government uses to decide if someone is over limit of his TFSA or not.
6:46 pm
September 11, 2013
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AlainJF, if you didn't contribute the amount to your TFSA I'd guess a bonus earned in the account and paid into it by Meridian is not counted as a contribution by you.
6:59 pm
January 16, 2017
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Bill said
AlainJF, if you didn't contribute the amount to your TFSA I'd guess a bonus earned in the account and paid into it by Meridian is not counted as a contribution by you.
I agree with you and that's what I think too, but since I am already at the top of my TFSA contributions this year, I just want to make sure that this "instantaneous 1.5% bonus" will be considered as "normal interest" and not something "twisted" that I have to pay tax on.
Here is an example of a "twisted rule" from https://www.getsmarteraboutmoney.ca/invest/savings-plans/tfsas/tfsa-basics/
"Asset transfer transactions – You’ll pay 100% tax on any gains made by swapping investments between your TFSA and a registered or a non-registered account. This is to discourage people from using their TFSA to realize gains on investments that would otherwise be subject to tax. Example: you swap cash in your TFSA for an investment from your RRSP."
11:26 pm
October 21, 2013
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I was told by the person I deal with at my Meridian branch that it will be considered as interest. You may wish to confirm this yourself, as you don't know me personally and it's an important question.
It seemed to take him a while to get the answer. I think he had to ask a manager.
It would make life easier if they just called it Interest in the first place!
Really, if you think about it, it would be a nightmare for Meridian if they had to cope with a slew of members who had exceeded their contribution limits by using this promo. There is no good reason why they would knowingly do this.
5:51 pm
January 16, 2017
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Loonie said
I was told by the person I deal with at my Meridian branch that it will be considered as interest. You may wish to confirm this yourself...
I called Meridian, talked to a rep, and I got an answer in line with your statement. (i.e. "considered as interest" ).
Please write your comments in the forum.