CIBC Ends Partnership with PC Financial, Will Transfer Clients to New Simplii Financial Brand
By Simon Hung
August 16, 2017CIBC is cutting ties with PC Financial, as both companies have announced a mutual agreement to end their 20-year banking partnership, effective November 1.
CIBC will be launching a new banking subsidiary -- Simplii Financial -- and transfer all existing PC Financial banking clients on November 1, while PC Financial will shift focus to their MasterCard products and PC Plus loyalty program. PC Financial MasterCard holders are not affected.
Both companies promise a seamless transition period and there will be no changes to existing bank accounts. Customers can bank normally and will continue to have access to the CIBC network after the transition, but there will be some branding and rewards changes.
- PC Financial banking products will be renamed to reflect the Simplii Financial brand
- New Simplii Financial debit cards will be issued (current PC Financial debit cards will still be usable)
- PC Financial pavilions will be removed from Loblaw banner grocery stores in phases
- CIBC-operated bank machines will be removed from Loblaw banner grocery stores in phases
- Debit purchases will no longer earn PC points (you will remain a member of the PC Plus loyalty program)
- Mortgages will no longer earn PC points on each anniversary (cash payments will be issued on each anniversary via direct deposit)
Simplii Financial is similar to Tangerine, as both offer branchless no-fee banking products through online or mobile channels and give clients free access to a larger network of ATMs.
While there are no major changes for existing PC Financial clients in the short-term, some readers have mentioned that this move potentially gives CIBC more flexibility to implement additional fees in the long-term, similar to Tangerine after their acquisition by Scotiabank.
Visit the PC Financial website for more details about the transition or the Simplii Financial website to learn more about the new bank.
Showing 40 Most Recent Comments
View allI don't doubt that Loblaw would want to open a bank to complement their credit card operations. That would also complement their PC Optimum loyalty program as well as their PC-labelled ancillary offerings like PC Travel, PC Mobile, PC Insurance, etc. that are outsourced to partners. I imagine the issue that's holding them back is whatever non-compete provisions are in the divorce agreement.
(In addition their hands are currently full dealing with the embarrassing and expensive repercussions of the bread price-fixing investigation plus all the screw-ups with the $25 GC distribution and the PC Plus/SDM Opt merger. They can't seem to do anything competently these days. Management would be well advised to get all these issues in order before they even think about starting a new bank.)
My prediction (with no evidence to show) is that PCF may get back into the savings account game in the future (maybe something like EQ does where you can still pay bills, etc) but I doubt they offer a chequing account again... But that's just my guess.
Thank you.
Same chit different pile basically ... and, in any case, a bit better that its predecessor, I can say after experiencing both
Simplii has some things PCF didn't have -- unlimited FREE interac e-transfers, for one.
And even though, you did "miss a boat" on their 3% recent promo ... -- 3% was quite nice promo regardless that the interest is / was paid in a lump sum after the end of the promo (but considering PCF did exactly the same thing ... - it didn't come by any surprise then)
Although, I missed their opening promo for 3% for x # of months, it seems like most things about this new bank is worse than its predecessor.
The Ferengi Ninth rule of acquisition....it ain't stealing if you don't get caught.
I notice that if I add a nickname, the error message is "We're sorry. We are unable to complete this request.". The nickname actually shows up, but only for that session. If you login again, the nickname is gone.
This is kind of weird because older nicknames I had set up are still working.
Now that would be a real Plus
I'm pretty sure even PC Financial supported Plus, even without the logo.
I know banks are big companies with lots of employees and CIBC doesn't have a monopoly on bad service.
Just recently CIBC mistakenly changed our mtg pmt frequency when they were trying to do that for a different client.
An interest adjustment pmt was taken out of our account. Good thing we check our account every couple of days. 11 days later, that pmt has not been returned.
Hiring and training standards must be low.
Should I re-apply for the LoC through Simplii? Is it possible to close the chequing account with TD and some how keep the LoC?
Lots has been written during the announcement of the split.
"MasterCard credit card services are provided by the federally chartered President's Choice Bank." (This is wholly owned by Loblaws)
"...Standard consumer banking products (chequing accounts, savings accounts, loans, mortgages) were provided as a joint venture with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce which began in 1996."
"PC Financial's consumer banking services were operated by CIBC so, through CIBC, it was a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA). "