Canadian Money Forum banner

Cheque costs in a Chequeing account

20K views 46 replies 31 participants last post by  Plugging Along 
#1 ·
So my wife ordered new cheques.

$48 for 300 cheques??!!
but they did come with a nice vinyl folder.:rolleyes:

i got my wife to phone and she said that all bank use the same supplier and that is what they charge for cheques.

I can see $5 or $10 but $48 seems unreasonable.
We bank with TD.

Anyone else tell me what they pay for cheques in a Chequeing account?
 
#7 ·
i see there are different accounts for chequeing.
in addition to the above, you also have to have a premium credit card.

ill have to do more research but i might move over to PC financial.

to me, cheques should be free in a chequeing account.
but oh well, not enough to get worked up about.
 
#11 ·
Maybe PCF gives you unlimited free cheques, but ING only gives you the first 40 or so for free, after that you have to pay for them. Still a good deal for me, as it took me more than a year to go through my first 20 cheques.

In general, ordering your cheques through the bank is likely to be the most expensive route (actually, ordering computer-printable cheques through Quicken is by far the most expensive route; last time I did a comparison their prices were something like 250% higher than buying through a competitor). When I lived in the US, I always had my cheques printed by Current, which was a popular supplier of gift cards and stationery; their prices were rock-bottom. I'm not sure what the third-party options are here in Canada.
 
#8 ·
Just to digress a bit from the Topic. Do banks here offer savings and chequeing accounts that are linked meaning i keep my deposits in the savings account, zero cash in the chequeing account? Whenever i write a cheque, cash amounting to the cheque issued is automatically swept into the chequeing account to pay the payee.

Thks!
 
#16 ·
Just to digress a bit from the Topic.

Do banks here offer savings and chequeing accounts that are linked meaning i keep my deposits in the savings account, zero cash in the chequeing account?

Whenever i write a cheque, cash amounting to the cheque issued is automatically swept into the chequeing account to pay the payee.

Thks!
Bayview: Not that I know of.
It worked fine for me using the PCF chequing/savings/TFSA savings accounts. I've run the chequing account down to between $0 and $20 without a problem (assuming I did not miss a future bill payment or outstanding cheque! :rolleyes:).

The main reason I've stopped doing this is that I started getting ad-hoc requests or bills lately so the schedule is not as predictable. The "loss of interest" on a float amount is far cheaper/easier than a last minute scramble or NSF charge.

I don't know of any reason it wouldn't work with my ING savings account that is linked to my PCF chequing account.


The two potential items to plan around that I am aware of are the "next day" access to the savings (ex. PCF, ING transfer) and any holds the receiving institution may apply.


Cheers
 
#15 ·
not sure whether this thread is about cheque printing costs or bank fees for cheque using/processing costs.

anyhow the td offers free printed cheques in booklets of 50. Ask at the branch. No choice re design, of course. Apparently these exist mostly for td personnel. The big green doesn't promote em, but any customer can request.
 
#19 ·
The days of free cheques are long gone, except for a few premium accounts or newcomers like PCF & ING who are offering them as loss leaders.

Nearly everyone else charges for personalized cheques and most vendors will only accept personalized cheques.

In this day and age, why would your wife need to order 300 cheques at a go?
 
#23 ·
In this day and age, why would your wife need to order 300 cheques at a go?
i agree cheques are long time gone,but they seem to be extremely useful when paying for kids sports and gear, daycare, etc.

We must write about 3-6 cheques a month. Alot of places seem to like being payed each month and they don't have debit machines nor will they take cash.
 
#21 ·
I have the free TD SS cheques and the initial free book of ING cheques. Electronic transfers are free in Europe and cheques went the way of the dodo some 20 years ago.

I do have to pay something like $1 to mail each cheque back to Canada, and wait for it to be physically cleared. TD wouldn't even deposit my cheques unless I showed up in person..
 
#22 ·
Thks Spudd n E12. I guess if banks here offer the auto sweep savings and cheque accounts combo they will charge higher fees hence discouraging retail interest. In other countries where i lived this type of sweep combo is common for a relatively small min deposit and immaterial monthly fee for the hassle saved. I prefer my banking to be as simple and auto pilot as possible. I do find it a hassle to go online or call the bank. I prrfer to save the time for something more useful like reading up in CMF!
 
#28 ·
Thks Spudd n E12.

I guess if banks here offer the auto sweep savings and cheque accounts combo they will charge higher fees hence discouraging retail interest. In other countries where i lived this type of sweep combo is common for a relatively small min deposit and immaterial monthly fee for the hassle saved.

I prefer my banking to be as simple and auto pilot as possible. I do find it a hassle to go online or call the bank. I prrfer to save the time for something more useful like reading up in CMF!
It certainly would make life easier ... but I suspect they won't want to give up the NSF charges and don't have a lot of competition to push them for this feature.

BTW, when I say "call the bank" I mean call the automated attendant. It's a simple process to call the 1-800 number, enter the card code, press a few more buttons and the transfer is set. It isn't automatic so it is longer than automatic. However, for one or two transactions - it is a lot faster than going online (ex. boot the computer, login to the computer, open the web site etc.).


Cheers
 
#24 ·
Tip for TD Bank: Open a personal line of credit. Cheques are free, and no monthly fee. You can throw a positive balance in there to cover, and never pay any interest. This works better than any chequing account, unless you want the benefits of Select Service.
 
#26 ·
We use cheques mostly because of the kids and schools fees and activities, so I figure I go through about 50 or so a year.

My tip with TD is when we had several different accounts there, we didn't want to keep $5K in all 4 accounts. So I would keep a smaller account with less services for the most part. If I needed cheques in that account, I would increase my balance to $5K, upgrade my account to Select for that month, and then would order the cheques for free, once my cheques came, I would go back to my regular account.
 
#31 ·
In 1990 we were able to transfer money from one private bank account into some else's in Europe. When we moved to Canada I had to work with cheques again, simply because banks say it costs too much money to set up a system like that? It's just ridiculous how much money banks get from their customers for lousy customer service.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top