• eTransfer loophole

    From August Abolins@1:153/757.21 to All on Mon Mar 6 08:35:00 2023
    There was a story on CBC radio this morning about a person who
    received an eTransfer payment (auto-deposit) for an in-person
    exchange of an item for sale.

    But the payor was able to cancel the payment within 30 minutes,
    long after he had disappeared with the goods.

    Technically, cancellations of auto-deposit eTransfers are not
    supposed to happen. All the "banks" do not allow that
    cancellation after a confirmed auto-deposit. BUT.. apparently,
    the credit unions didn't get the memo.

    Eventually, the person got her money from her bank as a
    "goodwill gesture", since clearly the cancellation was not
    supposed to happen.

    So.. I wonder how long that buyer/scammer got away with the
    credit union "feature".

    Meanwhile, if you're receiving eTransfers from people sourcing
    their funds from a credit union (not a bank) ..caveat emptor.

    Or wait at least 30 minutes before handing over precious
    merchandise in a transaction.
    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)
  • From August Abolins@1:153/757.21 to All on Mon Mar 6 10:11:00 2023
    There was a story on CBC radio this morning about a person who
    received an eTransfer payment (auto-deposit) for an in-person
    exchange of an item for sale.

    But the payor was able to cancel the payment within 30 minutes,
    long after he had disappeared with the goods.

    Here is the link to the story on the CBC website.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/gopublic/etransfers-autodeposit- cancelled-scam-interac-1.6764431

    It turns out that the woman did NOT check the balance of her
    account, did she receive any "notification" of a deposit. Very
    bad.

    Usually, an eTransfer auto-deposit completes within a few
    minutes.

    "When the (auto-deposit) e-transfers came from one of the big
    banks, senders never had an option to cancel it.

    "Some credit unions, though, allowed senders to cancel for more
    than half an hour after the (auto-deposit) e-transfer was sent
    - even though the notification the sender received indicated it
    was completed.

    ..that's very bad too. Shame on the credit unions, and shame
    on Interac for not inforcing protocols uniformly.


    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)
  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to August Abolins on Mon Mar 6 19:20:29 2023
    Here is the link to the story on the CBC website.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/gopublic/etransfers-autodeposit- cancelled-scam-interac-1.6764431

    I'm probably not going to make any new friends over this, but as someone living in the EU I've always wondered and others with me how come people in the North American continent are OK with the kind of crappy banking system there... it is so open to cheating and fraud ...

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)
  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to WARD DOSSCHE on Mon Mar 6 16:07:00 2023
    I'm probably not going to make any new friends over this, but as someone
    ivin
    in the EU I've always wondered and others with me how come people in the
    orth
    merican continent are OK with the kind of crappy banking system there... it
    s
    o open to cheating and fraud ...

    Once upon a time, I don't think it was open to such. It seems to have
    become much more open to such once banks started adding e-services and
    other things to make banking "easier." I don't know about Canada, but here
    in the US it seems like any attempts to legislate regulations for such
    things only makes things worse.

    Mike


    * SLMR 2.1a * A momentary lapse of reason that binds a life to a life..
    --- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From August Abolins@1:153/757.21 to Ward Dossche on Mon Mar 13 09:38:00 2023
    Hello Ward!

    ** On Monday 06.03.23 - 19:20, you wrote..

    I'm probably not going to make any new friends over this,
    but as someone living in the EU I've always wondered and
    others with me how come people in the North American
    continent are OK with the kind of crappy banking system
    there... it is so open to cheating and fraud ...

    What are the main differences in how banking is done in the EU
    that make it superior? ..and why aren't those systems adopted
    elewhere then?
    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)
  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to August Abolins on Mon Mar 13 16:17:15 2023
    August,

    What are the main differences in how banking is done in the EU
    that make it superior? ..and why aren't those systems adopted
    elewhere then?

    The issue which led to my remark simply wouldn't fly here. For starters.

    Direct-deposit here is instantaneous. Also when transfering to another bank.

    Cheques were discontinued here Jan.1 2002, that's now 21 years ago. They were too expensive but I still see them used in North America, it's a primitive form of paying.

    Chipped cards? We already had 'm like 20 years ago.

    Our debit cards still cannot be used in North America because of massive debit-card fraud. credit cards need to be re-activated every 6 months for security purposes in North America.

    You know, stories like the one which started this, simply don't happen here. When I reserved a hotel-room in Calgary from Belgium last October, within minutes I got a call from the bank "We are informing you your Master Card has been used in Calgary. Are you aware?" Same happened when I booked a hotel in Anchorage AK.

    Have a nice day,

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)
  • From August Abolins@1:153/757.21 to Ward Dossche on Fri Mar 17 21:50:00 2023
    Hello Ward!

    ** On Monday 13.03.23 - 16:17, you wrote:

    Direct-deposit here is instantaneous. Also when
    transfering to another bank.

    Deposits work similarly in Canada too. Although some banks may
    impose some delay. But my experience with direct-deposits
    (either cash or via transfers between linked accounts in the
    same bank) are instantaneous too.

    However.. inter-bank transfers - between different banks
    (although I've never personally needed to make one) can be a
    different story and can take several days to complete.

    But I think the process depends on the banks involved. For
    instance, when I deliver my property tax payment via cheque to
    the municipal office, I will find that the cheque will have
    cleared the same day although the municipal office uses one
    bank and I use a completely different one.


    Cheques were discontinued here Jan.1 2002, that's now 21
    years ago. They were too expensive but I still see them
    used in North America, it's a primitive form of paying.

    Many companies still utilize cheques. I have no problem with
    that. A cheque made out to a business can't be co-signed and
    "transfered" to anyone else - that's a pretty good fool-proof
    way for a business to receive money. For example, if someone
    made a cheque out to my business, and I lose the cheque, no-one
    else can pretend to be my business and try to benefit from that
    cheque somehow.

    However, personal cheques do seem to be subject to fraud every
    now and then.


    Chipped cards? We already had 'm like 20 years ago.

    Likewise.. the chip has been in place on Canadian credit/debit
    cards a very long time already.


    Our debit cards still cannot be used in North America
    because of massive debit-card fraud. credit cards need to
    be re-activated every 6 months for security purposes in
    North America.

    I think the problem is inter-country banking. Any out-of-
    country transaction needs to be scrutinized and tested more
    carefully.

    Wrt cc cards being re-activated every 6 months - I never heard
    of that. Perhaps your source of information is outdated.


    You know, stories like the one which started this, simply
    don't happen here. When I reserved a hotel-room in Calgary
    from Belgium last October, within minutes I got a call
    from the bank "We are informing you your Master Card has
    been used in Calgary. Are you aware?" Same happened when I
    booked a hotel in Anchorage AK.

    The cc companies here do that too - that is, call or text a
    usage notification. Infact, I had such a call myself over 25
    years ago when I was in another province purchasing new stereo
    equipment components.

    As for the eTransfer problem that started this thread, the
    outcome is shameful on the part of Interac(tm) who devised the
    system. Apparently, not all banks or credits unions were
    TESTED to comply with the notifications the same way.
    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)
  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to August Abolins on Sat Mar 18 19:02:57 2023
    Hey August,

    However, personal cheques do seem to be subject to fraud every
    now and then.

    What I intended to say is ... this requires manual intervention, it's a person's job and his/her/its salary is paid by whom/what? That makes banking more expensive.

    I haven't used cheques for a payment since ... can't remember. At least 25 years.

    I think the problem is inter-country banking. Any out-of-
    country transaction needs to be scrutinized and tested more
    carefully.

    It's exactly the same as an in-country payment ... it goes through a clearing-agency which auto-approves or declines.

    Wrt cc cards being re-activated every 6 months - I never heard
    of that. Perhaps your source of information is outdated.

    My source of information is pretty current.

    When I travel to the US (not Canada) my first transaction needs to be through a bank-ATM to verify my presence in the country. If I go eg to an airport-diner without passing via an ATM first, the transaction will decline.

    Enjoy the week-end ...

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)
  • From August Abolins@1:153/757.21 to Ward Dossche on Sat Mar 18 22:28:00 2023
    Hello Ward!

    What I intended to say is ... this requires manual
    intervention, it's a person's job and his/her/its salary
    is paid by whom/what? That makes banking more expensive.

    Well.. it's their system, and that's why banks figured out they
    needed to charge for each and every banking activity to pay for
    their inefficiencies. I'm surprised they haven't introduced an admission/turnstile fee for walking into a bank akin to
    attending an arena or concert.

    I have seen the system that prints the cheque amount on the
    bottom of each cheque. It's a completely manual process. A
    human has to compare the amount that is written in words to the
    amount written as numbers to validate.

    I had written one cheque as "Fifteen Hundred --98/100" and
    "$1500.98" once, and it cleared as "$15.98"


    I haven't used cheques for a payment since ... can't
    remember. At least 25 years.

    I would prefer to avoid them too. But some businesses are not
    setup for 100% electronic payments. Some businesses are
    offering eTransfer options, which isn't bad. But eTransfer
    here has a maximum daily limit as well as a maximum monthly
    limit which would many times be insufficient for all my
    payments.


    Wrt cc cards being re-activated every 6 months - I never heard
    of that. Perhaps your source of information is outdated.

    My source of information is pretty current.

    Ok.. but in Canada there is no 6-month renewal process. Credit
    cards simply expire on the date that is printed on the card -
    and often that is many years into the future.


    When I travel to the US (not Canada) my first transaction
    needs to be through a bank-ATM to verify my presence in
    the country. If I go eg to an airport-diner without
    passing via an ATM first, the transaction will decline.

    That's your bank's requirement then. But what's stopping a
    thief to go to the ATM instead of you? If they succeed at the
    ATM, the card will be "verified". It doesn't prove it was you.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)
  • From Ward Dossche@2:292/854 to August Abolins on Sun Mar 19 13:43:03 2023
    August,

    Well.. it's their system, and that's why banks figured out they
    needed to charge for each and every banking activity to pay for
    their inefficiencies. I'm surprised they haven't introduced an admission/turnstile fee for walking into a bank akin to
    attending an arena or concert.

    :-)

    We can't even go to the bank anymore just like that. Need to make an appointment, everything's on-line ... by that I literally mean anything not requiring a signature.

    You can't even get cash anymore at banks here ... they don't have it ... and if I come back from overseas travel and want to exchange back to local currency, I must make an appointment but only on Tuesday afternoon. Then you will be led into kind of fortified bunker where they handle real money.

    Need cash? There's an ATM outside ... I haven't said that's an improvement. But sometimes it's handy ...

    But eTransfer
    here has a maximum daily limit as well as a maximum monthly
    limit which would many times be insufficient for all my
    payments.

    Weird ... at least from my POV. I can log-in to my account and change those limits ... And I understand why those limits are there...

    Ok.. but in Canada there is no 6-month renewal process. Credit
    cards simply expire on the date that is printed on the card -
    and often that is many years into the future.

    Maybe I put you on the wrong foot ... I meant a 6-month renewal is necessary when traveling outside the Euro-currency zone and only to the USA.

    So, one day I was in a restaurant and the 6-month renewal came up that day. Card declined.

    That's your bank's requirement then. But what's stopping a
    thief to go to the ATM instead of you? If they succeed at the
    ATM, the card will be "verified". It doesn't prove it was you.

    That is correct but the thief then also needs to know how to validate the card ... That is now also changing via 2-way validation via a smartphone and a specific site. Let me put it this way ... I would consider it highly unlikely ...

    For some reason, I do trust the procedures here ... maybe that makes me weird...

    \%/@rd

    --- DB4 - 20230201
    * Origin: Many Glacier - Preserve / Protect / Conserve (2:292/854)
  • From Mike Powell@1:2320/105 to AUGUST ABOLINS on Sun Mar 19 08:36:00 2023
    Wrt cc cards being re-activated every 6 months - I never heard
    of that. Perhaps your source of information is outdated.

    My source of information is pretty current.

    Ok.. but in Canada there is no 6-month renewal process. Credit
    cards simply expire on the date that is printed on the card -
    and often that is many years into the future.

    That also does not happen in the US. Mine is good until it expires. That said, I do not know what happens if I do not *use* it for 6 months or more.
    It may require some reactiviation at that point.

    When I travel to the US (not Canada) my first transaction
    needs to be through a bank-ATM to verify my presence in
    the country. If I go eg to an airport-diner without
    passing via an ATM first, the transaction will decline.

    That's your bank's requirement then. But what's stopping a
    thief to go to the ATM instead of you? If they succeed at the
    ATM, the card will be "verified". It doesn't prove it was you.

    That actually does not sound like a bad requirement. At least at the ATM
    you (presumably) need to know the PIN code to use the card.

    Mike


    * SLMR 2.1a * Hey, how 'bout a fandango ?!?
    --- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From August Abolins@1:153/757.21 to Ward Dossche on Sun Mar 19 11:25:00 2023
    Hello Ward!

    We can't even go to the bank anymore just like that. Need
    to make an appointment, everything's on-line ... by that I
    literally mean anything not requiring a signature.

    "by appointment only" was introduce during the lockdowns in
    Canada. As a retailer, that pissed me off - especially when I
    simply needed coinage or make a cash deposit to facilitate
    paying the bills for which I had no significant income to pay
    them with!


    You can't even get cash anymore at banks here ... they
    don't have it ... and if I come back from overseas travel
    and want to exchange back to local currency, I must make
    an appointment but only on Tuesday afternoon. Then you
    will be led into kind of fortified bunker where they
    handle real money.

    It sounds like your country (Belgium) is conditioning its
    people to make cash inconvenient as possible, and thus steering
    its people to rely on cashless systems. In Canada, I don't
    think 100% cashless would ever work. When there is an electical
    outtage, many POS (point-of-sale) devices for credit card and
    debit card simply go dark. I operate my equipment on UPSes (DSL
    runs along the plain old copper line which has it's own power
    supply), but it's really only a temporary measure to allow
    latent shoppers to finish a purchase.


    Need cash? There's an ATM outside ... I haven't said that's an improvement. But sometimes it's handy ...

    And when there is an electrical outtage, the ATM is not likely
    to give you anything.

    I receive sufficient fiat cash for my personal use. Everything
    else (bills, online purchases) are paid by debit transactions
    or cheque. The only problem for me is when I need to deposit
    additional physical cash into the bank so that I have the funds
    to pay the forthcoming bills!


    But eTransfer
    here has a maximum daily limit as well as a maximum monthly
    limit which would many times be insufficient for all my
    payments.

    Weird ... at least from my POV. I can log-in to my account
    and change those limits ... And I understand why those
    limits are there...

    Adjustable limits. Wow. What are the limit ranges?

    I do see that RBC offers scalable limits, but there are
    maximums for sending; that is what I was referring to.

    Typically, those maximums are $3000 per 24hr period, $10K in 7
    days, and $20K in 30 days - for individuals.

    And.. I just read there are maximums in receiving!

    For businesses the send/receive limits are extended, but those
    can be restrictive when the client base is large. Hence, no
    wonder cheques are still in play!

    It is far more easier to write a stack of cheques totaling $10K
    than it is to manage the daily/weekly/monthly eTransfer limits.


    Ok.. but in Canada there is no 6-month renewal process.
    Credit cards simply expire on the date that is printed on
    the card -and often that is many years into the future.

    Maybe I put you on the wrong foot ... I meant a 6-month
    renewal is necessary when traveling outside the Euro-
    currency zone and only to the USA.

    So, one day I was in a restaurant and the 6-month renewal
    came up that day. Card declined.

    Ah.. that still sounds like an imposition by YOUR bank's
    system, not the USA's. In Canada, the credit card companies
    simply require a heads-up that you are travelling outside the
    country and all would be good.


    [...] But what's stopping a thief to go to the ATM
    instead of you? If they succeed at the ATM, the card
    will be "verified". It doesn't prove it was you.

    That is correct but the thief then also needs to know how
    to validate the card ... That is now also changing via 2-
    way validation via a smartphone and a specific site. Let
    me put it this way ... I would consider it highly unlikely
    ...

    It is harder for a thief to validate a card. However, some
    installations have fake readers inserted in the slots of
    machines. I would suspect that airport ATMs and independent
    machines are prime targets.


    For some reason, I do trust the procedures here ... maybe
    that makes me weird...

    The procedures/systems for electronic payments seem fairly
    robust. It's just the options such as being able to cancel a
    "direct deposit" eTransfer (which was the crux of this thread)
    should not have be allowed. The problem there was the
    interface design made available to the public. I hope those programmers/designers lost their jobs.
    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to WARD DOSSCHE on Mon Mar 20 01:03:00 2023
    I haven't used cheques for a payment since ... can't remember.
    At least 25 years.

    Hi, to clarify I'm from Canada as well. I only use about 2 cheques a year
    but it's usually almost unavoidable. I can easily and virtually instantly tranfer up to usually $3000 between financial institutions but, any more
    that that, and your options are a Bank Draft, a pain and maybe not free,
    or write a cheque. Cheques work fairly well for me since the larger sums
    are generally investment oriented and, since the investment itself acts
    as collateral, an uncertified cheque can be accepted and used instantly.

    But banks are fairly careful with cheques such as you can't simply cash
    a cheque written to you even at the cheque writer's bank. It must be
    deposited into an existing account so the banks can verify things first.

    Wrt cc cards being re-activated every 6 months - I never heard
    of that. Perhaps your source of information is outdated.

    As August mentioned elsewhere, credit cards here have an expiry date
    on them, often 3 to 5 years in the future, and new cards are sent out
    to you several months before the old one expires and that one has to
    be activated before use, usually a quick and easy process.

    I have several credit cards and lines of credit, some which I go for
    years without using. Often after a few years the account is made
    dormant and there's some minor hoops to jump through to activate it
    again, virtually instant at the bank itself but could be a delayed
    or refused if you tried to use the dormant card elsewhere.

    I think the biggest problem these days, and one of the things that
    cause the service charges in banks to be so high, is how quick they
    are to give large amounts of credit to people who often can't afford it.

    Example: Once I was offered my credit card limit in cash at 0% interest
    rate for 6 months. I took my limit out in full to invest in something
    so I could make a profit on that money. An error in knowing how they
    timed a small service charge caused the card to go over its limit,
    which resulted in a $25 service charge that month. I phoned them to
    explain my error and 'suggested' that a $25 charge over a $5 error
    seemed a bit extreme to me.. A supervisor was called and they agreed
    to drop the $25 charge.. Then they 'punished' me for my overdraft by increasing my limit on that card by $3500 so I'd have a higher limit
    to borrow even more money in the future. Apparently the only reason
    people go over their credit limit is because the limit is too low..

    I have an impeccable banking history, my Credit Score often over 890,
    so I should be a good risk in theory. But at times I've had enough
    instant credit available, where I could take the cash without talking
    to a live person or getting approval, and the total of that available
    credit has been as much as 20 times my then current annual income,
    one single credit card limit was as high as 7 times it.

    And they wonder how some people get totally buried in debt..

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * Laughing stock: cattle with a sense of humor
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)
  • From August Abolins@1:153/757.21 to Rob Mccart on Mon Mar 20 19:21:00 2023
    Hello Rob!

    easily and virtually instantly tranfer up to usually $3000
    between financial institutions but, any more that that,
    and your options are a Bank Draft, a pain and maybe not
    free, or write a cheque.

    The 24hr limit is $3000. .: you can then send more next around
    the same time. But I agree.. that can be annoying when
    wanting to settle an outstanding invoice/bill that is just a
    bit over $3000, or when multiple bills need to be settled
    quickly and the eTransfer is limited to $10K for 7 days.

    If eTransfers are having these arbitrary limits, I shudder to
    think how restrictive CBDCs could be if they ever get
    implemented.


    Cheques work fairly well for me since the larger sums are
    generally investment oriented and, since the investment
    itself acts as collateral, an uncertified cheque can be
    accepted and used instantly.

    What indicates that one of those cheques is backed by
    collateral? In my experience, all the bank cares about is if
    the recipient has sufficient funds to cover the cheque incase
    it bounces.

    But banks are fairly careful with cheques such as you
    can't simply cash a cheque written to you even at the
    cheque writer's bank. It must be deposited into an
    existing account so the banks can verify things first.

    BTW.. Gov't cheques are supposed to be treated differently and
    NOT require an existing bank account to cash them. However, I
    have come upon several people who face a barrier at the bank
    when they want to cash a gov't issued cheque; the bank wants ID
    (even though they KNOW the person personally!) *and* they seem
    to want that person to have an account at the bank where they
    are attempting to cash the cheque! SO.. they come to me, they
    endorse the cheque, I pay out the value of the cheque to that
    person, and I take the cheque to the bank.


    I think the biggest problem these days, and one of the
    things that cause the service charges in banks to be so
    high, is how quick they are to give large amounts of
    credit to people who often can't afford it.

    Nah... the charges are due to "because they can", and we the
    public allowed it to become common practice.


    Example: Once I was offered my credit card limit in cash
    at 0% interest rate for 6 months. I took my limit out in
    full to invest in something so I could make a profit on
    that money. An error in knowing how they timed a small
    service charge caused the card to go over its limit, which
    resulted in a $25 service charge that month.

    I get those 0% interest for x-months offers regularly too. But
    you have to "borrow" only the amount LESS the charges to make
    it balance so you don't go over.

    Currently, I have two offers:

    [1] 0% on Balance Transfer until May 4 2024 + 3% fee.
    [2] 1.99% on Balance Transfer until Jan 2 2024 + 1% fee.

    The key is not to place a Balance Transfer that exceeds the
    current available credit.


    ...Then they 'punished' me for my overdraft by increasing
    my limit on that card by $3500 so I'd have a higher limit
    to borrow even more money in the future. Apparently the
    only reason people go over their credit limit is because
    the limit is too low..

    Yes.. some people see a credit limit increase as "free money"
    or something. But wrt to overages, it is probably because the
    limt is too low indeed - but the bank wins by charging more
    fees when that happens.


    I have an impeccable banking history, my Credit Score
    often over 890, so I should be a good risk in theory. But
    at times I've had enough instant credit available, where I
    could take the cash without talking to a live person or
    getting approval, and the total of that available credit
    has been as much as 20 times my then current annual
    income, one single credit card limit was as high as 7
    times it.

    I like the instant available cash-readiness that a cc (via
    balance transfer) or personal line of credit provides. But the
    key is to stick with a repayment plan inorder to not get
    overwhelmed with interest charge accumulation.

    WRT to the 0% example above, I borrow the max that I can,
    divide the amount by the number of 0% months in the agreement,
    and deposit that amount every month in another account to have
    the cash I need when the 0% period is over.

    The 0% offers help take the edge off the other credit card
    accounts that bear 22%+ interest rate charges.


    And they wonder how some people get totally buried in
    debt..

    People get overwhelmed with managing the accounts and lose
    track, meanwhile the bank raise the borrowing limits and people
    use their credit even more.


    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.57
    * Origin: Stare into this point intently ->.<- (1:153/757.21)
  • From Rob Mccart@1:2320/105 to AUGUST ABOLINS on Wed Mar 22 01:36:00 2023
    easily and virtually instantly tranfer up to usually $3000
    between financial institutions but, any more that that,
    and your options are a Bank Draft, a pain and maybe not
    free, or write a cheque.

    The 24hr limit is $3000. .: you can then send more next around
    >the same time. But I agree.. that can be annoying when
    >wanting to settle an outstanding invoice/bill that is just a
    >bit over $3000, or when multiple bills need to be settled
    >quickly and the eTransfer is limited to $10K for 7 days.

    The current case I was thinking of was transferring $10k from one
    bank to another (I have accounts in both) to purchase a GIC.
    (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) That has to pretty much be done
    all at once since the interest rates on them is often only good
    for a couple of days often.

    Cheques work fairly well for me since the larger sums are
    generally investment oriented and, since the investment
    itself acts as collateral, an uncertified cheque can be
    accepted and used instantly.

    What indicates that one of those cheques is backed by
    >collateral? In my experience, all the bank cares about is if
    >the recipient has sufficient funds to cover the cheque incase
    >it bounces.

    As mentioned above, the funds often have to move immediately but I
    can avoid paying for a bank draft or certified cheque in the above
    case because the bank holds that GIC and, if my cheque bounces, they
    can seize that to cover the cost.

    I think the biggest problem these days, and one of the
    things that cause the service charges in banks to be so
    high, is how quick they are to give large amounts of
    credit to people who often can't afford it.

    Nah... the charges are due to "because they can", and we the
    >public allowed it to become common practice.

    I've seen a lot of people go bankrupt in recent years due to easy
    credit, and the banks are insured if those people go bankrupt, so
    their only cost, the insurance premiums, are added onto everyone's
    service charges. In a lot of cases the banks like to 'slightly'
    overwhelm people's credit so they can put them on a payment plan
    at their high interest rates that will go on for years since most
    people don't want a bankruptcy on their records or they have too
    much equity in a house and such to be able to go bankrupt.

    Banks do love their charges, and in 90% of cases, a good client can
    have service charges reversed, often for no good reason, because the
    banks much prefer customers they feel they can trust to handle their
    finances intelligently if they are making good money from them in
    other ways.

    Example.. I once had a cheque written to me bounce. That caused a
    cheque I had written to go onto my bank overdraft to keep it from
    bouncing as well which incurs a $5 service charge. That happened
    right at the end of a month so the next day, the usualy account
    service charge would have come out but, no funds to cover it, so
    a second $5 charge. I talked to my banking person and said the first
    one was my fault but I figured the second $5 charge for a $4.50
    overdraft was maybe excessive.. Her response was, yes, don't worry
    about it I'll reverse the charges.. Charges? Not just the one Charge?
    She gave me her patent look that suggests I'm annoying to deal with
    but she did cancel both charges.

    I've gotten spoiled though, my rather complex accounts at 3 places
    don't have any regular service charges at all, no minimum balance
    required, since I have multiple accounts, chequing, investment,
    lines of credit and tax free savings accounts and investments in
    their institution's mutual funds so they all want to keep me happy
    so I don't move all that elsewhere.

    It also makes the banks compete with each other, like my sister has
    a perfect credit history and income about 3.5 times what mine is yet
    she has trouble getting a line of credit below Prime plus 3.5%.
    My bank gave me an unsecured LOC at Prime plus 1.99%.

    Currently, I have two offers:

    [1] 0% on Balance Transfer until May 4 2024 + 3% fee.
    >[2] 1.99% on Balance Transfer until Jan 2 2024 + 1% fee.

    That's the killer though, that 3% service charge. Basically that
    means if they offer you the funds for 6 months, you are paying the
    first 6% (annual) up front so, whatever you're doing with the money
    had better give you a higher return than that.

    One of my banks gave my $25,000 at 0% with no service charge for
    6 months, and another gave me $14,000 at 0% with a 1% charge so
    those were worth playing with to put the money out and make a profit.

    These were flat out credit card limit loans, BTW, not a Balance
    transfer which the banks prefer doing since that moves more of your
    business from other financial institutions into theirs.

    It may sound like it at times but I'm far from rich and a ways above
    poor as well but I tend to be treated differently than 'ordinary'
    customers since I've primarily lived off of investments for the past
    35 years so they tend to treat me more like a business than a person.

    ---
    * SLMR Rob * This is abuse... arguments are down the hall
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)