Canadian Banks - Opinions Wanted Please!

[Sarahkka]

I just found out that my beloved ethical banking credit union is shutting down and I need to find a new bank.
I am absolutely aghast at the crap-tastic monthly fees and laughable interest rates that the big five banks in Canada are offering. Considering that I do 99% of my banking online, I really resent being charged over $12 a month (the cheapest account I found for the number of transactions I need) for managing my own money. It's not like I'm getting tellers to do everything for me. Highway robbery, in my opinion.
If you have a bank that you really love, let me know. I'd change my mind about the Big Five if you know of a really good account or have had great treatment.
I am also considering Presidents Choice or credit unions. Anyone have any experience with either of these?
Thanks!

 

[Stiina]

I'm a Credit Unioner but it's Saskatchewan. I'm not a Credit Unioner by research/choice, though...my mom and dad opened me a "Fat Cat" account when I was a kid and I've just kept it.

I still don't have any service fees - but I am still 21 - I think I will get charged service fees after my next birthday. Kalevi and I have a joint account there for our farm and we get charged service fees. It's ridiculous. I'm with you there - I hardly ever, ever go to the bank so what is the dang point??

Why did your bank close down?

 

[ryder]

ummm I will tell you who I dont like... and that is TD!! lol... they are ridiculous. I am trying to finish paying off my student loan with them so I can close my account.

 

[BlackBerry25]

I used PC when I lived in Ontario and I liked it a lot. I just switched to CIBC when I moved back to AB because we don't really have many stores that have the PC bank pavillion in them.

 

[tasha41]

I'm with the Healthcare and Municipal Employees Credit Union here... IMO, credit unions are the way to go- I will NEVER go to one of the big banks!! I don't pay many fees at all-- at mine you can pay to be a "super member" and it gives you debit use, 5 free uses of OTHER banks machines (meaning no fee from your bank you just pay the machine fee), I get free cheques annually, ... telephone and online banking.. they do mortgages, loans, RRSPs, RESPs, lines of credit...

www.hmecu.com will give you info. about this specific credit union, even though you won't have the same one there, it will give you an idea of what a credit union offers, what interest and fees are like, etc.

 

[Jessa]

I use President's Choice exclusively. Like you, I do everything online and have only needed to call them once (for a money order) in almost four years. It's great and it doesn't cost us any money to have our accounts with them. We've also got our mortgage with PC as well.

I have a PC Mastercard as well and am able to accumulate about $30 - $40 worth of free groceries every month with my PC points (you get them for making purchases with your PC Mastercard).

I'd highly recommend PC. Let me know if you have any specific questions about them.

 

[Twist]

^^^hmmm... PC sounds good, wonder if they have that in Calgary?? I haven't seen any.

Stiina: I had a Fat Cats account too!!! OMG that brings back memories. My mom still uses the credit union but somehow I started an RBC account when I started university...(probably b/c they gave me a Visa lol)

Sarah: I don't mind RBC, I find it convenient b/c we do a lot online, however they do have high monthly charges wich sucks. Recently we had a great experience with ATB, we did a consolidation loan through them to join my and my DH's debt. They were Excellent!!! got amazing rates, they gave us a new credit card at 8%, and were just very easy to deal with. We would like to move all our accounts to them, however they don't have online banking but they said they are hoping to have it soon. Once they do we are definately switching to them.

 

[Tiff]

I use RBC. I had a TD account but I cancelled all that as I disliked their customer service. I figure if you're going to charge criminally high rates on almost everything, at least be nice to the people when they talk to you!!!

I've never had a problem with RBC, although I do dislike their service fees. Once my Mat Leave is done and I no longer have anything being direct deposited into my account I am looking into switching to PC. There's a grocery store with a bank pavilion not even a 10 min walk from my house.

 

[Alexas Mommy]

ummm I will tell you who I dont like... and that is TD!! lol... they are ridiculous. I am trying to finish paying off my student loan with them so I can close my account.

I am with TD! I love TD! Out here, they have the best customer service! I went to RBC to reopen my account with them, and the lady I had an appointment with, to open my account, told me to go to Credit Union! I went (back) to TD, and the guy I opened my account with, agreed to cash my paycheques without a hold, the first few times, so the tellers could see they cleared, so I wouldn't have a problem with cashing them with a hold. I pay 3.99/month for bank fees, for 10 debits/month. (I only have Rent, power, cable/tv/internet, all in one, and I never leave much money in the bank, so I don't have to debit at the store. I think it is 1.50 for any extra debits, I am not positive though...

 

[Sarahkka]

Thank you all so much.
I'm in such a bad mood about this as I really loved our bank. Apparently they are "streamlining" (read: shutting down) due to the ..... wait for it....... Reeeeeecession!
They were the original online bank in Canada, so they've been around quite a while, but now that all the other banks offer online and some ethical products, they just can't compete.
There are PC banking pavilions in Calgary. Not at every store, but at several. We do the majority of our grocery shopping there, too, so I think we'd benefit from the grocery points program.
As the online bank was a credit union, I'm tempted to check out our local credit unions, too. There are advantages to having a physical bank for certain services.
I'm just adamant that I am not going to pay those Big Five F***ckers a criminal fee every month to do jack-all for me. $12/month is $144/year. That's a lot of money and they really don't offer much compared to my current bank. I'm not taking too kindly to the idea of paying more for less.
Thanks for your bank reviews, though - it really helps to hear what's out there and what you think of it.

 

[BlackBerry25]

I kinda hate Credit Union....because it is hard to do banking when you travel. My FIL was here and lost his bank card, and he also needed to deposit money and couldn't do it and had to return something that he bought on debit so that the cash would go into his account.

 

[Sarahkka]

I looked up the main credit union in Calgary and it's charging $18.95/month for a regualr chequing account!!!!!!!!!
We went with PC today. Switched everything over. I hope it works out for us. This whole thing was quite a pain in the derriere and I still have to go and re-register all our bills and direct deposits and everything.
Bah!!

 

[Tiff]

I know the feeling, Sarah. The main reason why I am waiting to switch branches is because I don't want to be bothered with all the pre-auth stuff. Blah!

I'm so lazy!

 

[Jessa]

It is definitely a pain in the butt to switch banks. I hope PC works out for you. Like I said in my previous post, if you combine your PC account with a PC Mastercard, you get a lot more PC points to spend on groceries. It's a really great feeling when I go to the grocery store and don't have to pay for it because I just use my points!