Discussions

Where do you bank for your everyday accounts and why?  

Because I earn 1% cash back on debit purchases and there's no usage limit. Also have found very reasonable interest rates when needing loans etc. vs other banks.

We bank with Tangerine ( formelly ING Direct ). We have been with them for years. Zero fees, higher interests, always open, quick phone call away. If you need an ATM they use the Scotiabank ATM's for deposit or free withdrawls so it's very convenient. Very friendly easy to understand customer service. Did I mention it's free. We have opened several accounts within our account and it's like having a jar system. We have never been so financially sound until we started using them.  
 
We do like to keep an account open locally with Sunrise Credit Union. We have an account there that is pay per use. We don't use it alot but it's nice to have the option if we needed it. I do believe in face to face relationships with a bank that's why.  
 
98% of our banking is with Tangerine and the rest with Sunrise.  
 
If Sunrise ever made it easier to create multiple accounts ( Like the Jar system ) and had lower fees for unlimited online transactions we would likely just bank there and no where else. They are awesome to work with. I highly recommend them. We just don't believe in paying a bank to store our money there so they can use it to lend to others and charge them as well. Double dipping.  
 
Message me if you want to open a Tangerine account. I get a reward and so do you if I refer you.

We bank with PC for 10? 12? years... before we were even married anyway, for many of the same reasons as Rafter does Tangerine.  
 
No fees, decent rates, plus PC points. Get points for everyday stuff, plus gas, plus shopping in stores, equals about $40-$60 a month in free groceries. Not too shabby.  
 
We also have RBC account and some investments there that we couldn't get through PC. Otherwise, everything else including our mortgage is PC. They use the CIBC bank machines.

Is there fairly decent access to ATM's to any of the above banks?  

I would recommend Scotiabank, in Brandon the tellers and staff are awesome and always helpful. I moved last spring and had to switch to TD, which has been very good as well.  
 
CIBC as I learned will nickle and dime you to death.

I have used PC Financial and Bank of Montreal for years. Never had an issue or problem that wasn't corrected to my satisfaction. I also use BMO investorline.

Tangerine uses ( Scotiabank ATM's ) PC uses ( CIBC )  
 
We used to bank with PC but we had a serious breach in our privacy with them which resulted in my identity being stolen so we cancelled everything with them. Also we have had a lot of issues with CIBC ( Not with local branch ) in general.

Rafter D said "Tangerine uses ( Scotiabank ATM's ) PC uses ( CIBC )     We used to bank with PC but we had a serious breach in our privacy with them which resulted in my identity being stolen so we cancelled everything with them. Also we have had a lot of issues with CIBC ( Not with local branch ) in general. "

We've never had an issue and I actually find them to be quite proactive about security - to the point that I actually get quite annoyed with them for being so stringent, LOL.

I am forced to deal with BMO with work, and I don't know what they're like nationally to deal with, but locally I find it to be a huge headache/nightmare.  
 
There never seems to be enough tellers on duty, no matter what day or time of day I make a bank run. You stand in line for forever, and when you do get to the till, they never seem to know what I need or what I am talking about. The staff are very friendly, I will give them credit for that, just hugely disorganized and unknowledgeable about what I'm needing help with.

I agree with tangerine. I recommend it all the time. I received a $100 bonus yesterday!!!!  

Pay $8.95 Maintenance Service Charge for unlimited use of debit card, pay bills online, transfer between accounts, deposits, etc. Have to have at least one direct deposit a month to get this low fee  
 
Use to be with Westoba but they Service package was more and only had a limit of 40 so we ended up paying 2 or more times per month than Sunrise.  
 
Also hubby turns 60 this year so that price will change it to ZERO. If we would stayed with Westoba that doesn't happen until you are 65 and it is still a limited amount of transactions per month where as Sunrise is unlimited.  
 
We need to pay extra if we write a check, but only do that 2 or 3 times a year. Not sure of the price, but it is a $1.00 or less per check.  

LadyWendy said "Pay $8.95 Maintenance Service Charge for unlimited use of debit card, pay bills online, transfer between accounts, deposits, etc. Have to have at least one direct deposit a month to get this low fee     Use to be with Westoba but they Service package was more and only had a limit of 40 so we ended up paying 2 or more times per month than Sunrise.     Also hubby turns 60 this year so that price will change it to ZERO. If we would stayed with Westoba that doesn't happen until you are 65 and it is still a limited amount of transactions per month where as Sunrise is unlimited.     We need to pay extra if we write a check, but only do that 2 or 3 times a year. Not sure of the price, but it is a $1.00 or less per check.   "

At PC Financial there is no charge for cheques: when you order them, or when you write them. Even though we don't use them much, the [b]free[/b] is nice.

I use rbc. I do almost all of my banking online or do cash back when shopping to get cash. I maybe use the atm 10 times a year and have only been in a branch to a teller to get us cash. I have a chequing, saving and is dollar accounts and 2 Leo (kids) accounts along with rrsp and tfsa. I pay $10.95 a month for unlimited transactions from my chequing account. I like the phone app for rbc. I used to deal at cibc and switched because at the time I couldn't transfer from my Canadian account to my us account online. I would bet that has probably changed by now.  
 
Does anyone know if pic offers rrsp and tfsa accounts?

Introduced there as a kid and tried other banks and went back based on customer service alone. 1% here, whatever there, and hardly anyone takes checks anymore. If you want to make good returns on your money just buy stock in the banks. Most Canadian banks, including BMO, are around a 5% dividend right now.

Green Thumb said "Introduced there as a kid and tried other banks and went back based on customer service alone. 1% here, whatever there, and hardly anyone takes checks anymore. If you want to make good returns on your money just buy stock in the banks. Most Canadian banks, including BMO, are around a 5% dividend right now. "

Are you American in the use of the word of Checks?  
 
In Canada the use of a cheque would be preferable.

Westoba and I would not recommend it. For transferring funds from one financial institution to another they have e-wallet and all the other F.I. we at times need to move money to and from have e-transfer so not compatible at all. Very inconvenient.  
Here is something worth noting: in the last few months I have had to ensure Westoba, Sunrise and Scotiabank all had certified copies of family members' Powers of Attorney. This document has already been verified to be legal and binding by the lawyer. The only F.I. that had issue with it was Scotiabank. Both the person whose POA it was and myself had to attend the local branch together and at least a couple more times and it took over 6 weeks for them to tell us they we're okay with it! There should never have been that hassle and delay: thank goodness we didn't need to use that POA immediately. Customer Sercive is lacking for that F.I. in my opinion.