Oaken - is Flinks to be trusted?? | Oaken Financial | Discussion forum

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You're not alone !

I don't like to use their Flinks system either, but I've begrudgingly used it to link three different external accounts at Oaken so far.

The only other option at Oaken is the long, drawn-out, old fashioned paper method ... which is a pain in the *&^%$#.

Dean

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P.S.
A related topic (which died on the vine ) ⬇

https://www.highinterestsavings.ca/forum/oaken-financial/unable-to-add-a-motive-savings-account-as-an-external-account/

savemoresaveoften said
A lot of FI uses Flink and it seems unavoidable. However i wont use Plaid as it seems to be the difference is:

Flink: one time connect to link 2 accounts

Plaid: you are granting them permanent read access to your account, like the feature Tangerine offer to see all your FI's account in 1 place.

Pls correct me if I am wrong regarding my understanding of Flink.  

That's my understanding also.

And, I suspect that with Plaid, your Tangerine view of your other FI Accounts requires redo/updating if your login credentials change at those other FI's

serendipity said
I will contact Oaken to see if there are any other options

In the past, I've been able to link using the "void cheque" method. I did that at a branch, but I'm pretty sure you can do it via mail as well.

There was no way I was going to provide any information to Flinks.

Yes, I went to the Oaken Store. Easy enough for me, but not for everybody.

Alexandre said

. . .

But I have to use Flinks when there is no other way. Because of that, every time I use Flinks to link external account, right after that I login to that external account and change its password.  

Highly Recommended ⬆ ❗

Dean

serendipity said
Is there another way to handle at Oaken?  

Yes. Send a signed Letter of Direction to operations@oaken.com. There is no fixed format for the letter but it must contain the following information:

1. Client number
2. External account details (Financial Institution Number, Transit Number and Account Number)
3. Signature

You may also attach a void cheque or a direct deposit/pre-authorized debit form to speed up the process.

Last time, it took them one business day to set up the link without any further questions asked.

By the way, I have never used Flinks or Plaid and always asked for an alternative way to link accounts, which does not require a branch visit or mailing in any paper documents.

Last but not least, I normally send them an external link containing all of the files. After the account link is set up, I deactivate the link to the files and remove them completely from the third-party provider, e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox etc.

serendipity said

Thanks. We have one in downtown Vancouver that we can get to within an hours drive.  

You will likely need to book an appointment with them. I'd suggest confirming with them that they still do the linking with a void cheque at the branch. If you go in person, get everything done in one go if you need anything else - set up joint accounts, successors, etc.

I don't have any on-line accessible accounts. Hence, I don't need to worry about the dubious password-sharing demands. I am more than happy to visit the Oaken office in Vancouver (call first or nobody is likely to be there) or mail in the forms.

HermanH said
Does anyone know how many eLinks are allowed by Oaken?  

Seems unlimited as they do not provide their details to be linked from other FIs.