Thoughts about Hubert | Page 2 | Tax Free Savings Accounts | Discussion forum

SavingIsGood said

Cheques? I am just wondering - who these days uses cheques? But your situation might be different; pay rent; pay alimony, pay... what?
Hubert's HISA is no better nor worse than any other HISA. Could be +/- 0.5%. Redeemable 1y GIC has no match with any other bank/CU in Canada.  

Cheques are still the easiest way to link accounts. I think they only give you a few. Personally, I liked that feature. I still find occasion to write a cheque every year or two. Anyone that offers a combined chequing/savings account with HISA rates would certainly warrant my attention. Would definately make my money managing easier.

Nehpets said

A technological feature I appreciate with Hubert, is that the instant one's online account is logged into, an alerting email is generated and sent to the account holder reporting the account is being accessed. The only other online FI that does that, in my experience, is Wealth One Bank.  

You like that? That's one of the only "irks" I have with Hubert, the other being the password change requirement every 6 months (or so). I don't mind the password change requirement, per se, but I think they require too many different passwords before reverting to your first one. I think they should have a 5, maximum 10, list of recent passwords before you can reuse them. As for the e-mail notification, it just adds to my "e-mail inbox clutter". I wish I could either opt out of it or they used a smartphone notification-type system, perhaps. Or, to be even more secure, offer members two options: (1) either accept an e-mail or text message notification or (2) require the use of a two-factor authentication method, if you want to opt out of such notification(s).

Features I love about Hubert:
- When I call or chat with them, for which they've extended their contact centre hours of operation and added Saturday service, I get somebody right away and I need only verify my name and "security word". Similarly, I can converse with them via regular e-mail or fax, if I wish
- They were an early pioneer in paperless, electronic linking of bank accounts with the same beneficial ownership - or partial beneficial ownership (i.e., one of the owners being the same)
- Dividends on shares are paid and rates have been consistent, other than one year, averaging about 5% return
- Their D.O.G.s and super high-tech, secure SafeStor safety deposit boxes in some branches that allow 24/7/365 access whereby you access a secure room with your Sunova debit card, the glass is temporarily frosted and then with biometric ID (fingerprint, I believe, though it could be by retinal scan), you're allowed into a separate, secure room and presented, automatically, with your safety deposit box, which only you (or your appointee(s)) may open. Those two features alone are what make me want to visit some small town in Manitoba for a mini-vacation!
- Their 1-year quarterly GIC

All of those features I can overlook any "irksome" quirks mentioned above or previously (i.e., poor customer statement information). That said, I like that they design their banking system in-house. Most credit unions don't do this. They typically will use either Celero Systems' Temeno, the Wealthview or one of Fiserv's banking platforms and use something like Central 1's MemberDirect for online banking, which I do love. 🙂

Cheers,
Doug

Sunova still has what would be considered state of the art technology in the canadian banking sector.. Never had any issues at Hubert and like others top notch customer service.. For a small staff it's impressive!

since you only have to apply once, it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. You do have to submit other forms by snail for registered plan beneficiaries as I recall, should that apply.

Doug, assuming you were only thinking of taking a ruler to them there knuckles, I think a "rap" will do the trick. Otherwise, you'd be "wrapping" them in bandages probably.

I was told that Hubert may match Implicity's term deposit interest rate increases next week which is a good thing. The bad thing is they are considering a $ limit on transfers out.

gicjunkie said
See the Hubert thread. Rates are already up.
HISA now 2%
1 year quarterly term * 2.45% average
2 year term 2.60%
3 year term 2.75%
4 year term 2.90%
5 year term 3.15%  

Are you shamelessly trying to promote your threads? I only ever see you post when you get to do the obligatory "first to post" new threads. 🙁

Sorry for any offence but that's my personal "take" on things. 🙁

Cheers,
Doug

Loonie said
You may be over-reacting, Doug. gicjunkie , as the name suggests, sort of specializes in GIC rates, and has shared insights on them with us in the past.  

Maybe, but why a name like "gicjunkie"? Plus, by "specialize," what professional credentials does/he she have?

That to me suggests, at least in some way, he/she "specializes" in some way, perhaps with a Twitter account of a similar name or a GIC-focused blog they are trying to self promote. 🙂

I also dislike any tendency to focus topical discussion within a single thread (a la RedFlagDeals.com), to the point of even reviving old threads. Such activities unnecessarily add to "reply" and "page" counts of successive threads, making it daunting to new forum visitors to want to read. For me anyway, it turns me completely off. In this case, it might be OK because the two threads were created within a week or two of each other. I'm OK with that but reviving a two- or three- (or more-) month old thread on Tangerine interest rates, for example, for the sake of adding to the "page" and "reply" counts. Start a new thread with a descriptive, updated subject line and focus the discussion there. Perhaps threads older than 90 days could be automatically locked? They serve as useful information to review but for new forum visitors that still have questions years later, it might be best to get them to start a new thread. Timeliness is also key here. 🙂

Cheers,
Doug

Loonie said
Don't get too excited about my use of the word "specialize". I did say "sort of". It was just my observation that this person seems to have focused their research on this topic to some extent, which is a valuable addition to the forum. It's not something they have claimed for themselves.

Personally, I have no problem with new information being added to old threads, if it's relevant. It works fine as long as people stay on topic, which is not always the case. I find this more convenient than having to look up six different threads on the same topic, especially where historical changes are relevant.  

On the first point, OK, point taken. 🙂

Second, right, in that context, it might be relevant but that's also exceedingly rare. Most people are looking for information about an FI or a particular product and having to look through 25+ pages in some cases of a thread is annoying to all hell, in my view. I've no interest in reading a lot of the irrelevant discussion contained therein. 🙁

Cheers,
Doug

Well said, gicjunkie!