Implicity Financial 2% on Unregistered Saving Account (Can be added to comparison chart) | Implicity Financial | Discussion forum

PC Financial has a interim 2% rate but that ends in late spring/early summer probably. However Implicity's 2% rate is high all by itself plus it has all the unlimited transactions we love when we use PC, ING, etc. Implicity is the best deal out there. Its such a hassle moving money to get it. I hate that. Almost every higher interest account has your money holed away in an account which often takes 1-3 days (depending if its on the weekend) to access it. Implicity has no such restrictions.

Security note: Open 2 accounts and only link one to your card. That way, if the card is ever compromised somehow, there is almost no money in the account linked to the card. Its in the other account. Before you make a withdrawal, just go online and make an instant transfer (you don't have to wait days for the money to waft between institutions) or call them to do it over the phone. This immensely protects you.

Service Fees
Account Fees

Monthly Maintenance Fee Free
Deposits Free
Cheque Withdrawals Free
Pre-Authorized Debit Free
Transfer to Other Internal Account Free
Direct Transfer from Other Financial Institution Free
Direct Deposit Free
Electronic Fees

ATM Withdrawal - Canadian Credit Union ding free ATM Free
ATM Withdrawal - Canadian Credit Union ATM Free
ATM Withdrawal - Interac (within Canada) $1.50
ATM Withdrawal - International $3.50
Replacement Card $5.00
Debit Card Purchases $1.00
Interac e-Transfer $1.50
Administration Fees

Stop Payments $10.00
TFSA Deposit Free
TFSA Transfer In Free
TFSA Transfer Out $50.00
Account Closing (within 6 months of opening) $15.00
Insufficient Funds $40.00
Chargeback $5.00
Official Cheque $10.00
Cheques: (first order of cheques are free)**
4 Cheques $3.00
12 Cheques $7.00
24 Cheques $13.00

- Not a CDIC insured institution.. all deposits are 100% guaranteed by the Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba.

> Do they online transfer to and from external bank? If so what is the fee.
I thought that was the whole point of this notification about Implicity. We wouldn't be talking about it if there were any fees to speak of. That's why I mentioned their silly $1 Debit Card purchase fee. It kind of ruins the model of a feeless institution. But after talking to them I realized that they aren't aiming for customers with lots of transactions so you may see this limited in the future. Most people wouldn't mind if they kept it to a few a month. I think that would service 99% of most customers' needs. And it filters out the high users that really abuse the system. Unfortunately most institutions say you get 1 a month which is silly. Who has only 1 bill?

Winnie said

dennis said

Do they online transfer to and from external bank? If so what is the fee. It look like they do transfer from external bank without fee but not clear about transfer to external bank.

Here's the reply from Implicity Financial representative:
Electronic Fund Transfer is free both ways.
To initiate transfer to Implicity, just send us the Pre Authorized Form and a void cheque and we can set it up for you.
To initiate transfer out from Implicity you can set it up from the bank your dealing with.

Thanks. This is the answer exactly what I wanted to know. It seems transfer out seems need a little bit work.

I've cross-posted this reply from this thread here for informational purposes. Note that not all replies will be cross-posted or appear in this thread and both threads should be consulted for all pertinent information on Implicity Financial.

Regarding Implicity Financial, I've started the "account opening" process and plan to shut down my Ally accounts in the near future and perhaps even shut down my Hubert Financial account. I'm excited to use the MemberDirect platform as I have never had an account with a financial institution that uses that system. That said, I, too, (in reference to MG's post here) will miss Ally's push/pull self-to-self transfer. I'm hoping Implicity will offer the automated, "paperless" small "test" deposit external account verification method like Ally and Hubert Financial did. It is, nonetheless, important to streamline and close account(s) I'm no longer using or will be demised. Implicity Financial provided some answers to my initial questions on January 25th, but since starting the account opening process today (Feb. 17th), I've replied with some additional questions and will keep you all posted. For now, here are the response(s) to my initial questions (my questions are in bold text with Erin Johnson's, Contact Centre Supervisor, responses in italic text):

1. I'm assuming that like other Manitoba-based credit unions operating virtual banking divisions, all deposits are guaranteed/insured by the Manitoba Deposit Guarantee Corporation. You need to become a "member" of Entegra Credit Union and I'm assuming, correct me if I am wrong, that Entegra will either pay for your membership share (provided you return it to Entegra when your membership is cancelled) to become an Implicity Financial customer. You can be a resident of any Canadian province with a valid Social Insurance Number and external chequing/savings account from a Canadian financial institution to become a "member" of Implicity Financial/Entegra Credit Union. Do I have all of this correct?
Our deposits are 100% guaranteed by the Credit Union Deposit Guarantee of Manitoba. All new members of Implicity Financial require a $5 deposit into a Common Share account. As long as your accounts are open for 6 months, the $5 will be returned to you upon closing your accounts with us. Yes you are correct, Implicity Financial is open to all Canadian Residents who are over the age of 18 with a valid Social Insurance Number. We require each new member to send us an initial cheque deposit written on a Canadian financial institution with their name and address imprinted on it as well as their signature. This will act as your signature card on file.

2. Do you perform a so-called "soft" inquiry (non-credit-related inquiry that is not disclosed to other credit grantors/inquirors and has no impact on one's own credit score) one's Equifax or TransUnion consumer credit report or a "hard" inquiry (credit-related inquiry that is disclosed to other credit grantors/inquirors and may impact one's own credit score)? As a supplemental question, do you use either Equifax or TransUnion, or both, to perform said inquiries and, if both, are both "soft" or "hard" inquiries?
During the application process we ask a few identification questions which are pulled from your bureau but it’s a “soft” inquiry. During our administration process we run the credit bureau as a “hard” inquiry. The “soft” inquiry is with TransUnion and the “hard” inquiry is with Equifax.

3. Regarding ATM deposits, I'm assuming you're not a member of The EXCHANGE Network but are a member of the Canadian Credit Union Network known as Acculink and, as such, can make surcharge-free deposits or withdrawals through the Acculink ATM network, correct?
We aren’t a member of the Exchange Network but we are part of the Acculink Network. With that said, all deposits and withdrawals done at a Canadian Credit Union ATM machine are free.
My note: You can access the credit union ATM (Acculink) locator and download an app for iOS/Android/BlackBerry devices at the recently launched site: http://www.ding-free.ca

4. In terms of hold policies, what is the hold period (if any) on ATM deposits and EFT transfers in from other financial institutions in one's own name where the transfer in was requested from the Implicity Financial side of things? If different hold periods for the different methods, please specify both. Do you provide any sort of "access to deposited funds"/"cash back" limits for well-established clients, clients with significant holdings/deposits with Implicity Financial or clients with good credit scores/reports whereby only amounts above a certain threshold are held for your standard hold period? If so, what is that threshold and does this exception apply to both ATM and EFT deposits/transfers in or just ATM deposits?
All ATM deposits, cheque deposits and EFT transfers are held for 10 business days.

5. I love your website and your online banking platform seems to either use, or at least partially incorporate some of, MemberDirect platform, or technology, is this correct? If so, that's awesome! If not, what platform/technology do you use?
We do use the MemberDirect platform for our online banking. We also use a security feature called Increased Authentication which provides another layer of security to your login process. When you first log in, you'll be asked to select an image, write a security phrase, and select three security questions.

6. Do you have any sort of "member referral" program whereby you can identify an existing member so they receive some sort of "perk" or "incentive"?
Right now we don’t have any sort of “member referral” program.

Cheers,
Doug

Here's a follow-up e-mail between me (Feb. 17th; in bold) and Implicity Financial (Feb. 19th; in italics):

I'm curious, as no application for a credit facility or access to funds (i.e., overdraft/line of credit or immediate access to deposited funds such as no holds), why is it necessary for you to perform two (2) credit inquiries (one "soft" one with TransUnion and one "hard" one with Equifax)? You should have full access to one's TransUnion consumer credit report and be able to view any sort of personal identification, active/closed credit facilities and any recent inquiries on one's credit file from that. Both Hubert Financial, a division of Selkirk, MB-based Sunova Credit Union, and ING Direct Canada, a subsidiary of The Bank of Nova Scotia, only pull a "soft" inquiry for all online account openings in order to satisfy their own internal as well as regulatory/anti-money laundering requirements. In order to limit the number of recent inquiries on my consumer credit reports, my ask of you is that since I am not applying for credit nor am I asking for any special reduced hold times on deposits is that you only use my TransUnion consumer credit report to fulfill your administrative requirements involved in the account opening process. Also, could you pass on this as a suggestion to your head office/operations department in charge of developing your account opening policies & procedures manual that the TransUnion inquiry be used for both the identity verification questions in the online account opening questionnaire but also in any & all administrative procedures to actually open the account(s), provided the application is not seeking a credit facility or reduced hold times on deposits?
The “soft” inquiry through TransUnion doesn’t affect your bureau (beacon score) any way. That inquiry is run for security purposes for when members complete the application process. Once we receive the physical cheque for your initial deposit we run the “hard” bureau using Equifax which does affect your beacon score. We don’t see any of the security questions asked by TransUnion therefore we need to run the credit bureau on our end once we receive the deposit. So unfortunately all members need to have their credit bureau run when opening an account. This is required through our anti-money laundering legislation.

In terms of the ATM and EFT deposit hold times, can you pass on a second suggestion to reduce these times, in line with the major Canadian chartered banks and most credit unions (i.e., for ATM deposits, 4-5 business days after the day of the deposit and, for EFT deposits/transfers in, 2-3 business days from the date the transfer in request is made)? This would be in line with ING Direct Canada, Hubert Financial and Ally Canada, a product/division of ResMor Trust Company.
Our policy for holds is 10 business days. If a member brings in multiple deposits which clear with no issue we may be able to reduce the hold days, but for all new members we place 10 day holds.

Finally, I had only one more question I forgot to ask: does your online banking platform allow Implicity Financial customers to add other Canadian bank accounts in their own name using the one or two small "test" deposit verification method? For instance, let's say I add my ING Direct Canada THRiVE Chequing Account to my Implicity Financial online banking profile, in order to verify my ING Direct Canada Account, Implicity Financial would send a small "test" deposit (or two) less than $1.00 to that account and then I go into Implicity Financial online banking to key in the amount of the small "test" deposit once it shows up in that account in order to validate the account. This is the way Hubert Financial and Ally Canada allow you to add external Canadian bank accounts and is a much simpler, more streamlined (and paperless!) verification method than sending in a paper-based form with a VOID cheque or VOID cheque/account verification form/original bank statement from that external Canadian financial institution.
As of right now our two ways to transfer electronically are through Interac E-transfer which cost $1.50 per transaction and Electronic Funds Transfers which are set up using our Pre-Authorized Transfer form and attaching a void cheque which can then be emailed or faxed to us. I have attached the link for the form https://www.implicity.ca/SharedContent/documents/PreAuthorizedTransferform.pdf
In the upcoming months we will be providing members the access to transfer funds from one institution to Implicity and vice versa through their online banking. We also offer cheques and ATM cards to our members.

I also asked, "One more quick question (I promise!) - can I change my Implicity Financial debit card PIN at an Acculink Network ATM?", which went unanswered, and forgot to ask when Implicity Financial actually launched publicly but will re-ask/ask those questions in my fourth message to them.

This prompted another follow-up between me and Kerrie Dobson, Contact Centre Representative, on Feb. 22nd as Erin was out of the office:

As for the second, "hard" credit bureau check you perform through Equifax, that shouldn't be a problem. Although I had an inquiry at the end of December 2012, other than that I've had no "hard" inquiries in over a year so shouldn't affect it too much. I'm hoping you'll retain a copy of my credit bureau report for as long as I have an account/membership with Implicity Financial, in case I ask to see it in the future, it won't be necessary to pull it again. My suggestion, however, is that you run a second, "soft" credit bureau inquiry with TransUnion (instead of Equifax) to fulfill your account opening/anti-money money laundering regulatory requirements. This would be in line with what Canadian Direct Financial (part of Canadian Western Bank), Hubert Financial (part of Sunova Credit Union) and ING Bank of Canada are already doing. Could you kindly pass this along to the appropriate department?
Erin is away today, so I’ll respond on her behalf. We will retain a copy of your bureau with your file for as long as your account remains open, so there should be no need to run an additional inquiry in the future.

Second, in terms of the ATM/EFT holds, the hold periods on new members is understandable. However, I would like for you to pass on a second suggestion to the appropriate department charged with implementing changes to your policies & procedures that your standard EFT hold period be 2-3 business days, which would be consistent with what the "virtual bank" competition is doing. For ATM deposits, I'd like to see the maximum ATM deposit for all clients be a maximum of 7 business days for all CAD deposits (cash or cheques, since, let's face it, most FIs use an outsourced provider with no way of notifying you of cash deposits). Or, are you saying that if that provider notifies you of a cash deposit by an Implicity Financial member, you'll reduce the hold period? At any rate, if you wouldn't mind passing on this second suggestion, it would be greatly appreciated.
The 10 day hold period was put into place to safeguard both our members and Implicity against any type of fraudulent activity on accounts. We are not notified as to what an ATM deposit consists of, so we are unable to amend hold periods based on cash vs. cheque deposits.

In terms of the EFT transfers, and forgive me if this sounds a bit rushed as I am just heading off to work but wanted to get this e-mail in, does that mean you can currently do sporadic EFT transfers online once you link your external bank account using the pre-authorized transfer form or do you only allow a regular savings plan of a specified amount? In terms of the future plans for a online verification/account linking method, does that mean we'll be able to use the small "test" deposit method? If so, that's great.
Our EFT Transfers are to be used for regular deposits to your Implicity account of a specified amount, which we can set up on our end. We are working towards having the linked account functionality available by the summer, and at that time will have more information for you regarding the small test withdrawal.

As you can see, they are very responsive and very helpful. I will have to follow-up, though, as they seem reluctant to pass on my suggestion(s) for procedural/efficiency improvements regarding credit bureau checks and hold periods to their appropriate operations team. As well, I'd like to see the regular/standard hold period for all deposits (even if no "access to deposited funds"/"cashback" limit(s)) reduced to 7 business days and 2-3 business days for EFT transfers where the funds are "pulled" in once they offer that service, which they currently don't offer as the pre-authorized payment form is only for regular, fixed amount automatic transfers between an external account and Implicity Financial. Does everyone else have the same take/read on that?

It is also interesting they will be launching the account verification method similar to Hubert Financial and Ally but will be using "a small, test withdrawal," not a deposit, which makes sense as the same information is included in the EFT transfer as a deposit but without the extra cost to them. I just hope they deposit that small withdrawal into one's Implicity Financial account so we're not out any money. I will follow-up with them once it actually launches. We may even see more FIs use this method as well.

Cheers,
Doug

Greg - to answer your questions, you are correct that there is no maximum dollar limit to Deposit Guarantee Corporation of Manitoba ("DGCM") depositor insurance coverage. All deposits are 100% guaranteed by the DGCM. As well, unlike CDIC coverage, foreign currency deposits held by a DGCM-insured institution are 100% guaranteed as well as are term deposits/GICs with maturities greater than 5 years. I believe the provincial governments are not necessarily required to "back stop" their provincial credit union deposit corporations so, like anything, one also needs to take this into consideration when comparing "unlimited deposit insurance coverage" from provincially-incorporated credit unions in Canada versus federally-chartered banks, trust and loan/mortgage companies. Also, one should consider the stability/size/financial health of the deposit institution (i.e., bank/trust company/credit union/etc.).

I'm also glad I convinced you to open an an account with Implicity Financial. The fact they're going to be adding paperless external bank account verification/linking in the next several months coupled with their no fee/highest interest rate philosophy sealed it for me. I plan on moving all of my non-registered savings not currently invested over from Hubert Financial to Implicity Financial in the next month or two. I will probably keep my Hubert account open with a token amount (i.e., $50-100) and use it as a sort of "hub" for transferring funds between my different bank accounts at different institutions (though I will use Implicity, ING Direct Canada and HSBC for this as well).

You'll be pleased to hear I received my "account activation e-mail" from Implicity Financial on Feb. 25th (the day you sent in your application in the mail and five days after I sent mine on Feb. 18th) and was told my member ID is eight digits. My initial deposit/member equity share cheque from my ING Direct THRiVE Chequing account cleared my ING account on Feb. 27th. On the back, there was a 12-digit number, which could be my account number with Implicity but I have an e-mail in to Implicity to confirm this. Both the Canadian Payments Association's Financial Institutions Branch Directory for Credit Unions and the stamp on the back of my cleared cheque drawn on ING Direct Canada indicate the sole branch transit for Implicity Financial is 04207 institution number 879. One thing to note from the above FI Branch Directory for Credit Unions' file is the Implicity Financial address is shown as 550-201 Portage Ave, Winnipeg, MB R3B 3K6 instead of the usual P.O. box on their website. It is the corporate head office address of their corporate parent Entegra Credit Union (in the TD Bank Tower).

One unfortunate thing from the Implicity Financial account activation e-mail is they state they provide immediate access to online banking with a temporary PAC (personal access code), which is initially set as the last five-digits of your home telephone number, and your debit card number but they do not provide your debit card number forcing you to wait for the debit card to arrive (mine hasn't arrived yet). I've submitted this as a suggestion in a (hopefully final) follow-up e-mail to Implicity Financial so hopefully they'll look at that going forward. I'll try and keep everyone abreast of any developments/changes in that regard.

Now, in my most recent reply to the above message from Implicity Financial, I sent the following on Feb. 24/2013 and Erin responded Feb. 25/2013 (mine in bold; Implicity's in italics):

Thank you so much for responding, Kerrie, on Erin's behalf and for continuing to answer my questions. I have only several more follow-up questions for either of you now.

In terms of the 10 day hold period, I realize that your organization has your reasons for what is arguably the longest hold period in Canada. It sounds like that you, from what you and Erin have said, for existing Implicity Financial clients in good standing with sufficient funds in their account to cover, are able to manually remove holds on deposits on a case-by-case basis and that's a good thing you're willing to do that. All I am suggesting is that for you to pass on my suggestion for the following to your relevant operations and/or head office administration departments:

• For all clients, as you use the Acculink ATM Network and many credit unions on that network outsource their deposit processing operations, all ATM deposits (regardless if cash or cheques) be held for a maximum of 7 to 8 business days, which would be in line with federal regulations governing federally regulated banks, credit union centrals and trust/loan companies. While I realize you you may not be regulated by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada ("FCAC") like the aforementioned entities are, I'm sure you are both aware of what FCAC is and what it regulates and it would be a "best practice" to adopt their standards as FCAC has determined a period of 8 business days to be more than sufficient for ATM deposits to be processed and for any dishonoured items (i.e., Canadian dollar cheques and Electronic Funds Transfers) to be returned for most reasons (obviously, in the case of forged endorsement, it may not be long enough but in that case, 10 business days isn't long enough either as clearing system rules state that such items can be returned after any period of time). Foreign currency deposits could easily be extended to 30 business days.
• Additionally, also in line with FCAC regulations, I would like to see you provide your clients who have been with Implicity Financial for at least 3 to 6 months access to the first $100 at a minimum.
• Thirdly, for clients with above-average or excellent credit ratings (based on their Equifax/TransUnion credit scores with no derogatory comments), I would like to see you, at a minimum, automatically provide access to the first $1000-$5000 dollars (with any amounts deposited over and above that subject to your standard hold period)
• Finally, for EFT deposits, in line with your Manitoba-based and national "virtual bank" competitors, I'd like to see the hold period a maximum of 3-4 business days.

If you could kindly forward the above suggestions on to the appropriate operations and/or head office administration departments, or advise me of an e-mail address of a particular internal department/person I should route my comments and suggestions to, I would greatly appreciate it.

Similarly, if you could also forward on to the appropriate department(s) of my second suggestion to use only TransUnion for two, separate "soft" credit bureau inquiries (one for the initial identity verification check in the account/membership opening process to which you've admitted you have no access and a second run by an Implicity Financial staff member for anti-money laundering regulatory compliance as part of the account opening prcess), I would greatly appreciate it as well.

Again, I feel that the I.T. system upgrades required for these two small suggestions would be relatively minor and cost effective and would go a long way to providing a superior customer experience overall and would position Implicity Financial and Entegra Credit Union well should your company decide to potentially launch a no-fee chequing account similar to ING Direct Canada's THRiVE Chequing account or Canadian Direct Financial's (a unit of Canadian Western Bank) KeyDirect Chequing account and expand your service offerings beyond that of strictly savings accounts.
We have forwarded your suggestions to our management department.

I am also very pleased to see you're planning on launching a "direct linking" ability for self-to-self transfers online but using a "small, test withdrawal" (instead of a small, test deposit) method similar to Hubert Financial (a unit of Sunova Credit Union in Selkirk, MB). I am assume that "small, test withdrawal," once cleared, would be deposited to one's Implicity Financial account as well, correct?

Finally, I have only two new questions I forgot to ask/added only in a "P.S." on a prior e-mail message and likely went unnoticed:
1. On what month/day/year did Entegra Credit Union officially launch Implicity Financial?
Implicity Financial went live on December 17, 2012
2. The Acculink credit union "ding-free" ATM Network (http://www.cucentral.ca/SitePa.....ULINK.aspx) allows for PIN changes at CHIP-enabled Acculink Network ATMs. Is Implicity Financial/Entegra Credit Union set up for that? In other words, once I receive my debit card and temporary PIN (presumably in a separate mailing a few days before or after), can I change my Implicity Financial debit card PIN at a CHIP-enabled Acculink ATM?
Yes you can change your ATM PIN at any Credit Union ATM

Again, thank you so much for all of your, and Erin's, help with answering all of my questions. It's always a lot of work in researching this information on a new financial institution but I'm looking forward to it. We are nearly there (hopefully after this e-mail!) And again, I'm fine with you guys pulling my Equifax credit report as a "hard" inquiry (of which I'm pleased to hear you keep on file as long as my account and membership remain open and active), but I know that it can also be done as a "soft" inquiry through TransUnion and hence why I'm looking to have you forward on my request to the appropriate operations/head office administration departments (or give me their e-mail address(es).

In my (hopefully) final reply, I thanked Erin & Kerrie for all of their assistance and for forwarding all of suggestions on to the appropriate management department and added another suggestion to provide the debit card number in the initial activation e-mail.

Greg, regarding Canadian Tire Bank, do they offer paperless external bank account verification/linking? If they did, they'd be an ideal CDIC insured replacement for Ally (as would Canadian Direct Financial). If not, that's unfortunate. Perhaps you can write to them and ask them to offer this service?

Cheers,
Doug

Hi Greg,

Thanks for your comments and glad to hear you're pleased with Implicity Financial's service so far! Yes, I think they are a small contact centre, likely only one shift of people in a small office (based on their hours and only open Monday to Friday), which is nice. I've dealt with only two people so far (Erin and Kerrie). My guess is that they have no more than 10-15 people dedicated to the Implicity Financial operation.

As for your branch-based dealings, I know you've said you've been very happy with RBC Direct Investing and with RBC's (except for the way they've integrated, or not integrated as the case may be, Ally's Canadian deposit business) service. It might simplify things a bit for you if you used RBC for in-branch banking transactions as well instead of BMO (i.e., getting USD cash) and then you wouldn't need to worry about the different name(s) of your wife on your BMO account. Food for thought anyway.

Anyway, to everyone else, I replied to Erin suggesting that they add one's debit card number to the initial Implicity Financial "account activation e-mail" (hoping she'd also give me my debit card number, but that was my bad for assuming) and this is what she wrote back:
The card number is listed on the emails to those members who didn’t request a physical ATM card. We do provide them their number in email format at that time.

Those who requested an ATM card receive the same email you do since the card will be mailed to them within 10 business days.

I re-suggested that suggestion and will keep you updated (hopefully with screenshots) once I have online banking access.

Cheers,
Doug