Credit Unions [Ontario/GTA]

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)

9 comments

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.
- @avidamoeba @totallynotarobot
  
  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.
  
  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.
  
  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.
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.

9 comments