Tag Archives: savings

How to Transfer Funds Into Your Oaken Financial Savings Account

Posted on by

When we opened our Oaken Financial daily interest savings account, we asked for it to be electronically linked to our chequing account by submitting a void cheque. That was done so the next step was to test the link by transferring some money from our “big bank” account to our Oaken Financial Savings Account.
Then we’ll be able to use that money to buy our next GIC in January as part of my strategy to put our emergency fund to work.

How to Move Money Into an Oaken Financial Savings Account Online

  1. Log in to your Oaken Financial online banking account.
  2. Click on the Transfer tab.
  3. Click on the New Transfer button.

In the Add a Transfer Section

  1. From the From Account: drop-down list, click on the “big bank” from which you wish to make the transfer.
    Ah, and here the veils are parted and the true identity of PC Financial is revealed: instead of listing PCF as a source of money it says “Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce” but lists the PCF account number.
  2. From the To Account: drop-down list, click on the Oaken Financial account into which you wish to deposit the money.
  3. In the Amount: field, type the number of dollars to move.
  4. If desired, click on the Repeating: drop-down list to select how often you want to make the transfer.
    You can choose

        * Weekly
        * Bi-weekly
        * Semi-monthly
        * Monthly
        * Every 4 weeks
        * Bi-monthly
        * Quarterly
        * Semi-annually or
        *Annually
      Or NONE like I selected
  5. If desired, in the Date: field, select when you want the transfer to occur.
    In the Memo: field, type an explanatory note, if desired.
  6. Click on the Request Transfer button.

On the Step 2: Verify Section

  1. Review your request.
  2. If it’s correct, click on the Submit Transfer Request button.

On the Step 3: Confirmation Section

  1. Copy the confirmation information, especially the Reference number to a safe location until the transfer is processed.
  2. Click on the Exit button
    Ta da! You’re done.

If you click on the Account Management tab, you should see your bank balance updated with the transferred funds (on hold) if you requested an immediate transfer and it’s within regular banking hours.

The transaction will include the Reference number as well.

If it’s after hours, you can Click on the Transfer tab, then make sure the Pending tab is selected. You should see the requested transfer and the reference number.

When You’re Finished

  1. If you are finished banking, click on the Log Out link.
  2. Clear your cache and close your browser session.

I’ll try to keep an eye on when the money leaves PC Financial and when it comes off “hold” at Oaken. If I catch it, I’ll update this with a note.

Status: Updates

  • Monday December 15: Sent in a fund transfer request in the evening using Oaken.
  • Tuesday December 16: Oaken Financial says the funds are in the account on hold. PC Financial does not report the funds as having left yet.
  • Wednesday December 17: The funds have left PC Financial and Oaken still says they have them on deposit. So it’s done!

Related Reading

Join In
Do you like transferring your money electronically or do you prefer writing a cheque? Please share your views with a comment.

How to Buy a Guaranteed Investment Certificate, GIC, at Oaken Financial

Posted on by

Well it’s December already so it’s time to buy another GIC for our emergency fund. We know it’s very unlikely that we would need our entire fund at the same time so we are investing 80% of it such that part of it matures each month. If, for example, we lost our jobs, we would be able to access some of our emergency fund each month as that month’s GIC matures. In the meantime, the money is earning a slightly higher rate than it would in a daily interest savings account at Tangerine, PC Financial or Oaken Financial. Because I just want to buy a regular GIC, not one in a registered account like a RRSP or TFSA, and because I already have a savings account at Oaken Financial, it’s very easy for me to buy another Guaranteed Investment Certificate.

Buying a GIC at Oaken Financial If You Have a Savings Account with Them

Sign in to your Oaken Financial online banking session.

Click on the Open New Account tab.

Rats.

You can’t actually buy the GIC online. You can phone them or you can mail in an application form.

Click on the link: Log out

Clear your cache and close your browser session.

Sigh. Time to pick up the phone.

How Easy Was It to Purchase a GIC from Oaken By Phoning?

Because we already have a savings account at Oaken and because the funds were already in the account, it was extremely easy to purchase the GIC by phoning.

The phone was answered in less than one minute.

The security questions were easy to handle.

Within another minute, two at the most, the 1-year non-redeemable GIC was purchased and all was done. No one tried to sell me anything or up-sell me to a longer term etc.

Do remember to tell them:
If you want the principal and interest paid out into your savings account at maturity or re-invested.

They asked, which was great, but it’s a good idea to make sure of that detail with any financial institution. (I hate it when GICs auto-renew!)

The representative told me that the GIC purchase confirmation notice will be mailed to me for our records.

UPDATE: On the morning of the following day, the GIC is now listed on my Home page.

Do I Have to Wait for my Funds to Come Off “Hold” Before I Buy a GIC?

No.

Once you’ve deposited funds into your account you can buy a GIC even if the funds are still on hold. (Which makes sense because they can always ‘take back’ the GIC if your funds do not clear your other bank properly: they are just switching the ‘on hold’ status from the bank account to the GIC.)

How Long Do Funds Stay on Hold at Oaken Financial?

According to their website, funds from

  • A cheque will be kept on hold for up to 5 business days.
  • An electronic fund transfer will be kept on hold for up to 3 business days.

My first funds were deposited by cheque on November 24, 2014.

My funds came off hold on December 5, 2014.

That’s actually 8 or 9 business days depending how you count them but this was the first thing I did when I was opening my account so it may have been slower.

My funds came out of my “big bank” account on November 26, 2014, by the way.

I’ll test the hold time on an ETF soon and try to update this with the results.
So far:
Friday December 5: Requested transfer in.
December 6 and 7: Money not in yet and no listing in “Pending” section of Transfers.
Related Reading

Join In
Do you have any of your emergency fund in GICs? Is it easy to buy them or do you have to sit through a long sales pitch first? Please share your experiences with a comment.