Laziness costs money. It cost me at least $12 in the past two months. While I hummed, hawed and thought about changing banks from Royal Bank to President’s Choice Financial, I lost money. A $4 monthly fee and 50 cents for every additional interaction may not seem like much but it adds up. Every month or two, it could be one less meal out, movie or half a tank of gas. That’s how Royal Bank makes its record profits.
Despite this, I kept paying those fees. I suppose I can blame my cynicism for my procrastination. For years, as a Royal Bank customer, I had become so used to paying for banking “services” I just thought it was normal, I expected to pay to use my own money. Despite friends’ raves about PC’s fee-free banking, I was still hesitant. Why would one bank give it away for free while others charge for their services? There must be a catch. But that’s just what PC does: fee-free banking. There is absolutely no cost for putting your money into an account and taking it out. There are unlimited debits, cash withdrawals, money transfers and even cheques are free. So now that I’ve set up my account, I’m wondering: why did I ever pay for something I could get for free?
Lesson learned: Don’t pay for something you could get for free.
10 comments
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June 10, 2008 at 1:08 pm
chelle
President’s Choice… really?!
wow… I’ll have to look into that…
June 10, 2008 at 1:48 pm
andreachiu
Yes, Chelle, really! It should be noted that PC’s way of banking may not be for everyone. For the grandpa that likes to go to the bank and check his balance with a teller, it’s not for him. PC doesn’t have many tellers, or branches for that matter. But for you and me, the young folk who prefer to bank online, PC is perfect.
June 10, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Iris
ING Direct has some good fee-free services too. I’m not sure it’s as much of a frequent service bank though (might be more savings account), but they’re worth checking out too.
June 11, 2008 at 3:54 pm
ben
my last bank (TD) got me to switch from royal bank with a free ipod offer. i got the shuffle, gave it to a friend of mine before i even opened the box, and i was paying 12$/ month for 3 years. now, i do just about everything that i used to do, except for depositing my cheques in person, because i was kind of anal like that, but i got over that and i’m saving 140$+/year. good times.
they’ve even got better rates than the ing accounts on their savings. not too shabby.
June 11, 2008 at 6:33 pm
andreachiu
Thanks for the tips Iris and Ben. It’s good to know that PC has a better rate than ING on savings since I just deposited some money to start my emergency fund.
June 11, 2008 at 11:31 pm
nico
I love PC! For those not in the know, you can also do your banking at any CIBC ATM at no cost. Also, when I set up my PC Savings I compared it to ING. This was quite awhile ago, but the interest rates were generally the same so I decided to keep all my semi-hard-earned cash in one bank. Go PC!
June 12, 2008 at 2:30 pm
katie
i really love my savings from pc financial, however, i was surprised at the end of the year to find out that my high interest savings account would be taxed. that’s something they didn’t make clear. instead i got a little note with my slip saying “Why am I receiving this tax slip?”
June 12, 2008 at 8:32 pm
CanadianSaver
Katie, you do get a tax slip for anything over $50 or so in interest, I think?!
June 13, 2008 at 2:46 pm
nico
Yes, you do get taxed on the interest.
If you don’t want to be taxed put the money in an RRSP. Right?
I’m expecting an RRSP post soon, Chiu.
June 22, 2008 at 11:06 pm
DAvid
Of course PC Financial may not be able to provide all your banking needs. While there may be a number of account options available to you, the full breadth is not available. Once you get beyond straightforward banking you have to work with their ‘partner’ CIBC for additional banking products.
PCF offers limited RRSP options, no US dollar accounts, travelers cheques, investment accounts, safety deposit boxes, etc. They may also be in a poorer position to offer banking advice, leaving you to choose products.
While I do not know about all the other major banks, I do know RBC offers free banking to those with a chequing account, rewards Visa card, RRSP or other investment, and a mortgage, so those with matured banking needs can indeed obtain free banking services at at least one of the big banks.
DAvid