SCU | Page 2 | Steinbach Credit Union | Discussion forum

RetirEd said
Tiered rates are an attempt at deception. I would like to see them relegated to the footnote section. But AT LEAST any tiers that start above the CDIC or other deposit insurance limit should not be carried on the main chart, in my humble opinion.  

Now that I have more time, I thought I should answer this.

At SCU (Steinbach Credit Union), all deposits are guaranteed 100% by the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba, so there isn't the same concern about exceeding the usual CDIC deposit-insurance limit. SCU also has tiered interest rates.

I do agree, though, that tiered interest rates can be a trap when the amount above the deposit-insurance limit is not fully protected. In that situation, I think it is important to look at the financial strength of the institution, including its DBRS rating.

It may also be worth looking at the company's bonds. If you are going to have money above the deposit-insurance limit in a GIC, you are taking on the credit risk of the institution anyway. With a bond, you can receive interest income and potentially a capital gain if the bond increases in value. The capital gain may also be taxed at a lower rate than interest income, depending on your tax situation.

So, for a large amount of money above the deposit-insurance limit, it may be worth comparing the GIC rate with the yield and potential capital gain on the company's bonds. In some cases, the bond could be a better deal, especially if you are taking on similar credit risk but have the potential for both interest income and a capital gain.

cgouimet said
Freedom ...

All you have posted about since joining these forums as a member 4 days is SCU.

Are you employed by SCU or associated with someone who is?

Just curious ...  

No, I'm not employed by SCU and I have no association with anyone who is. I'm a Manitoba resident, that's it.

To answer my own question again, since it didn't get a real answer the first time: are there other financial institutions this site doesn't list, and if so, why? Specifically, are there any with competitive high-interest rates that should be added? You cover other Manitoba credit unions but not SCU, and when I asked about the gap I got a dismissive response instead of an explanation. If there's a legitimate reason (regulatory, data availability, whatever), I'd genuinely like to know it. If there isn't one, that's worth knowing too.

Moving on from SCU specifically, I'd rather talk about something more useful: deposit insurance structures. Is a Wealthsimple savings account paying 2.5%, backed by CIPF, actually equivalent in safety to a CDIC-insured account like Oaken at 2.80%, or a DGCM-backed account like Hubert at 2.30%? My understanding is that CIPF is fundamentally different from CDIC and DGCM — it's an industry-funded protection fund with no direct government backing, versus CDIC and DGCM which are government (federal and provincial, respectively) deposit guarantees. Is that right?

AltaRed said

Did you look at the criteria I provided earlier for what is on the list?

In general, for a bank account to be included in the comparison chart, it must be:
not limited to residents of a specific province (unless otherwise indicated on the chart)
must be able to be opened in-branch or opened online through non-face-to-face account opening procedures without requiring a mobile mortgage or banking specialist to come to your home where the product will be sold in conjunction with a mortgage/home equity line of credit
must not be held in broker “book-entry”/nominee form; must be held in one’s own name
the regular interest rate on the high interest savings account must be “competitive” (this is loosely interpreted)

I suspect beyond that entities on the list or not are a result of relatively recent past experience. After all, there are a whole bunch of top 20 CUs in AUM that are not on the list for one reason or another, usually I think due to low base rates historically. Promos and tiered rates don't count.  

SCU meets the criteria laid out — you may be referring to the fact that you can open an account online.

Just because one person couldn't get it to work for them doesn't mean no one can. In the long history of SCU, I doubt not a single person has ever opened an account online.

SCU is like Oaken Financial for me — I had trouble signing up for their online services. That doesn't mean others did, and it doesn't mean they should be removed. I'm just one person.

Mostly I'm looking for high rates, so our objectives aren't completely aligned, but I think others may be looking for high rates too.

If the member who's having trouble opening an account is reading this, I have the contact info of a few people who might be able to help. Can members send messages to one another? I don't want to post his contact info publicly.

Moneyman2 said
Still haven't heard anything back from them. Today is a week. To long for me. Transfered $105 to them, didn't so much as received am email saying that we received your application and $105. Nothing. If I don't hear back from them by days end tomorrow I will call to get my $$ back.  

I don't quite understand — does the money not show in your account? Or are you expecting an email confirming that you opened the account and deposited the money?"

Moneyman2 said
I am waiting for them to do whatever kind of background check, credit check, etc. to accept me as a member of their credit union. I have received 0 information from them. No acknowledgement whatsoever that I even applied, that they received my $$, nothing. The process seems kind of Mickey mouse to me. Not sure if I want to hand of $250k if this is how it's going to be. My credit score is 820+, shouldn't be much to check out but whatever they need to do. I'll be calling by the end of the day today to return my $105 if I haven't heard back from them.  

I get where you're coming from — I've had similar experiences with online-only credit unions.
With Achieva, it took 5 days just to move money into their account from another Manitoba credit union. I've since started mailing paper cheques instead (they arrive in about 3 days), just to work around their slow transfers.
With Oaken — which, like SCU, has no local branches — I called to ask about RRSP withdrawals and was told I couldn't withdraw without giving them a "suitable excuse," even at rollover time. That's arguably worse than just not sending an acknowledgement email.
My point is: this kind of friction seems to come standard with far-flung, branchless institutions. In my experience, it's not unusual for 5 days to pass without them even cashing your deposit yet.
So the real question is whether the rate is high enough to justify putting up with that level of service. If you can get a comparable rate from a bricks-and-mortar bank down the street, that might be the better trade-off.