PC Financial Joint Accounts are NOT Joint: One Person Will Have All of the Control

I’ve mentioned before that PC Financial treats our joint accounts as if they are two separate accounts. If I set up bill payments, for example, under my PC Financial card, I can see and pay them when I sign in. My husband, though, can neither see them nor pay them. Similarly, our joint PC Financial chequing account is linked to our joint Big 5 Canadian bank chequing account. The link to transfer funds between the two accounts was set up by my husband. If he signs in using his PC Financial card online, he can see the external bank account and move money between the two chequing accounts. I can’t. In order to see the external account, I would have to apply all over again! Tonight’s problem was even worse, although it’s very funny in an exasperating computers-are-incredible way. It proved yet again that PC Financial joint accounts are NOT joint; one person has all of the control.

PC Financial is Offering Another Short Term Bonus Interest Rate

Today I found out on RedFlagDeals that PC Financial has just begun another short-term bonus interest rate promotion. The deal runs from November 1 – January 31, 2013. For new deposits that increase the total in all of your savings and chequing accounts above the total amount you had in the bank on October 31, 2013, you will earn a higher rate of interest. So any combined balance up to and including the amount you had on October 31 will earn 1.35% (less on the chequing account) and any amount above that will earn 2.25%.

We have some money sitting around at the Big 5 bank that needs to be kept in cash because it’s earmarked for certain upcoming bills. It seemed sensible to move it for a month or two to PCF to get the extra 0.9%, especially since it’s not even earning 1.35% at the Big Bank. (At that rate, it’s only $7.50 per month, per $10,000 deposited, but still every bit helps.)

This promotion is not automatic. You have to phone in to get it.

So I phoned. I answered the security questions. We both agreed that I am me, and that I have joint accounts with PCF.

BUT I can’t get the promotion.

Why Can’t I Enroll in the PC Financial Bonus Interest Promotion? Because Secondary Means Second Class

The only reason I can’t enroll the accounts in the promotion is that I am not the “Primary” account holder. My husband is. He has to phone in and ask for the rate.

For our JOINT accounts.

Yes, that’s right. I can take out every cent in the accounts. I can put a million dollars into the accounts. But I can’t increase the interest rate.

Why Are Secondary Account Holders So Insignificant?

Even my polite and courteous telephone representative wasn’t quite sure why I couldn’t enroll. She put my on hold and went to check on it.

Apparently it’s the computer system that is at fault.

Believe it or not, the way the system is set up, we could get TWICE the bonus interest if I (or any other secondary account holder) was allowed to apply for the promotion.
That’s right: the system doesn’t just have ONE place to check off to start the bonus calculation. It has one on EACH cardholder’s profile. So if she changed my profile to allow me to earn the bonus interest, and THEN my husband phoned in and asked for the promotion, we’d be enrolled twice and get twice the interest.

Cool!

To avoid this problem, the powers that be decreed that only the primary cardholder can request to be enrolled for the promotion.

Too bad my husband is way, way, way too busy at work to be bothered phoning banks.

Too bad for PCF that is. I’ll simply move the money to an ING Direct account I have that’s currently paying 2.27%.

PS The customer service rep did offer to open a brand new account just for me so that I could get the bonus interest. I give her full marks for trying to be helpful, even if she was hobbled by system constraints.

The Moral of the Story: Don’t Let Your Computers Run Your Business

Computers should do what people want them to. People shouldn’t have to do what computers constrain them to do.

PC Financial should consider taking a few $$$ and using it to upgrade their computer program rather than paying it out in interest. In the long run, it will keep customers happier and their money rolling in to their bank’s coffers.

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Have you ever been forced to do silly things by a computer program? Please share your frustrating, but admittedly funny, escapades with a comment.

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In general, I don’t have anything against PC Financial. I love the fact that I can get all of the cheques I want and need for free. It makes paying all these tiny bills from our kids schools cost much less. Unfortunately, PC Financial doesn’t offer any sign up bonuses, though, so I can’t add a bonus sign up link here. If you want to sign up, just visit their website or a kiosk. They won’t ask if I sent you.

How to Deposit a Cheque by Taking a Photo Using the Tangerine (ING Direct) App

Recently ING Direct, now called Tangerine,  introduced Canada to a banking feature that has been in use in the USA for years. By using an app on your smart phone, iPad or iPod, you can send a photo of a cheque to ING. They will then deposit the cheque just as if you popped it into a bank machine or the mail. I decided to try it and see how it would work to deposit a dividend cheque into my ING Direct Tangerine THRIVE account using our iPad.

First of all, for those who think we dropped the big bucks on an iPad, let me clarify that my husband won it at a mandatory work charity golf tournament. For those who know his golfing technique, yes this is totally true. Ask him for the details. But I’m very glad he won it because without it this article could not have been written.

Read the General Information about Tangerine’s Cheque-In App

You can read up on this new way to deposit cheques on the Tangerine website at http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/landingpage/chequein/index.html
https://www.tangerine.ca/en/ways-to-bank/mobile-banking/index.html#cheque-in
and http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/landingpage/chequein/faq.html.
https://www.tangerine.ca/en/faq/ways-to-bank/mobile/index.html

NOTE:

  • You can only deposit Canadian cheques written in Canadian dollars at this time (October 2013.)
  • You don’t need to endorse the cheque.
  • You can deposit a maximum of $20,000 per day.

Get the Tangerine Mobile Banking App

First you will have to download and install the Tangerine mobile banking app on your smart phone, tablet, iPad or iPod. They have an app for Windows 8 devices (all five of you should be happy!), Android devices, Blackberrys, and some tablets.

You’ll need a recent version of the app to get the cheque depositing feature and you’ll need a device with a camera with good resolution.

Depositing a Cheque with the Tangerine Mobile Banking App

Once you’ve installed the Tangerine mobile banking app, you will also have installed their new Cheque-In feature.

I tested this new feature using an iPad. There may be slight differences in how the app works on different devices. Sorry!

Log In To Mobile Banking

  1. On your iPad, tap on the Tangerine icon.
  2. In the Log me in field, type your Tangerine client number, card number or username.
    If necessary, tap on the Go button.
  3. If applicable, in the Your Secret Question field, type the answer to your personal question, then tap on the Next button.
  4. In the Your PIN field type your personal identification number then tap on the Next button.
  5. Read the Location Capture Terms of Use and if you agree, tap on the I Accept button.

Start the Cheque-In Feature

  1. At the bottom of the I’m a Client, let me in! screen, is an icon called Deposit.
    Tap on the icon.
  2. Read the info about Cheque-in Deposit.
    Tap on Get Started Now
  3. Read the Terms of Use and if they seem ok to you, tap on Yes, I Agree.

Deposit the Cheque Using Cheque-In

  1. From the Select Account, tap on the right facing arrow and choose the account into which you wish to deposit the cheque.
  2. In the Enter Amount $ field, type the amount of the cheque and tap on the Done key on your keyboard.
  3. To Take pictures of your cheque, tap on the cheque side Front button.
    1. Read the Image Tips, then tap on Continue OR tap on OK, don’t display again
    2. Tap on the Camera icon to take the photo.
    3. If it’s even slightly unclear, tap on the Retake button.
    4. If it’s crisp with no shadows, tap on the Use Picture button at the top right of the screen.
  4. Tap on the cheque side Back button.
  5. Repeat the photo taking as above, A-D.
  6. When you have an image you like, tap on the Next button.
    It will spin a circle stating Processing Cheque.
  7. If the deposit information looks correct, tap on Deposit Cheque.
  8. You will receive a confirmation message with a number.
    KEEP the cheque!
  9. IF you’re done, tap on the Logout button.

Tangerine should send you an email message with an hour or two stating that it has received your request and asking you to hold on to your paper cheque.

When Can I Get Rid of the Paper Cheque?

Now you have to wait. According to various users on RedFlagDeals (http://forums.redflagdeals.com/has-anyone-been-able-use-ing-direct-cheque-deposit-deposit-mbna-sc-check-1374213/)  not all cheque photos will be accepted by Tangerine. If the photo is unclear, they will tell you and you will have to start over again or deposit the cheque at a bank machine or by mail. So do not dispose of the cheque yet!

I received confirmation that my cheque images had been accepted 4 business days after I sent them in. That confirmation, sent by email, requested that I dispose of the original cheque, preferably by shredding it.

How Fast Is the Cheque Deposited?

In my test case, the cheque was not fully deposited until the images had been confirmed 4 business days after I sent them in. I started earning interest the day I made the deposit, however.

I don’t know how long the funds for the cheque might have been kept “on hold” because they don’t put a hold on small amounts due to my account balance. You’d have to phone Tangerine and ask what rules would apply to your account before making a deposit of a cheque.

What Didn’t I Like About Depositing a Cheque using Cheque-In?

I did discover that I don’t like trying to take crisp, unshadowed photos of cheques using an iPad. It’s a bit heavy and bulky for me to use. I think I would be happier using an iPod.

For some reason I didn’t particularly like having the cheque around the house while I waited to see if it processed properly. That’s odd because it would have taken me a day or two to bother taking it to the bank machine anyway!

I was hoping I’d be able to see the cheque image in my account history after the deposit was complete but it does not seem like I can. I only see a line item stating I made a deposit on a certain day for a certain amount using Cheque-In.

What Did I Like About Depositing a Cheque Using Cheque-In?

It was fast and simple. No driving, walking or biking required.

Would I use it again? Yes.

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Have you tried Cheque-In? Did it work for you? Please share your experiences with a comment.

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