Hello Canadian Finance Enthusiasts
Thinking of switching from big banks (TD mostly) to a credit union.
Would appreciate advice, reviews, or experience from y’all to compliment my own investigations.
My priorities in order:
- interest rates on loans
- cohesive personal and small business service
- low account and investment fees
- credit card rewards (love my TD travel rewards visas rn)
I’m with Meridian as well as their subsidiary Motusbank. Haven’t had any complaints since I switched in 2019. In Ontario they’re regulated as non-profits which is likely why you instantly get higher savings interest rates, lower loan rates and lower fees. Their customer service has been a breath of fresh air compared to TD and CIBC which I’ve used previously. Their CSR center is here in southern ON. I don’t recall which city exactly.
I recall when switching their mortgage rates were a bit lower than the employee mortgage rates at TD at the time.
I’m only using their consumer checking/saving/mortgage services. I can’t say much about what else they’ve got. I know they offer VISA CCs. They looked alright when I checked them. I don’t recall if they were among the best or not.
I second Meridian, really like their customer service. However, I’m really not a fan of their updated account fee structure (as of Sept 1), they’re not that competitive with the new fee structure as it kinda copies the Big Banks but w/ less features incl.
Depending on what your needs are, Alterna Savings & DUCA may offer you a better deal. Though I can’t vouch of their customer service as I haven’t used Alterna much & haven’t used DUCA before.
Honestly, for spending and savings accounts I don’t think you can beat no-fee online banks. I’ve checked out local credit unions a couple of times over the years. The fees were always higher (and not much lower than the big 5) and the savings account rates were lower.
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@Inky online banks have their place, so too do credit unions. It also depends on what credit union you’re comparing with. Some CUs provide free accounts like the online banks but still have the option to get either free or PAYG branch access for the times where branches can resolve things faster.
If all you want is a no frills banking experience, online banks are great but CUs still fill a role that can’t be found with the Big Banks either. Really depends on what your needs are really.
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I was looking at DUCA in 2018-2019 and I read some anecdata that they had internal leadership issues. Not sure if that’s still the case or not.
@avidamoeba not sure if that’s DUCA but definitely that was PACE. Severe mismanagement & potential fraud from leadership caused many years of issues at the CU. FSRAO ended up ordering its closure and sold it to Alterna Savings.
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Thanks to you and @[email protected] for your responses!
Will make sure these are on the list when I’m comparing rates and features, and keep your comments in mind.
My 2 cents about credit cards:
I don’t like most Ontario CU’s credit card options. They’re just a wrapper of product of collabriafinancial
For example https://www.collabriacreditcards.ca/affiliate_libro/personal-cards
Different CUs provide exactly the same product. Same annual fee, same benefit, same cash back rate. I don’t suggest spending too much time finding a credit card program from the CUs
Thanks for tip, I’ll keep that in mind when comparing.
