EQ One yr. GIC up to 5.25% this morning | EQ Bank | Discussion forum

Alexandra said
Yesterday I purchased a small $5K GIC for 15 months @5.2% (same rate as the one year). Probably would have put in one yr @ 5.25% if I'd have known. Hindsight.
Not worth asking them to change it.  

You can log in today and cancel the purchase. A day of interest will be sacrificed:

Option to Cancel GIC Purchase

You may cancel your purchase of an EQ Bank GIC within one day after the Effective Date without penalty and you will be entitled to a refund of all principal invested. You will not receive a payment of interest. Please sign into Online or Mobile Banking to cancel your purchase of a GIC within the time period prescribed.

Alexandra said

Thanks Norman!! I did go on and sure enough I could cancel my GIC purchase yesterday. The difference between the 5.25% and the 5.2% is only a couple of dollars so I decided to just leave it. After I purchased the $5K GIC from them yesterday, I printed off the "certificate" and put it in my EQ file. Also changed spread sheet etc. so what the heck. ha ha. I have another GIC coming due with them in July, so maybe I'll get the 1yr at that rate then. But thanks again for looking out for me.   

By my calcs, that .05% gain on the GIC is worth $2.50 on that $5k GIC. But the loss of interest for closing and reopening is $0.71/day so, the "huge" gain disappears quickly ...

EQ Bank still allows one business day, instead of one calendar day, to cancel, according to this text at the bottom of the confirmation page:

You may cancel your purchase up to 1 business day after the effective date of your GIC without penalty.

Please call 1-844-… if you would like more information

So, GIC purchases on a Friday have more time.

Wait a minute - how does this square with the 10-day cancellation rule on GIC purchases? Is that only on auto-renewals, or province-differentiated?
RetirEd

That's correct. The 10-day cancellation at federally-regulated financial institutions only applies to automatic renewals:

Your right to cancel an automatic renewal
A federally regulated financial institution may automatically reinvest your funds at the original investment’s end date. You can cancel this new investment within 10 business days of the start of the new term. If you’re in this situation, check the terms and conditions of your original agreement. You can also contact them for details on how to cancel the product.

Your right to information before renewal or rollover
Banks must disclose certain information about any renewal or rollover of a product or service they may provide to you.

If the product or service is for a term of more than 30 days, they’ll disclose the information:

• 21 days before the last day of the term, and
• 5 days before the last day of the term

For a product or service with a term of 30 days or less, they’ll disclose the information:

• 5 days before the last day of the term

…

That's moot with EQ Bank as its GIC's don't auto renew:

Treatment at Maturity

On the Maturity Date, the principal and any accrued interest on your investment that has not already been paid to you will be deposited to the Savings Plus Account from which your initial investment was funded or, in the alternative and in our sole discretion, another account you have with EQ Bank. In the case of a GIC purchased within your RSP Plan or your EQ Bank TFSA, the principal and any accrued interest on your investment will be deposited to your savings account with your RSP Plan or EQ Bank TFSA, as applicable.

GIC issuers are free to go beyond the minimum.

BC credit union Coast Capital Savings allows 21 days to cancel in their GIC agreement:

6. Cancellation – You may cancel your purchase of a GIC by notifying us within twenty-one (21) days of the Start Date. If the GIC has been automatically renewed, you may cancel the renewal by notifying us within twenty-one (21) days following the renewal Start Date. In these events, your principal will be returned, but no interest will be paid to you. To initiate a cancellation request, please contact the Advice Centre at 1.888… or make the request in person at a branch.

pianoman8849 said
...

What do you think?  

I had been planning to buy a 1 year GIC at EQ, but when Tangerine came out with an 18 month GIC at 5.50%, I switched gears. 25 basis points is enough of a motivator for me, and while other FIs could catch up by the next BoC rate hike, I'd rather start collecting more interest sooner, rather than later.

No, it's sitting in the 2.5 HISA so waiting a few weeks shouldn't be a problem. Thanks for the advice..