Manitoba Credit Unions | General comparisons | Discussion forum

I use.

Hubert. Good to deal with on chat, phone, email and a good ordering system. No cheques or ATM card. Has push pull. A keeper.

Accelerate. Good to deal with on phone and email. System is the regular CU system. All transactions are by phone. Has cheques and ATM card. Does not have push pull. A keeper.

Implicity. Good to deal with on phone an email. They now have chat that I have not tried. System is the regular CU system. Most dealings I do by secure email. Has push pull, ATM card and cheques.

Outlook Financial. Has lots of faults. Has push pull, cheques and ATM card. Not a keeper.

But for rates keep Oaken in mind as well. Good to deal with on phone and a real good ordering system. Does NOT have associated savings accounts for registered accounts. Has push pull. Does not have cheques or ATM card. A keeper.

Each has differences and you may want to tailor what goes where.

I've dealt with Achieva in the past... The $1 per month for going to estatements is nice, but the only 1 free transaction per month limits ths account. I left them in 2011.

I was with Hubert when they first started up (2011ish?). I didn't like the website or statement layout and lack of features (at that time) and didn't stay.

I tried Accelerate financial when they came (2012 or 2013?).. Found banking system to be very archaic and had its limits so closed account after 3 months.

Then I found Implicity Financial in 2013 when they started and I still have accounts with them. Unlimited transactions, debit card, ability to write checks, PAD, clean easy to read statements, and friendly customer service staff... I've really enjoyed banking with them. Unfortunately as my account balance increased their rates were not as good as Alterna Bank (which has all those account features plus bill payment and free debit card pos transactions) , so this year I moved most of my money to Alterna Bank (based in Ontario) but I still have a small amount at implicity and keep accounts there.

Alterna and Implicity use the same banking system... Yet at Implicity I can set recurring transfers to or from my external linked accounts... And at Alterna I cannot, but at Alterna I can transfer between TFSA accounts myself (not withdrawing, just shuffling) yet at Implicity you would have to call.

I've used and still use Achieva and Hubert CU's.

With Achieva, I wanted a place that I can park some money with a higher interest rate than most big banks and since it was referred to me and by research I've done, including this website, I opened a Savings account and TFSA Savings account (which I no longer use). Essentially I keep this account as my emergency fund and when playing the Tangerine quarterly game for better rates, so I'm constantly transferring funds to and from Achieva - Tangerine.

Hubert, I only opened because they offer the best USD savings rate and I only opened the account once they allowed for free EFT to other FI. I also use them for when I receive dividends from my stocks I own and want to do a simple conversion of USD to CAD which offers a better rate than my typical bank or Tangerine. When I have large sums of USD cash (accumulated my USD dividend cash position) then I'll employ a Norbert's Gambit instead, but if I'm simply transferring a few hundred dollars (~$300-400) at a time then I'll take Hubert's Fx rate.

Both have iOS apps, and I've used both, but I'd say that the UI for Hubert is better. Also Hubert has a online chat feature I've used and like, whereas Achieva does not have this option. Also, Achieva's iOS app is not native and employs a connection to html interface. For example, if you have a Tangerine account and use their iOS app, they have the best app I've used (including my major bank RBC) when comparing to Achieva or Hubert.
Both Hubert and Achieva are really good with their email or internal message service (Achieva) and get back to your pretty quickly without having the need to call in.

Frankly, I happened to open Achieva before Hubert again because of the USD EFT, but since their rate is the same as Hubert, I'm debating whether to keep Achieva or close my Achieva account and just keep Hubert. Thoughts?

Bill said
I find it useful to never close an account, keep a few bucks there, you never know what's coming down the pipe in the future. Often I've gone back, even after years (e.g. PC Financial), when all of a sudden I get a promo or they have a better rate for some reason than I'm getting elsewhere.
Of course, as my spouse and I have over 30 accounts at various places, I have a list in my locked cabinet (with a photocopy elsewhere) with all the accounts so I don't lose track, and once a year I make sure to print off a current statement plus transfer a few bucks in or out to keep each account "active". Keeping it simple (i.e. summarized, in pencil for the rare deletion or change, on a single sheet of "hardcopy" paper, no electronics) minimizes confusion and time - but maybe I'm still nuts, I don't know.  

30! WOW! That would be way too daunting to keep track. I have 4 accounts (RBC, Tangerine, Hubert and Achieva) and I keep track with interest earned and statements electronically in my digital file system. I thought about printing off a statement balance each year as a hardcopy in the event something ever happened to me (looking for wood to knock on) 1 sec...

I also have an RRSP through my work with Manulife; eTrade account through work, my other brokerage Questrade for my non-registered and registered accounts and life insurance through Desjardins.

Often thought what the best way to keep track on things, but mostly not for tracking, as I've created spreadsheets for interest earned to claim for tax purposes, but mainly in the event of my passing (looking for wood...1 sec) so that I can have passwords and balances readily available for my beneficiaries.

For registered accounts I have beneficiaries already declared and life insurance of course, but for my non-registered accounts, all accounts would be liquified and go to my estate, but I'm wondering what others do to declare.

FYI, I'm single, no kids, no will created, but registered accounts have beneficiaries declared, but wondering if I simply write a small letter with passwords and my family could "take over" and close the accounts and take the proceeds.

I assume most will say get a will, I think I haven't done so because I am single with no dependents, and perhaps partly due to cost, so I've procrastinated somewhat.

Any thoughts Bill on best practices? Cheers!

Just a few thoughts...

I think (but it should be verified) that if you write out the will by hand and sign it (assuming you are not so young that you don't have writing skills), that you don't even need witnesses.

This may seem trivial, but I find it useful. PaperMate makes an erasable pen that is quite good. I prefer it to pencils. On sale at Staples this week. You can erase more than once although paper will not be quite s durable as with pencil. Works for me, and easier for fading eyesight to read.

I must admit that I haven't toted up how many accounts we have. Undoubtedly too many. My current goal is to reduce them, even if that means small losses of interest. Although they are all itemized etc., I am concerned that I might start to lose track if my mind starts to go, and also could be a lot of extra work fo executors. I am thinking of closing all accounts not based in my province as I am concerned about possible tangles with different rules in different provinces for POAs and executing the will - of course, this is easier for me than it would be for some as most of them are already based here. Got rid of Peoples Trust a while ago.

I'm curious who moneyhelp put down as a beneficiary for RSP. I assume you have one as you referred to registered plans (plural). I didn't think you could put down anyone except a spouse for those.

Be careful if and when you marry or choose common law. Wills become invalid upon marriage; and family law has something to say about your assets if you are common law for a certain minimum time period - at least where I live.

It is my understanding that if you don't have a will, that it is a more time-consuming tedious business to get your assets distributed upon death. Somebody has to apply to be the administrator of your estate, and proof must be shown of the identities of your next of kin. It can be difficult to prove a negative, i.e. that you have no children or spouse etc. A will makes things go much more smoothly and quickly. The money defaults to your parents if no kids or spouse. This can be a burden for elderly people to process, and sometimes they need the money. If they're gone, then it's your siblings, then neices/nephews; or failing that cousins.

Top It Up, a holographic will is a safer bet where the beneficiaries were raised right.

I see. This could be complicated with the mandatory CRA deduction at source when liquidated. This, presumably, would be accounted for in the final tax return. It could be difficult to establish accurately how much was left after tax, depending on which portion of the tax brackets you attributed it to. Could be difficult for the executor. But perhaps there is a convenient solution I am not aware of.

Wouldn't it be easier to just roll it into the estate and leave a suitable portion of the estate to the people in question, since it is all just cash in the end and they can't retain the registered status?

moneyhelp said
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I have added a sibling as my beneficiary for both my RRSP and TFSA accounts. With anyone else other than spouse/common law, they can only receive the cash after the account becomes liquidated, they cannot assume ownership even if they wanted to.

With respect to non-registered accounts, you would have to state in your will who you want the proceeds of the sale of the account (as it would also need to be liquidated) to go to, so it becomes part of your estate. I don't know how this applies to spouses/common law.  

No need to liquidate. The contents of the accounts can be withdrawn in specie and deposited into a non-registered account of the beneficiary.