New client offer - earn 6.25% for 153 days | Page 2 | Simplii Financial | Discussion forum

Well, I bit the bullet and made application for a HISA with Simpli in order to receive the 6.25% for 5 months.

It looks like they "get in touch" with you if the application is approved. We'll see.

Loonie said

Please keep us posted on your time lines. It will help me decide whether to do this in October.
Good luck!  

I received an e-mail thanking me for the application. Within the next 3 business days they will send another e-mail about the next steps in the application process.

Norman1 said

RetirEd said
Norman1:

Their Canadian operations were definitely bought out by Royal Bank of Canada to put them out of business, though they'd been hit badly by a major Ponzi fraud and weakened. Other parts of Ally continue without the Canadian retail banking.
…

Banks like Royal Bank don't do stupid things like that.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around RBC's acquisition of HSBC. From what I've been able to discern, most HSBC clients are only sticking around for the free waivers and then abandoning RBC and going elsewhere, if they haven't already done so. It leaves me wondering, what are they getting for the 10 billion dollars they paid for HSBC?

Norman1 said

JohnnyCash said

I'm still trying to wrap my head around RBC's acquisition of HSBC. From what I've been able to discern, most HSBC clients are only sticking around for the free waivers and then abandoning RBC and going elsewhere, if they haven't already done so. It leaves me wondering, what are they getting for the 10 billion dollars they paid for HSBC?

Clients looking for free or low-fee banking are not the ones Royal Bank was seeking. Their November 29, 2022 press release RBC to strengthen premium Canadian business… explains what Royal Bank saw in HSBC Canada:

"HSBC Canada offers the opportunity to add a complementary business and client base in the market we know best …," said Dave McKay, President & CEO, RBC. "This also positions us as the bank of choice for commercial clients with international needs, newcomers to Canada and affluent clients who need global banking and wealth management capabilities. …"

…

HSBC Canada has $134 billion in assets as at September 30, 2022, approximately 130 branches and 4,200 full-time equivalent employees. Its commercial bank brings strong capabilities focused on international business clients, including in liquidity management, trade finance, global cash management and sustainable finance. HSBC Canada's wealth and personal banking business serves an affluent client base, with particular strength in meeting the needs of international clients with connections to Canada. ….

December 1, 2022 Globe & Mail article RBC faces challenge retaining HSBC Canada business clients … expands on that:

When it comes to retail operations, RBC head of personal and commercial banking Neil McLaughlin said the sales process revealed that HSBC Canada’s mortgage holders tend to be wealthier than RBC’s clients. …

In capital markets, HSBC Canada ranks among the top dozen domestic players in commercial lending and debt capital markets, and the top 20 advisers on mergers and acquisitions, according to data service Refinitiv. This year, the bank advised on major transactions for public-sector pension plan PSP Investments, the Quebec government, insurer Sun Life Financial Inc. and engineering firm WSP Global Inc.

  

That's all very interesting, I still stand by my comments there are HSBC clients that have and will continue to make an exit. It seems that many were high net worth with significant international exposure. Those same clients will utilize their various waivers in the meantime while transitioning to other providers. So no, I was not referring to low value clients.

Simplii doesn't pay interest by calendar month: Monthly interest is from last day of previous month to 2nd last day of month.

Simplii also does not go by the posting date of transactions shown on their online banking site. Instead, Simplii uses the effective date of transactions shown in the monthly statement for calculating interest.

davidgeorge said
Yes, I noted that I got less interest from my 5.5% offer for the month of August. It seems Simplii didn't pay the interest for the last three days of August.  

Reading elsewhere, believe it or not, Simplii calculates interest up to and including the last Wednesday of each month. For August it was the 28th and for September it will be the 25th. It's weird, but hey, as long as you get your interest payments, all is well.

Loonie said

Please keep us posted on your time lines. It will help me decide whether to do this in October.
Good luck!  

I received my debit card number in an e-mail this morning. The card should arrive soon in the mail. But having the number I was able to set up my HISA earning 6.25% account on-line.
The only way you can deposit funds (if you don't wish to have mobile banking), is to either set up a linked account(s) or to deposit a cheque into an authorized ATM. You can't withdraw funds at the ATM.
If you also set up a chequing account, then you can use Interac e-transfer for deposits and withdrawals. All this takes time.
After setting up the HISA, I applied to link my CIBC account. So, am sending a VOID cheque to them tomorrow. Just for your info anyone, when you set this up, there is space only for a 7 digit account number .... no dashes. 05-77231 will be put down as 0577231 for example. They don't tell you this. They just say invalid numbers.
I don't think I will go with the no fee chequing account, although the CSR said the cheques are free.
Stay tuned Loonie and all!!

InterestThis said
You can also use their App to transfer cheques directly into the HISA.
Then a direct link in the external bank to transfer out later.  

But isn't that mobile banking? Don't want to bank using cell.

Alexandra said
After setting up the HISA, I applied to link my CIBC account. So, am sending a VOID cheque to them tomorrow. Just for your info anyone, when you set this up, there is space only for a 7 digit account number .... no dashes. 05-77231 will be put down as 0577231 for example. They don't tell you this. They just say invalid numbers.

It's ironic that it is difficult to link a CIBC account, since in the banking world, Simplii accounts are just a "branch" (special transit number) under CIBC.

smayer97 said
You can expedite the linking process if you contact customer service and have a manager manage this. They will send you a link to their secured email where you can submit your docs (VOID check, etc) securely onto their system. This will save time.  

Thanks smayer97. That makes complete sense alright. I did ask the CSR if there was anyway they could send a secure e-mail so that I could return with an attached VOID cheque but he said he couldn't do that.

I'll mail the voided cheque today. Once I have the linked account, that is how I'll withdraw and deposit all funds going forward. Should be getting a debit card in the mail this coming week. In the meantime, I am getting 5.75% @ Tangerine with all available "loose" funds until end of October so not missing out on too much.