# What bank do you have your main chequing account at?



## Kathryn (Apr 10, 2009)

What bank do you have your main chequing account at?


----------



## Kathryn (Apr 10, 2009)

We're with PC Financial and have been since 1998.


----------



## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

I'm with TD and doubt I'll ever leave. I have one of their old accounts that you can no longer get. As long as I maintain $1000 balance I will not get dinged with any service fees (other than withdrawals at other bank machines).


----------



## mfd (Apr 3, 2009)

PC financial. I've been happy with them thus far.


----------



## Sampson (Apr 3, 2009)

PC Financial.

All other accounts are basically for e-transfers to investment accounts.


----------



## augustabound (Apr 20, 2009)

TD Canada Trust. The service and branch hours are second to none. As was said above, I don't think I'll ever leave.


----------



## apples (Apr 10, 2009)

PC Financial (for no fee and ease of cash withdraws and transfers to/from savings account).


----------



## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

Kathryn said:


> What bank do you have your main chequing account at?


We do an equal amount of banking with PC Financial and CIBC.


----------



## Maltese (Apr 22, 2009)

I've been with CIBC for 30+ years and have an old account with no service fees as long as I have $1500 in the account. I'm proud to say I've never paid fees as I don't even consider that money as part of my budget.


----------



## kayo (Apr 5, 2009)

I've been with PC Financial and like everyone said they've been great!


----------



## Ben (Apr 3, 2009)

We've both been with PC Financial since 2000/2001 - nothing but good things to say about them.


----------



## canabiz (Apr 4, 2009)

I am with RBC, i also have a VISA and a TFSA account with them so the monthly fee is waived as part of the multi-product rebate.


----------



## markievicz (Apr 11, 2009)

CIBC and they suck. Only inertia and the fact that no other bricks and mortar canuck bank seems much better for chequing keeps me there. Savings are at ING and investments at TD, both great.


----------



## Kalynn12 (Apr 20, 2009)

RBC, no monthly fee due to multi product rebate (no minimum required).

They are great, never had a problem unlike the time I spent at TD and BMO.


----------



## rebel_ins (Apr 6, 2009)

I am with PC Financial since 2006. So far, so good!


----------



## Mintycake (Apr 13, 2009)

TD - I am a very old former Canada Trust member. My account has my mom as a joint holder - we set this up in case something ever happened to me so the money could be accessed. Also, because she's over 60, we get the Plan 60 rate (no fees!)


----------



## refutor (Apr 5, 2009)

Kalynn12 said:


> RBC, no monthly fee due to multi product rebate (no minimum required).


same here!


----------



## DAvid (Apr 3, 2009)

RBC -- been there since I opened my first savings account. No matter where I have moved, I have always found them easy to deal with, and appreciate the contribution they make to my community.

The PC company, though present in our community, seem to make no voluntary contribution to it.

DAvid


----------



## nick24 (Apr 3, 2009)

PC Financial. They are fine, until you need to take a large sum of cash out of your account. Unfortunately, you can't take it out over the counter at a CIBC branch. Instead, you will have to speak to them on the phone, after which they will temporarily increase your withdrawal limit, so you can take the money from the ATM in multiple transactions.

I moved from the UK where I never paid a penny to use a bank - on principle, I refuse to pay a bank to use my money to make money, but require me to pay money to do so. Yes, I know there are many counter arguments to this statement, but I'm sticking to my guns here!


----------



## michika (Apr 20, 2009)

Servus Credit Union. I jumped ship from PC after 3 horrible experiences in a row over the course of 3 months.


----------



## faq (Apr 29, 2009)

RBC + PC , as others stated, RBC waived fee if you get a visa & any investment . however the free debit thing is limited to 14 or something like that per month , so I do most banking with PC ... I have a mortgage with RBC so have to keep a chequing acct with them ... also to get a free US Centure check acct you got to have a RBC CAD acct ...


----------



## Antonia (May 2, 2009)

RBC. However, I transfer money in and out from ING as their rates are way better.


----------



## Mockingbird (Apr 29, 2009)

kathryn said:


> what bank do you have your main chequing account at?


pc & cibc


----------



## Rickson9 (Apr 9, 2009)

Kathryn said:


> What bank do you have your main chequing account at?


I'm with TD and my wife is with PC Financial.


----------



## tiijei (May 11, 2009)

My main was CIBC, my current is TD but thinking of making PC Financial or Citizens Bank as my main. I can't decide, I have unlimited transaction on my TD for 2-3 more months. So far its ok but Im checking out other financial institution as well to give me some options.


----------



## venter (Apr 10, 2009)

TD for checking and High Interest Savings Accounts at Manulife Financial and Outlook Financial (some GICs at Outlook too).


----------



## snowball (May 12, 2009)

I used to bank with TD but I switched over to PC after a recent move.

The fact that the nearest TD ATM is now 80km away played a big part in my decision. (We have a CIBC in town.)


----------



## Jon Chevreau (Apr 4, 2009)

RBC. Actually, this is a bit funny because I just got a call today from a CIBC rep. We used to use CIBC but about 5 years ago they closed down the local branch and along with it the ATM. They tried to convince us to take a shuttle bus 3 times a day to the Queensway, about 5 KM away. Can you imagine doing that when all you want to do is take a short walk up the street to withdraw 40 bucks from an ATM? 

The rep wanted to know why we didn't want to come back to the CIBC. I said RBC was still in the community and I preferred walking to a nearby ATM than taking a shuttle bus to the CIBC. At that point, she gave up. 

Bottom line: support the bank that supports your local community.


----------



## Alexandra (Apr 3, 2009)

Pc Financial. Even new cheque books are free.


----------



## lister (Apr 3, 2009)

Alexandra said:


> Pc Financial. Even new cheque books are free.


Thanks for that! I've been looking for a free joint chequing account so I can easily transfer money between myself and my newly CRA-minted common-law spouse plus more easily contribute money to her TFSA and if I ever get lucky enough to do so, her RRSP.

I presume I can link each of our personal CIBC accounts with this joint PC Financial account.


----------



## CanadianCapitalist (Mar 31, 2009)

lister said:


> I presume I can link each of our personal CIBC accounts with this joint PC Financial account.


Yep. Our RBC accounts are linked to PC Financial, so no reason why you can't link a CIBC account.


----------



## BethO (Apr 4, 2009)

Maltese said:


> I've been with CIBC for 30+ years and have an old account with no service fees as long as I have $1500 in the account. I'm proud to say I've never paid fees as I don't even consider that money as part of my budget.


We have an old CIBC account as well - 18+ years and keep the first $1,500 of our emergency fund in it so we don't pay monthly fees. I realized a few years back that using the emergency fund to prevent a recurring monthly transaction charge of somewhere around $25 - $30 was a pretty awesome return.

I don't believe CIBC offers that account anymore, however.

And for savings we use ING.

BethO


----------



## greyowl (May 16, 2009)

I hear that ING will be offering a chequing account by the end of summer.


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

greyowl said:


> I hear that ING will be offering a chequing account by the end of summer.


If that's true, and if it's available in Québec, it will be huge. Currently the only two real no-fee chequing accounts in Canada (PC Financial and Citizen's Bank) are unavailable in Québec. I know Québec residents can get a PC Financial account by driving to Ontario and signing up there, but still.

I lived in the US most of my life, where no-fee chequing and savings accounts are the norm, so I've had a hard time adjusting to the fees here. Much as I hate paying the fees, the other important criterion for me is access to E-Post (or Postel as it's called in French) and online bill payments through my bank. Some bills here an only be paid online through certain banks, which is a pain. I have accounts with Banque Nationale and Desjardins credit union, both of which charge hefty fees but at least I can do all my bill payments online, as well as receiving most of my bills online as well.

So I'm hoping that ING's chequing/ATM account will allow online bill payments the same way most other banks do, as well as integration with E-Post so I can receive my bills online.


----------



## Canadian Finance (Apr 3, 2009)

I just went back to PC Financial. I was with RBC since I had a free chequing account for having their mortgage, Visa and RRSPs. Now that I changed my mortgage, my account will no longer be free. I'm going to stay with PCF this time since my mortgage might change every 5 years.


----------



## mogul777 (Jun 2, 2009)

PCF & BMO. PCF is my everyday account, BMO is an actual bank for when PCF doesn't cut it.

Regarding the linking posts above, I also have my PC and BMO accounts linked very handy takes one or two days for transfers.


----------



## kjmcrae (Apr 3, 2009)

TD Canada Trust, which has been an overall better experience over my previous account at RBC.


----------



## CuriousReader (Apr 3, 2009)

I feel TD is the best 

They have the best branch hours

Their branch are everywhere (at least relative to my location)

and with my accont (fee waived) I got:

No fee at all for anything (bankdraft, etc)

No fee for US account, no fee for US bank draft

$120 annual fee for credit card also waived

So I got lots of benefits at no cost


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

CuriousReader said:


> and with my accont (fee waived) I got:
> 
> No fee at all for anything (bankdraft, etc)
> 
> ...


That sounds like you have the "Select Service" account, which requires you to maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 in order to get all of those services for no fee. It's nice, but keep in mind that it's not exactly free as you are losing the interest opportunity on that $5,000 that you might gain if you put that into a high-yield account. Mind you, interest rates are so low right now and bank fees are so high that you're probably right to park your $5,000 there instead of trying to earn interest on it, as you probably wouldn't be able to earn enough interest to offset the cost of the fees.

However, when interest rates go back up, it might be worth thinking about this.


----------



## Retired at 31 (Apr 20, 2009)

brad said:


> That sounds like you have the "Select Service" account, which requires you to maintain a minimum balance of $5,000 in order to get all of those services for no fee. It's nice, but keep in mind that it's not exactly free as you are losing the interest opportunity on that $5,000 that you might gain if you put that into a high-yield account. Mind you, interest rates are so low right now and bank fees are so high that you're probably right to park your $5,000 there instead of trying to earn interest on it, as you probably wouldn't be able to earn enough interest to offset the cost of the fees.
> 
> However, when interest rates go back up, it might be worth thinking about this.


I've had select service for years and it's an amazing deal imo. 5K is tied up, but what's that pay you today? 2% = $100/yr = $8/month. Even at 4% it's still very reasonably priced for everything select gives you.

The gold elite card (1% cash back, no tiers) that's free with the account gives you road side assistance. Some new vehicles come with it, caa charges how much?

You can also think of that 5K as your emergency fund.

Long hours are a huge plus too. When TD merged with Canada Trust and adopted their hours, I expected to see the other big banks follow suit. So much for bankers hours!


----------



## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

As a long time TD customer, I WANT that... "select service", that is.

Time to wander down to the local branch I think.


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

Retired at 31 said:


> I've had select service for years and it's an amazing deal imo. 5K is tied up, but what's that pay you today? 2% = $100/yr = $8/month. Even at 4% it's still very reasonably priced for everything select gives you.


You know, you've got me thinking about it! I currently pay $12/month for my account at Banque Nationale, and that doesn't even have truly unlimited ATM or chequing, nor does it have any other benefits. Plus I already have a Borderless account at TD for which I am paying $6/month; it's the only account I have with TD.

The only drag is that the closest TD branch to me is 45 minutes away, and there aren't that many branches in Montréal. In comparison there's a Desjardins credit union practically on every streetcorner...there's one at the top of my street in fact. Still, the select service really does sound like a good deal.


----------



## msimms (Apr 17, 2009)

Citizens Bank of Canada -- unlimited chequing and debit, high interest savings accounts.


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

msimms said:


> Citizens Bank of Canada -- unlimited chequing and debit, high interest savings accounts.


Not only that but you can withdraw money from other banks' ATMs (including in the US, Europe, and other countries) without incurring a fee from Citizen's Bank. That's so sweet! If only they were available in Québec.... it's my favourite Canadian bank by a long shot but I can't use it.


----------



## CanadianCapitalist (Mar 31, 2009)

Retired at 31 said:


> I've had select service for years and it's an amazing deal imo. 5K is tied up, but what's that pay you today? 2% = $100/yr = $8/month. Even at 4% it's still very reasonably priced for everything select gives you.
> 
> The gold elite card (1% cash back, no tiers) that's free with the account gives you road side assistance. Some new vehicles come with it, caa charges how much?
> 
> You can also think of that 5K as your emergency fund.


Hmmm... It does sound like a great deal. I have a pay-as-you-go package with RBC, which means I have to keep another account at PC Financial. 

Looks like Roadside Assistance + Safe-deposit box + US dollar account is easily worth the cost of keeping $5,000 around in a chequing account.


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

CanadianCapitalist said:


> Looks like Roadside Assistance + Safe-deposit box + US dollar account is easily worth the cost of keeping $5,000 around in a chequing account.


True, although if you ever have to dip into that $5,000 and don't replenish it before the month's out, you pay $25 in fees every month until you get your balance back to $5,000. I guess that's what keeping a separate emergency fund is for


----------



## Robillard (Apr 11, 2009)

Jon_Snow said:


> As a long time TD customer, I WANT that... "select service", that is.
> 
> Time to wander down to the local branch I think.


Hey, you're paying for it. You might as well go over and spend some time chatting up the personal bankers instead of lining up for the cash machine with the peons.

Getting back to the original question... I also bank at TD, though I only have a lowly value plus account. I chose them because my parents chose when I was a baby and I haven't bothered to move to another institution. It has been said that people get divorced more often than they change banks. I think there's some truth to that. Also, I do find TD to be convenient since there is a branch a block away from where I live.


----------



## AshleyT (May 1, 2009)

TD select service is the best deal I could find for our needs. In addition to the above mentioned, they also proved US dollar account and US credit cards for you and your partner, no charge. Also US bank drafts which we use a few times a year for renting vacation accomodation direct from owners (ever tried to send a cheque drawn from your Canadian bank US dollar account to an American?). 



brad said:


> True, although if you ever have to dip into that $5,000 and don't replenish it before the month's out, you pay $25 in fees every month until you get your balance back to $5,000. I guess that's what keeping a separate emergency fund is for


Even if you drop to $4999 balance, and increase it to $5000 one minute later, you will incur the $24.95 fee for that month. I think that is what you meant, but I just wanted to clarify.


----------



## brad (May 22, 2009)

AshleyT said:


> Even if you drop to $4999 balance, and increase it to $5000 one minute later, you will incur the $24.95 fee for that month. I think that is what you meant, but I just wanted to clarify.


You're right...I realized that after I wrote it and went back to check the TD site. You have to maintain a $5,000 balance all the time; going under that at any point slaps you with the monthly fee.


----------



## shawn_strat (Apr 7, 2009)

I am a Quebecer, and I drove to Ontario to open up a PC Financial account over 2 years ago. I love it. The only thing I don't like is the 24 hour delay for transferring cash from the savings account to the chequing account. Of course there is no delay when transferring from chequing to savings.


----------



## fryman (May 28, 2009)

PC ... if you are about trying to cut costs its a no brainer..No fees for cheques..No fees for using the CIBC bank machine network and no worries about dropping below 1G without getting dinged charges.


----------



## canadianbanks (Jun 5, 2009)

I don't see what's the difference really...I'm with CIBC.


----------



## badcaleb (Jun 8, 2009)

TD Select Service - for all the reasons everyone else has mentioned.


----------



## Jon_Snow (May 20, 2009)

Just signed up for TD Select Service, and getting a shiny new First Class Travel Visa card as well....


----------



## yun (Apr 4, 2009)

RBC. 

I don't think they're anything special, but they certainly are practically everywhere.


----------



## The Financial Blogger (Apr 4, 2009)

National Bank!
yeah I know, almost only available in Québec ;-)

however, you can have their service through Investors Group as well :-D


----------



## wrhlreferee (Jun 14, 2009)

*Use Line of Credit as main bank account?*

On a recent visit to my TD branch to review my options to minimize account and transaction fees, my very helpful advisor suggested that I shift all my banking into my line of credit, and avoid transaction fees altogether. He told me that the banks don't like it when people do this, but there are no rules against it. Apparently all my banking can be done from my line of credit, pay cheque deposited directly there, automatic payments from there, ATM withdrawls, the whole she-bang.. I'm not sure if I'd be able to close the chequing account altogether or if I'd still have to maintain the cheapest one ($4/month or so). 

This seems like you're getting most of the perks of TD Select Service (not including the free credit card, cheques, and SD Box), and saving $25/month without having to maintain a $5k balance. Too good to be true? Has anyone done this? Thanks.


----------



## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

There is probably very little chance that TD will go under, but I don't believe that LOC's are covered under Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC). If that is indeed the case, it might make sense to keep the balance to a minimum. That's probably the only downside that I can see.

As well, if people owe you money, I believe that they can simply do a bill payment to your TD LOC thus avoiding the email money transfer fee.


----------



## BeautifulAngel (Jun 30, 2017)

I have been with CIBC since I was 15


----------



## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

BeautifulAngel said:


> I have been with CIBC since I was 15


And now you're 16? :joyous:


----------



## ian (Jun 18, 2016)

CIBC for the past 35 years. But for the past five years the only thing we have with them is a seniors account and a safe deposit box. Moved our investments from them six years ago, HISA with EQ, etc banks. Will soon be cancelling our Visa cards with them and moving away from Aeroplan.

One huge difference between TD and CIBC is the wait times on telephone inquiries. CIBC wait time, even with their Imperial service, is unacceptable compared to TD Visa.


----------



## zylon (Oct 27, 2010)

*Credit Union*



source: Google


----------



## birdman (Feb 12, 2013)

Credit Union. Spent 18 yrs in senior positions with both a bank and a credit union and keep my chequing and some other accounts with CU for the reason that as a retired employee I pay no service charges. Also deal at Achieva and BNS simply due to good rates I received on some deposits.


----------



## DigginDoc (Sep 17, 2015)

Municipal Credit Union attached to Vancity for over 40 years. Bought debentures to get a bit higher interest and services. 
Cheers
Doc


----------

