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Email this2:39 pm
October 22, 2015
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I was driving done Yonge St. in Oak Ridges and saw a letter board sign on the road advertising 3% for 90 day GIC at the Meridian Credit Union that is in that plaza.
I went in, signed up and was thrilled to get 3% since Tangerine has not offered me more than 2% the last three times. I have taken everything out of Tangerine, they can stuff it!
Also nice to deal with a bricks and mortar bank with real people.
I assume it's just a local offer as I couldn't find anything about it anywhere on the net.
It's on for all of November if anyone lives in this area.
5:50 pm
October 21, 2013
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Meridian does this with every new branch opening.
A word of advice: their default is that the GIC will roll over after the 90 days are up. They can set it to not roll over but you have to ask.
7:51 pm
October 22, 2015
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Thanks Loonie, I did make sure to have them deposit the funds back into my savings account at the end of the term. Had enough experience with all the Scotiabanks etc. who do that as well to be cautious.
10:50 pm
October 21, 2013
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Good to hear you were thinking ahead.
Oaken offers you a clear choice at the beginning. I think the credit unions ought to do the same, especially as they are supposed to be more responsive to us as members. I don't know anyone who wants an automatic rollover these days - especially when the rate drops so dramatically - and I suspect that such persons who do want it are in the minority.
The current non-promo 90 day rate is 0.65% - about one fifth of the promo rate! http://www.meridiancu.ca/rates.....fault.aspx Why would ANYONE choose that when the daily savings rate is 1.5%? Even if the daily rate falls within the 90 days, it's very unlikely to fall that much.
So, I find the auto-rollover a sleazy practice. Everyone should be asked whether they want that or not. They will catch lots of people, however, and that will average out the rate to about 1.8% over 6 months. But why annoy people? Makes no sense to me.
9:22 am
October 22, 2015
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You are so right Loonie about the sleazy practices. Worst is P.C. If you have a GIC with them, you can not see online, when it comes due, the rate or the instructions. Everything is hidden. You have to phone to find out. I have moved all GIC's out of there as well.
1:27 pm
October 21, 2013
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I didn't know about PC's GIC practices but I have never dealt with them yet because I don't like their other practices.
I have some of the 90day Meridian ones right now (from a different branch opening). They did provide a sheet of paper but I have no verification in print of the instruction to not roll over. I am going to go there in person when they mature just to be sure. At least there is some place to go!
We could probably use a thread or an article about how to buy a GIC defensively. Someone else had a problem with one that did not give compound interest.
5:30 am
October 22, 2015
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Hi Loonie,
I received the same letter. When I logged into online banking and clicked on the details of the GIC, I could see that the maturity instructions advise the transfer to my savings account. My suggestion would be for any of these GIC's is to make the request and then check online for maturity instructions which will show up on all the banks I have dealt with except P.C. P.C. gives you NO info whatsoever which is really underhanded.
4:50 pm
October 21, 2013
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Good idea. I haven't even figured out HOW to log in to my Meridian account yet
1:37 pm
October 21, 2013
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So, my Meridian 90 day GIC came due today.
It actually paid out for 91 days, so I was a happy camper.
4:34 pm
March 4, 2017
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I've been with Meridian a little while, and am overall happy with them. Though the bloom is falling from the rose. They used to advertise, No gimmicks, just good rates. Now there seem to be a lot of gimmicks like this promotion that favor new customers over existing ones, which makes me want to hop away to another higher interest institution (like Maxa in Manitoba) and back for their next promotion. Seems like these new customer pushes encourage disloyalty.
6:20 am
January 16, 2017
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Loonie said
I didn't know about PC's GIC practices but I have never dealt with them yet because I don't like their other practices.I have some of the 90day Meridian ones right now (from a different branch opening). They did provide a sheet of paper but I have no verification in print of the instruction to not roll over. I am going to go there in person when they mature just to be sure. At least there is some place to go!
We could probably use a thread or an article about how to buy a GIC defensively. Someone else had a problem with one that did not give compound interest.
I did the registration on-line and there is a step in the process called "GIC Setup" where you can select "Payout to Savings Account". I will nevertheless double-check that ! Thanks for the warning.
4:39 am
October 21, 2013
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The current offer is a little different from the one I participated in earlier. The current offer actually says online in the advertising that the money will go into your savings account at the end of the term. This is a change. I'd like to think it's because I howled when they didn't follow my instructions earlier, but probably not.
The reality is that their regular high interest savings rate is higher than what you'd get if they rolled it over into another 90 day GIC, so they would likely lose you if the did that. They want to keep you as a member, and ultimately they want you to invest with their "wealth management" side.
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