Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Email this11:47 am
May 9, 2018
Offline
I'm particularly against big banks. I've had horrible experiences with RBC and they nickle and dime you to no end. So I want to avoid big banks and their subsidiaries (ie, tangerine owned by scotiabank) if at all possible. Since switching to a credit union (First Calgary) in Calgary, it's been nothing but great. But I moved to Vancouver and now my wife and I are searching for a new credit union located in BC (or online).
Tangerine looks decent, but I dont want to support scotiabank, so I was hoping I could summon your wisdom and experience to help us chose. Our criteria:
Thank you. 
3:45 pm
October 21, 2013
Offline
Someone else can give you best advice on BC per se, but you should keep your eye out for Meridian's launch of a new bank early next year. Meridian is an Ontario credit union, largest in the province, which is going national with this new federally insured bank.
They are saying that they will be offering about the same rates as their existing CU.
Meridian is available to you now as an online CU. It has very good customer service reviews, generally, but you should review the threads for more details.
Their interest rates are not at the top of the scale except when they have Specials.
MB CUs would be good but they require that you also have an account at an external financial institution, normally a bank, through which to funnel your money, and you would not want that.
4:32 pm
March 21, 2018
Offline
PeterSaves said
I'm particularly against big banks. I've had horrible experiences with RBC and they nickle and dime you to no end. So I want to avoid big banks and their subsidiaries (ie, tangerine owned by scotiabank) if at all possible. Since switching to a credit union (First Calgary) in Calgary, it's been nothing but great. But I moved to Vancouver and now my wife and I are searching for a new credit union located in BC (or online).Tangerine looks decent, but I dont want to support scotiabank, so I was hoping I could summon your wisdom and experience to help us chose. Our criteria:
no initial or recurring fees whatsoever high interest savings rrsp tfsa at least some free etransfer's per month the credit union must be insured (ideally federally) Thank you.
PeterSaves said
I'm particularly against big banks. I've had horrible experiences with RBC and they nickle and dime you to no end. So I want to avoid big banks and their subsidiaries (ie, tangerine owned by scotiabank) if at all possible. Since switching to a credit union (First Calgary) in Calgary, it's been nothing but great. But I moved to Vancouver and now my wife and I are searching for a new credit union located in BC (or online).Tangerine looks decent, but I dont want to support scotiabank, so I was hoping I could summon your wisdom and experience to help us chose. Our criteria:
no initial or recurring fees whatsoever high interest savings rrsp tfsa at least some free etransfer's per month the credit union must be insured (ideally federally) Thank you.
Hi Peter. I am a long time BCer but did a 5 year stint in Calgary. We had no intention of staying there so we never changed our banking. We dealt with BMO at South Trail Crossing but continued to do business at BMO in Maple Ridge when visiting. At the time we also dealt with the now closed Citizens Bank using the Vancity Savings platform. All Citizens banking was over the phone and withdrawals were by cheque or ATM at Calgary First at South Trail Crossing....but no face to face contact.
So consider staying with Calgary First?
We are still with BMO and Vancity Credit union. We each use for day to day...but no investing. Coast Capital credit union is going federal but they have horrible customer service at all levels in the branch and over the phone.
We use for investing Accelerate (MB), Oaken and Hubert (MB). Oaken has a Vancouver office also. Keep in mind when a credit union goes federal it falls under CDIC insurance while a BC CU has unlimited insurance. Oaken is CDIC covered while Accelerate and Hubert has unlimited insurance...I forget the acronym. And the pride of the prairies....Steinbach CU will take BCers and they apprently have great service, rates are good but not as good as others.
I would NOT use.
People’s Trust. BC
Coast Capital. BC
Outlook Financial. MB
Manulife. National
We find the following good for us.
Accelerate...over the phone
Hubert...over the phone, chat, but must do online for investments
Oaken...over the phone, online, or mail for investments. I find them to be a bit starchy over the phone so do most online.
We like Vancity Credit Union and it has all you are asking for but low rates and NO free transfers and is not federal as mentioned.
If you want to do well with investing at a bank or CU, you may want to have a few and use them for “your”needs. I am no longer loyal to any one FI.
Ps..why is it...whenever I do a “quote” on my iPad it winds up showing 2 quotes of same thing?
5:37 pm
October 21, 2013
Offline
You don't like big banks but would you consider a smaller one? Some people speak well of Canadian Western Bank, especially through their onlinr division, Motive.
I agree with Mary that, if you have any savings that you are wanting to put into GICs, then you would be better off with two financial institutions, one for every day and the other for investing.
If I were just picking one for investing, I would choose Oaken or Motive as an all-round good bet, but they are not CUs.
As far as I know, all credit unions are insured provincially. I don't think they can operate without insurance.
I too would avoid Peoples Trust. It's federally insured, but it's a privately owned bank and that doesn't sit well with me as it reduces accountability. It's basically the bank of the West Edmonton Mall folks.
I too would vote against National Bank (which is quite large); also against HSBC.
I do maintain a couple of Seniors accounts at Big Banks as they have no fees. I like the fact that I know they offer any and all services if i should want them.
However, even a "free" account will cost you money if it requires a minimum balance and offers no interest.
5:39 pm
February 4, 2017
Offline
I don't know much about Prospera and I don't deal with them ....yet.
They were very attentive when I inquired about gic rates and their offerings were better than another local CU at the time.
9:35 pm
February 17, 2013
Offline
I'm in the lower mainland of BC, and I am still looking for a good combination of rates and services. If you find something...LMK. If you want a BC based credit union, I don't think one exists that gives savings rates much better than the big 6. If you don't care about customer service, Coast Capital has everything you need but, again, rates suck save for the occasional promotion. They are in the process of converting to a national bank so will be using CDIC when they do. I did take advantage of their 33 month @ 4% back in February. Van City is a local favorite with a good seniors package, but again, crappy rates. Canadian Western Bank has pretty good rates and banking package, but branches are few and far between. I use their On-Line only Motive for day-to-day banking. Their GIC rates are slightly better than CWB, but both their saving accounts interest rates seem to be stuck while virtually everyone else has been raising theirs. No personal experience with Prospera, Envision, Blueshore, Westminster or the handful of other BC CU's except some research into their rates and none stood out to me at the time I was looking for a place to park my money. If I didn't already have an account with Tangerine , I would add them and Simplii to Mary's list of FI's I wouldn't go near. BTW .. I believe all provincial CU's in BC have unlimited deposit insurance under CUDIC. Good Luck!
Please write your comments in the forum.