I’m curious what products and services everyone uses. I like trying out new services, but it seems like the big banks are pretty effective at squashing competition.

I’ll go first: Chequing - BMO Savings - Wealthsimple Investing - Questrade with Passiv Credit cards - BMO, Costco, Amazon

I have tried Brim (credit card) and Koho (kind of a chequing account), but eventually dropped them because they couldn’t effectively replace BMO.

I’m interested to know everyone’s experiences with their banks and other financial service providers.

Edit: This thread has been amazing! Thanks for all the replies!

  • MacroCycloOP
    1·
    1 year ago

    Totally agree with the opinions about the big banks. I end up keeping a big chunk of cash in the account to avoid the monthly fee. So your experience with the credit union is that you get all the same services with no fees?

    • Kelsenellenelvial
      2·
      1 year ago

      I can say on my side, that’s true for some things and not others. This will depend on the specific credit union though. I’m a little unique in that my credit union is the only financial institution with a branch in the town I used to live, and my dad managed it for about 30 years. I initially got my mortgage from that Credit Union, matching the rates available from the banks, but at the first renewal we switched to BMO because the CU wouldn’t match the rate I was offered then. My plan 24 account is at 2.65% interest, which is pretty good for a basic savings account, as good as many banks are offering on term deposits right now. Service charges are pretty low, and I don’t need a have a big balance to keep it that way. My chequing account usually only has my last paycheque in it, and anything left after bills are paid gets moved to savings.