PC Financial | Financial Crooks

What Kind of Bonus Interest Rates Did Tangerine Offer in 2017?

My husband and I both bank with Tangerine and the former PC Financial. In 2017, I was not offered any special interest rates for my Tangerine or PC Financial savings accounts. My husband, however, received two offers from Tangerine, one for January – March and one for April to June. Both rates were above 3% annually.

Others listed quite a variety of rate offers from Tangerine from around 1.5% – 3.25% on RedFlagDeals.

Neither of us was offered a good rate for July to September though. So we transferred our money out to EQ Bank which was paying 2.3% annually during those months. (We won’t get 2.3% for only 3 months, of course, only about 1 /4 of what 2.3% would be if we had kept the money deposited there for an entire year.)

It’s coming up towards the end of September and I’m curious whether Tangerine will offer ANYONE a bonus interest rate for October to December. If so, who will they be competing with? EQ Bank at 2.3% per year? Or Simplii Financial, the new incarnation of PC Financial.

Will Simplii Financial Offer Short-term Bonus Interest Rates for Savings Accounts?

PC Financial did often offer a promotional interest rate on savings accounts. The rate was often only good for 2.5-4 months.

Now, though, PC Financial will no longer be in business. Instead, the newly named Simplii Financial, owned and run by CIBC will take over. Will CIBC be interested in playing this kind of interest-rate game to attract customers?

Unfortunately, neither I nor anyone else knows for sure. We’ll have to wait till November 1 and see what, if anything Simplii Financial announces.

In the meantime, our money will stay parked at EQ Bank. It’s CDIC insured up to the usual $100 000 limit. The current (as of September 13 2017) rate of 2.3% is much higher than we can get with Tangerine (0.9%) or our traditional Big Canadian banks. I would be happier to be getting 3%+ again, though, so I’m hoping either Simplii Financial or Tangerine makes us an offer soon!

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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.

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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.

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Will Tangerine Offer a Good Interest Rate in Early October Now That PC Financial Is Changing to CIBC’s Simplii?