Greetings everyone. Today’s post is mainly geared towards my fellow Canucks (slang for Canadians). I am going to do a brief review of President’s Choice Financial no fee checking account. As far as I know this is the only completely free checking account offered by a Canadian financial institution, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. When I come to think of it, it is really sad that PC Financial is the only bank offering this level of service. The major Canadian banks don’t even come close to providing the same “bang for the buck.” Simply put, everything with this checking account is free. This makes complete sense to me, as why should I be paying them to keep MY money when in fact the use that money to make a whole lot more money than they ever will offer me in the form of interest – this applies to all banks which operate on the fractional reserve banking principle.
Before I talk about the benefits offered by this bank, let me give you a bit of a background so you know who you’ll be potentially banking with.
President’s Choice Financial is a financial institution that offers banking services through a joint venture between Loblaw Companies (a supermarket chain) and CIBC (a major Canadian bank). There are a number of distinct organisations under the President’s Choice Financial umbrella.
Most standard bank products are provided by CIBC (a major Canadian bank). MasterCard services are provided by President’s Choice Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of Loblaw Companies. Insurance is provided by PC Financial Insurance Agency Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Loblaw Companies.
PC Financial has no branches; rather, customer interactions are carried out over the Internet, the telephone, at ABM’s or at sales “pavilions” located in Loblaw-affiliated stores.
President’s Choice Financial was rated as the best mid-size bank by J.D. Power.
PC Financial, through CIBC, is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada’s chartered banks. It is also an Interac member for its debit card.
Ok, now that you understand a bit more about President’s Choice Financial (from here on called PC Financial) I can start to discuss what it has to offer.
1: You pay no monthly service fee
2: You pay no transaction fees
3: Free checks (try to find a bank that will give you free checks without paying a monthly fee and come and talk to me then) When you run out of checks you just give them a call and they’ll mail you some more.
4: Free debits/deposits at President’s Choice Financial bank machines and CIBC bank machines across the country.
5: You can link your no fee checking account to their “Interest Plus” account and ear 4.25% on your money (I will review PC Financial’s Interest Plus account in another post)
6: Simple and easy to use online banking platform.
You should know that unlike your typical “big bank,” PC Financial has no branches. But it has “pavilions” where you can go and sign up in person.
For the nitty-gritty you’re going to have to check out PC Financial’s FAQ section over here. I simply do not have the time, space, or inclination to go over every possible question you may have.
Ok, that does it for this review. My next review will include another President’s Choice Financial product – their “Interest Plus” savings account. So stay tuned to this blog for more info.
To get more info or to open a PC Financial no fee checking account visit this link (opens in a new window):