Recently, we received letters in the mail that President’s Choice Financial is ending soon. After 19 years, PC Financial will be gone. On November 1 2017, we will have an account with CIBC’s new online bank called Simplii. It will be interesting to see what changes CIBC will make including if it will add any new fees for services; In the meantime, I’m ordering some more PC Financial cheques for free.
Why Order More PC Financial Cheques If the Bank Is Closing Soon?
The major value of PC Financial to me was that I could get unlimited paper cheques for free. Tangerine offers free chequing but you have to buy the paper cheques after you use up your first batch.
My kids’ schools are only just now toying with online payment options. Till now, most major purchases such as school trips had to be paid for by post-dated cheques. I used our PC Financial cheques for these kinds of expenses to avoid having to buy paper cheques for our Tangerine or Big Bank bank accounts.
I’m ordering more free cheques now to last me for a few years. If the change in ownership of PC Financial to CIBC happens the way the change from ING Direct to ScotiaBank did for Tangerine, then the old cheques will still be useable even when I start banking with Simplii. If they aren’t, it won’t cost me anything if I just have to recycle them and get new cheques from Simplii. Either way, it’s no cost to me, but it might save me money if I can use the old PC Financial cheques for my new Simplii account.
How to Order Your Last Set of PC Financial Cheques
- Sign in to your account at PC Financial.
- From the list on the left side of the screen, click on More Services
- On the More Services page, under the Account Services heading, click on the link: Order Cheques.
- On the Order Cheques page, if necessary, choose the correct chequing account from the drop-down list.
- Click on the button Order now.
- You should receive a message confirming that your cheques will be mailed to the address of the primary account holder and arrive in 7-10 business days.
- If you’re finished banking, sign out of your account.
- For extra security, clear your browser history and cache and close your browser session.
What Changes Should I Expect as PC Financial Becomes the CIBC Online Bank Simplii?
Frankly, it’s a bit early to know.
In the short term, most features will remain the same. They do indicate a few changes will happen quickly though:
- You will no longer be able to bank for free at PC Financial kiosks in the grocery stores.
- You will, however, be able to use the CIBC bank machines for free. The grocery stores may choose to put in bank machines from another Big Bank. If they do, they will NOT be free to use.
- Gradually, between November 1 2017 and April 13, 2018, CIBC will mail out debit cards to replace the PC Financial debit cards. Until the replacement is issued, though, you can still use your old card.
- As of November 1, 2017 you will not get any PC points for using your debit card.
Will I Continue to Bank with What Used to Be PC Financial?
I’ll have to see what CIBC does with its new bank. If they keep the interest rates reasonably high and the fees very low, I will probably continue to bank with them. If not, I’ll move on.
Related Reading
- How to Accept an INTERAC e-Transfer from PC Financial
- How to Use a Free INTERAC e-Transfer to Send Money from PC Financial
Join In
Do you bank with PC Financial? Does it bother you that it will no longer be related to the grocery stores? Please share your views with a comment.
I am not pleased with the $3.00 fee to withdraw from the new banking machine in the Superstore store. I know that you can still bank for free in the CIBC banks but there are only 2 of them in my city of 100,000 people and neither are close to me and also have only 2 ATMs for all customers including all the CIBC customers
That is a drop in service for you and your area. When Tangerine went off the Exchange network after the takeover by ScotiaBank it made it difficult for many customers to get to an ABM, too. The only work-around I’ve seen anyone suggest is to ask for cash back when making purchases but not all stores like offering cash back. You may want to complain to Simplii and see if they can improve their network in your area.
There was no change in ownership. CIBC has always operated PCF…. All they did was ditch the grocery store. Cheques are still, free by the way.
Well, sort of. CIBC has always operated PCF but it was on behalf of Loblaw, sort of like Amazon hiring Canada Post to deliver its packages. Now it’s on behalf of itself. Yes, it’s great that cheques are free (at least in 2017). I ordered some and received them already.