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Email this8:27 am
December 20, 2016
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If you are a snowbird, like me, the authentication process required by Simplii precludes anyone currently outside Canada from completing the process, as Simplii requires authentication by personally showing an ID at a Canada Post location.
Here is their instructions quoted from Simplii's secure private messaging email:
Before we can complete your account open, there are a few steps that need to be completed.
In accordance with your earlier consent to obtain documents electronically, the attached letter and signature card form have been sent to the provided email address.
Signature Card
Please sign the attached Signature Card
Send it back to us by selecting the 'Reply' button above and use the 'Attach' option to attach your signed Signature CardIdentification
Identify yourself by visiting a Canada Post outlet
Print, write down, or display on your mobile device the Canada Post Barcode in the attached letter
Go to a Canada Post outlet to present one of the following valid government issued photo identification:
Canadian Provincial Driver’s Licence
OR proof of residence (i.e. utility bill, insurance statement, etc.) with your name and address AND one of the following:
Canadian Passport
Certificate of Indian Status Card
Canada Permanent Resident Card
Canadian Forces ID
Firearms Possession and Acquisition Licence
To locate your nearest Canada Post outlet, visit canadapost.caActivate your bank card
Your bank card will arrive by mail 2-5 business days after your application was submitted. Once you receive it, please call 1-888-723-8881 to activate your card.
11:07 am
June 15, 2016
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Yes that's what you have to do if they sent you a secure email.
But they also have another option. Where they mail you a Signature card. And you sign it & send it by post to them and you mail a pre printed $ 25 cheque with your pre printed name & address on it from your other bank.
They will open the bank account that way too.
1:16 pm
December 3, 2014
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That adds an extra wrinkle to the already long process.
But yes they do have a option to send in an cheque.
Maybe they would let you send it electronically...would reduce
the time frame abit.
2:01 pm
October 27, 2013
Online
The issue for each FI is their specific interpretation of what it takes to meet FATCA requirements for Canadian residency and personal identity. Electronic means is not a slam dunk these days given the ability to forge almost anything. I wouldn't be too critical of the hoops FIs put applicants through.
4:14 pm
December 3, 2014
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I don't know if there are too many loops...but everything seemed to take so long to get done.
I hate to think about how much longer it would of taken without their secured e-mail to send documents.
Of coarse these guys only opened their doors Nov 1....so congestion is no doubt part of the problem at this point.
4:15 pm
December 12, 2009
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rfdm4g4g9 said
Yes that's what you have to do if they sent you a secure email.But they also have another option. Where they mail you a Signature card. And you sign it & send it by post to them and you mail a pre printed $ 25 cheque with your pre printed name & address on it from your other bank.
They will open the bank account that way too.
That's what I was hoping they'd do. Can someone provide some screenshot(s) confirming this? I am in the process of finalizing some improvements to the "Free Chequing" account chart, as well as related improvements to the "Services" chart, and I'd like to add pertinent details pertaining to account opening/ID verification that would be useful. 🙂
If so, that's great. I'm pleased they've added Canada Post verification. 🙂
Cheers,
Doug
4:18 pm
December 12, 2009
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AltaRed said
The issue for each FI is their specific interpretation of what it takes to meet FATCA requirements for Canadian residency and personal identity. Electronic means is not a slam dunk these days given the ability to forge almost anything. I wouldn't be too critical of the hoops FIs put applicants through.
Not hardly. Have to disagree with you there. That's HSBC's lame excuse for not offering online account opening anymore.
Fact is, FINTRAC has actually improved the number of account verification methods for non-face-to-face account opening. The key is, they need to be asking the right questions for people like snowbirds. 🙂
Cheers,
Doug
4:52 pm
December 12, 2009
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One curious thing about their Canada Post verification: a separate signature card? The Canada Post ID verification method has a built-in digital signature capture whereby the Canada Post rep views & verifies your ID, scans a barcode and then has you sign a digital signature panel. 🙂
Bizarre.
Cheers,
Doug
1:40 am
June 15, 2016
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Doug said
One curious thing about their Canada Post verification: a separate signature card? The Canada Post ID verification method has a built-in digital signature capture whereby the Canada Post rep views & verifies your ID, scans a barcode and then has you sign a digital signature panel. 🙂
Bizarre.Cheers,
Doug
The Signature card you mail in to them via post or secure email, you have to sign with a pen & paper. The same way you sign a cheque, the signature is more accurate.
When you sign on the digital PAD at Canada Post, it often comes as a scribble & is not too accurate. Kind of like when the courier guy comes to your house & you accept a package & you just scribble something on their electronic pad to confirm delivery.
I don't think Canada Post sends that digital signature you do on their digital PAD to Simplii so that Simplii can compare that signature to any future cheques or documents you sign. That's just a confirmation & a formality that you physically came to CP & your ID was physically verified.
Any future signatures you do on any cheques or documents will only be compared with the Signature card signature for authenticity or cheque clearing.
10:23 am
December 12, 2009
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rfdm4g4g9 said
The Signature card you mail in to them via post or secure email, you have to sign with a pen & paper. The same way you sign a cheque, the signature is more accurate.When you sign on the digital PAD at Canada Post, it often comes as a scribble & is not too accurate. Kind of like when the courier guy comes to your house & you accept a package & you just scribble something on their electronic pad to confirm delivery.
I don't think Canada Post sends that digital signature you do on their digital PAD to Simplii so that Simplii can compare that signature to any future cheques or documents you sign. That's just a confirmation & a formality that you physically came to CP & your ID was physically verified.
Any future signatures you do on any cheques or documents will only be compared with the Signature card signature for authenticity or cheque clearing.
I get all of that but I've found, if you slow down and focus on your signature, even those Canada Post signature panel-captured signatures can be clear enough. And let's face it, unless you write a cheque for $10,000 or more, it's not even checked by your bank. A former colleague of mine, who worked for the same bank as I did, once wrote a cheque ahead of time for her rent of a private one-bedroom condo (~$950). She gave it to her husband to drop off on his way to work, I guess, and it cleared her account just fine. The only problem with the cheque? It lacked a signature. It was completely missing. Now, she's not going to return it as unauthorized as that would sully her reputation with her landlord so it was fine and good that it cleared but, still, it shows how things like that aren't checked. Even for large value items, often it's a cursory glance by a low-level bank employee in a Vancouver or Toronto area back-office processing centre (or, in the case of HSBC Canada, in Guangzhou, Manila or Mumbai). 🙂
Plus, if you're using the cleared cheque method, why would a signature card even be necessary? It's perfectly acceptable to use the signature on that cleared cheque as the signature card. 🙂
Cheers,
Doug
3:44 pm
December 7, 2011
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Another online glitch.
I just logged in today and noticed, that my last visit was Dec 31, 1969.
Nice to know, Simplii, thanks!
6:11 pm
December 12, 2009
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Winnie said
Another online glitch.
I just logged in today and noticed, that my last visit was Dec 31, 1969.
Nice to know, Simplii, thanks!
Hrm, strange. At first I thought this might be related to the forthcoming Y2K bug redux for Unix systems, but that's not until 2038. 🙁
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem
Cheers,
Doug
1:26 pm
December 7, 2011
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Once again the same - my last visit was Dec 31, 1969 at 7:00 pm ET
Strange, is't only me or anyone else also noticed the same glitch?
2:08 pm
September 30, 2017
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Could be just you, Winnie. My last visit date is fine. The greeting is first name basis on mine. I see none on yours. Customer number 000 means it is not connecting to any record in the database. Also the $0 balance. Is there actually an active account with a balance? Rogue card with a password? Is there a newer card? If there still business with Simplii, you should call in for a fix.
Hope this helps.
... what bugs me is that I won't get a monthly statement if there is no transaction during that month 🙁
2:23 pm
December 7, 2011
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My name (first and last) was there, I just erased them before posting here. And customer number was correct also. I just erased last 7 digits 000xxxxxxx. Yes, $0 balance and active account - at least 2 transactions each month and every month all the time. And yes, I usually login every week or every 2 weeks. I also have Simplii active debit card (Master Card debit), but not using it regularly. When Simplii will offer to me at least 5.25% HISA, I probably will do more business with Simplii. For now I'm happy with my $0 balance.
6:21 am
December 7, 2011
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I called Simplii, they are aware of this problem.
It only happens when someone login with new Simplii debit card number (Master Card debit).
Simplii offered $20 compensation to me, I did not asked.
I just received that $20 in my account. Not taxable money, nice.
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