Comments on: Review of Canadian high-interest savings accounts: online banking with Citizens Bank of Canada, ING Direct, and PC Financial

By: Chantel

Chantel — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 18:08:21 +0000

Do not deal with this bank. They may not have fees, but you will encounter many other potential problems as a result, they are a virtual bank so you can only deal online or with a machine, they have lnger holding periods on your account because they are virtual. I put 600 in my account from a savings account after clearing a large cheq that i could access in 2-3 days. I was given 500 in advance so i had somemoney in hand, I put it into my Presidents Choice account thinking it would be better to use to pay bills and get my sons medicine. Little did I know that I was only allowed to use 100, the rest was being held for 5 bus days! There was nothign they woudl do for me, and to cancel my account they said I can write myself a cheq to get the exact funds out OR they can transfer it wirelessly, I said transfer it, they said well you ahve to wait 5 days, then it will take 7 days to close the account THEN you can have your money back.. None of this helped me. I had problems with them in the past years ago but thought I woudl try again since I hadnt been working after a car accident and didnt want to pay fees for an account. Now Im just trying to get it closed… Oh and in 6 mths time they will review whether or not they will take the holds off .. this is a new account, with no negative activity. Thanks alot for your help Presidents Choice… I will stick with Scotibank instead..

By: msl25

msl25 — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:27:26 +0000

ahh joan eleanya,

(sigh) YOU just made the same mistake i made
last year when i opened my very first canadian bank account!
[im a new immigrant too]

oh yes! i also opened at scotiabank (powechequeing account) and for the last
10 months it’s always deducting $3.95 per month from my account.
how can i get rid of it, i have to make my balance $1,500 so that
the monthly fee is waived but as you can see, it’s been 10 months,
and i am only living via minimum wage so i am still not making a progress
on the $1,500 minimum balance. why not drop my account then?
nahh, not yet. i have a love-hate thing with my scotiabank and besides
i have already set up some automatic deductions/contributions to that account, even the CRA is connected to that account of mine, so its not easy to just drop that account.

my question is.. what province are you living right now?
because if your on British Columbia, then check out Coast Capital Savings. I recommend it. they offer free checking. honest. i have an account with them.

By: joan eleanya

joan eleanya — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:21:53 +0000

I have just immigrated to canada from uk(london)
open a scotia bank – the checking acct is full of charges & fees here and there…….my goodness
please some one recommend a currentacct/checking acct with no fees please

Reply from Peter: The people on the forum at http://www.highinterestsavings.ca should be able to help.

By: Georgiana Arnold

Georgiana Arnold — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 19:48:54 +0000

Can US Citizens create on-line accounts with Canadian Banks? I apologize for the typos in the two earlier e-mails.

Reply from Peter: I’m not sure. I’d suggest asking at http://www.highinterestsavings.ca/forum

By: MSL25

MSL25 — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 05:36:48 +0000

thanks peter. and yes, the http://www.highinterestsavings.ca
is back now. for about 48 hours its down. glad for it to be back.

and to enda suparman, if you’ve been ING for quite a time, then i guess that’s it. because ING rates are the highest all, if not most, of the time. and if you want more action like investing in bonds, stocks, mutual funds, etf, hedge funds, derivatives, whatever, i suggest you read some books about it first.

remember, its a jungle out there with these kind of investments.
just go to your local library and check, "personal finance/investments" sections. i also want to go to the higher returns but higher risk scene but i am still low on finance. I guess you need at least $10,000 to start unless you wanna invest in "penny stocks" and remember, there are so much fees that goes with these investments more often is that it’s your finance advisor
or stockbroker that’s really getting income and not you.

anyway, good luck and please read some books first okay?

By: Enda Suparman

Enda Suparman — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:29:47 +0000

Dear Peter,

I’ve been shopping bank around for quite long now. I need a bank that can give me good interest yet no fee attach to it. I’ve been dealing with ING almost 3 years, I am happy with them.

I tried to not put all in 1 place, you know the saying "Don’t put all your eggs in 1 basket" so I’ve been looking other good bank and will makes my money grow.

Any suggestion for my money grow faster? I’ve been told about Bond and stock…but I really not sure about that. Lots of ppl say you will loose your money at the beginning, which I really dont like that idea.

Anyway…thanks for the help! hope to hear back from you soon!

By: msl25

msl25 — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:15:31 +0000

ALERT!!!

Dear Peter,

your other useful website,

www.highinterestsavings.ca is down!!!!

what is going on?

Reply from Peter: The hosting company said that there was a hardware failure. They’re replacing some hard drives, and it should be back up soon (I hope)!

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:31:29 +0000

Been with ING for over 8 years. The current rates are not quite as "rich" as they used to be. However, they mean "no fees", even on RSP withdrawals. Try and find that at any of the "Big Six" or their brokerages!
Great service. "Get’re done" attitude. Love them.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:27:00 +0000

I have been with Ally for about six months now – actually have about 16 accounts with them (I like to "envelope" my savings)…I have had nothing but good things to say – interest rate has remained steady, no wait time for customer service, and an easy to use interface for moving around your money…I wish they would get into RSP’s as well!

Nothing bad to say about them

By: Bud

Bud — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:26:59 +0000

Am repeating Ben's request of October 4 2009. Has anyone has any investment experience with Ally? Reply from Peter: Check out this forum, where several people have talked about Ally.