Unfortunate experience with Motive, not impressed. | Motive Financial | Discussion forum

I specifically asked them on phone whether I could redact the financial information, absolutely not was the reply and it could NOT be faxed either that was in original directions , had to be originals sent via snail mail or PDF , in original format ( how secure is PDF ? Not ) left a very bad taste in my mouth

Bill said
Guess it depends on your perspective, but I've been a client of Motive (and previous name) since day one and I'm kinda reassured about the security of my money when I hear stuff like that, that they're super-sticklers, even appearing to be unreasonably so to some outsiders who might not understand why they're so fussy. Seems like everybody's starting up online banks these days, just use your phone for a few minutes and you're up and running on Joe's bank, I wonder about that sometimes. Could be anybody anywhere on earth trying to open an account remotely for some surreptitious reason, maybe with stolen personal info, it's not like the old days down at the local branch.  

Happy it worked for you, but I don’t think what they are requesting here leads to any security for me , to the contrary actually . I object to having nameless strangers perusing my financial information in detail , that’s if it doesn’t get lost in the mail , after they have confirmed my first name at the top , which is all they want to confirm .- but all the remainder must be left UNREDACTED . As for online banks , people do need to do their homework of course . I Have an account with Hubert ( which is online version of Sunova credit union ) and had one also with alterna. I am very happy with Hubert , and neither of them required this, yet I feel as good as one can about the ongoing security measures they take at Hubert and alterna.

Doug said
I have to respectfully disagree with you, HSY. I'm a bit perplexed by Motive Financial's willingness for you to send a copy of your Equifax credit bureau report and/or your bank or utility statements (presumably, recent ones) to confirm your identity as I more than expected you to say that they refused to open the account because they couldn't your identity based on problems with your Equifax credit bureau report (usually a fraud monitoring block, lack of credit history, or lack of recent credit history in the past three years) as another forum user, Michael, reported that was the outcome due to problems with his credit report.

So, the fact Motive Financial was willing to accept documentation from you in another manner is very encouraging and shows a willingness to work with potential clients to deliver exceptional customer service. Oaken Financial is another company that has demonstrated a similar commitment, especially with the aforementioned Michael to open up an Oaken Savings account for him.

Obviously, the reports can't be redacted, but surely they would've accepted them in a *.zip file that is either encrypted or password-protected, provided you share the password for the file under a separate cover (i.e., separate e-mail message). Alternatively, I'm sure they would've accepted a fax or, failing that, certainly snail mail.

Such is the way of our virtual banking and investment world. In fact, even Motus Bank will request copies of your existing RIF accounts showing account balance and portfolio information in order to process your transfer-in request, as Loonie can attest and assuming they actually properly process the RIF transfer-in request. 😉

Cheers,
Doug  

- just to clarify - no , I did not say that they are willing to accept a copy of my credit bureau report . They are not accepting the credit bureau report and they certainly don’t want a copy from me . They are objecting because the credit report has only my first initial listed and not my first name , so it doesn’t match with their application. Hence the requirement to send all this additional sensitive bank documentation - completely unredacted in any way, regardless that the bank or investment info has nothing to do with verifying only my first name. I also have a 22 year credit history with equifax with excellent rating of which they would be well aware as a result of their credit bureau inquiry and my spouse who lives at the same address and who equifax has with first name on file was approved to be joint on this account, providing I send in this sensitive unredacted data. Where is the common sense ?? ! I spoke to a telephone rep and an account manager, they reiterated all of this must be done in order to proceed , and no faxing , no redacting , - to confirm my first name matches my initial I must and investment or bank statements filled with confidential info and which has zero to do with simply confirming that my first name = my initial , ( which is the way equirax for some perverse reason has it listed .
What is even more laughable is I called equifax today to see about getting my first name on their credit report instead of just my first initial , and all I need to send them is a faxed photocopied drivers liscence ( not accepted by motive ) and a faxed utility bill ( fax of any documentation not accepted by motive either ) and that was reiterated to me by both the motive phone rep and motive account manager . Basically I am done with them ! - though I have written fintrac about this , to see exactly where they stand in this issue .awaiting a reply from them & depending on that reply I may write motive another email.

Doug said
Thanks, Norman, for quoting the relevant passages of FINTRAC guidelines, as I hadn't looked them up for my post.

In answer to your further question, HSY, while you may dislike it, unfortunately the reason you're being asked to verify your identity through an alternative method is likely because the fuller form of your first name is not on your credit bureau. You can update your credit reports free of charge with TransUnion and Equifax, if you're willing to fill out a short form and photocopy your government-issued photo ID showing the fuller form of name. You should be thankful Motive provided this alternate method, as Michael reported them turning him down outright due to problems verifying his credit bureau information. Note, though, that unless you tell them otherwise, they'll update your first, middle, and last names as specified on your photo ID. There may be provision to opt out of them adding your middle name to your credit bureau report.

Having only an initial on your credit bureau report actually puts you at greater risk of identity theft as now a fraudster need only match the first initial of your first name and your date of birth, so being concerned with security, it's something worth considering updating.

Yes, Hubert was able to verify you using a different method, but they do a TransUnion credit bureau report (which may differ from your Equifax credit bureau report that Motive uses) and they also use micro-deposits. Every bank uses different ID validation requirements, but there's an opening banking & digital ID movement afoot to update legislation to (a) allow customers to share their banking details with third-parties and other financial institutions (i.e., Mint and fintechs) validate their identities and open accounts and (b) aggregate, digitize, and/or centralize various provincial government ID repositories to allow banks and credit unions, with consumers' consent, to access their personal information with provincial governments. In short, our ID and personal information is about to become a lot more shared.

Cheers,
Doug  

Transunion has my full name, but Motive does not use transunion. Interestingly Hubert did verify me through equifax, but i believe i had to send a void cheque in or something similar, it was a couple years ago. However it was nothing as intrusive as what is required by Motive, and i still completely object to having strangers review all of my financial information on my statements after they have taken less than 2 seconds to confirm my name and address and account number at the top of the page, which is all they actually require .You do raise a good point regarding the increased security of having my full name on record with equifax and i do plan to get it corrected. Funny that equifax requires less info than Motive! I had thought of the issue of NOT wanting my middle names added and planned to put that note on the documents i send. however no guarantee they will actually manage to get that right, and wouldnt surprise me if i didnt have to contact them again to correct their new update - given the questonable "accuracy " of some of the information i have seen in the past , both with equifax and transunion