Text 5027, 150 rader
Skriven 2010-02-18 17:33:01 av Bob Seaborn (1:140/12)
   Kommentar till text 5024 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Banking
===============
 > Bob Seaborn wrote to Robert Bashe on Thursday February 18 2010 at 08:47:
 >
 >BS> I have used the direct deposit method, unfortunately here it only
 >BS> works within the same bank.
 >
 > Do you mean you can directly deposit money from your account to an
 > account of someone else at the same bank? Even that is impossible in the
 > States. The best I've seen is that you can directly deposit money from
 > your account at one bank to your account at another, and even that is
 > rare and complicated.



      Yes.  With very minimal hassle.  Even someone who is not a bank client
can walk into any branch of my bank and deposit to my account, at zero cost to
either them or me.


 >
 >RB>> ...I also doubt that the banks are as competitive as you think, as
 >RB>> bank fees in the States and presumably also in Canada are sky high
 > inRB>> comparison to those in Europe. I might mention that things like
 >RB>> "inactivity fees", common in the States, are unknown in Europe.
 >
 >BS> I have used the direct deposit personally, both to receive and send
 >BS> ##.
 >
 > To accounts of other people at other banks? And all you have to do to
 > have money transferred to your account is to provide the account data?
 > You appear to contradict yourself here.
 >

      No, the direct deposit only works within the same bank, but not
necessarily the same branch.  For example, a friend in BC can deposit to my
account in Saskatoon.  Or should you decide to visit old friends in Montreal,
you would be able to visit any TD branch there, and deposit to my account. All
without cost to either you or me.  If you are dealing with cash, not even ID
needs be shown.



 >BS> I have never been charged any fee, nor has anyone depositing to me
 >BS> reported so.
 >
 > That was not what I commented above. I noted the general situation, not
 > the specific situation with regard to transfers, as those are (in the
 > European sense) inmpossible anyway.
 >
 >BS> Currently my bank fees are exactly zero, for which I have a
 > chequingBS> account, a savings account, two debit cards, and a credit
 > card, as
 >BS> well as overdraft protection and a slew of 'bonus' goodies.
 >
 > And when you leave an account unused for a year? And does this situation
 > require you to keep a minimum "presence" in your accounts of several
 > thousand dollars? I'm well aware of the fee situation in American banks
 > and would be surprised if the Canadians were much more generous.

      After about 5 years of inactivity, a bank is required by federal law to
attempt to contact you, and if unable to do so must transfer any $$ into the
federal system who will hold it indefinitely.  Depending on the original
agreement with the bank, there may or may not be fees charged by the bank.
Heck, there are sites on the internet that specialize in reuniting people with
'lost' bank accounts, for a fee of course.  :)

 >
 >RB>>>> In the States, many (most?) businesses require that you agree to
 >RB>>>> allow them to retrieve funds transferred to your account by
 > That'sRB>>>> part of the above-mentioned "agreement".
 >
 >BS>>> Here, once the process is finished, there's no way to reverse the
 >BS>>> process other than the recipient willingly transferring the $$ back.
 >
 >RB>> As mentioned above, we're talking about different things. I was
 > againRB>> referring to direct account transfers.
 >
 >BS> So am I.
 >
 > I'm getting confused. You confirm that an agreement is necessary to
 > directly transfer funds from your account to another (or from another to
 > yours), as in the States. But in your case, if a company is transferring
 > funds to your account, the agreement apparently doesn't include the
 > passage that the company reserves the right to reverse transfer funds
 > that were transferred to your account by mistake. This is common, almost
 > the rule in the States.


      I think we are not thinking of the same thing with "agreement".  There
is no written contract between the bank and the user, onl between the two
individual parties.

 >
 >BS> *I* have no such agreement with my bank, yet anyone who knows my
 >BS> transit and account number can deposit to my account.
 >
 > From an account at another bank? This is really confusing, and
 > apparently the system is different from the States - somewhere between
 > the States and Europe.


      Another bank?  If you mean a different physical bank, then no, at least
not without a fee.  If you mean the same bank, but a different branch, then
yes.  There are about 1100 branches of TD Canada Trust in Canada.  Any one of
them can be used to deposit to my account.  Sorry, I really don't know if the
TD Bank branches in the US can also  do this.


 >
 >BS>>> When my son arranged banking for his business, he included auto
 >BS>>> payments from his bank. He receives an authorization from his
 >BS>>> customer, one sample blank cheque marked VOID, then submits that
 > toBS>>> the bank.
 >
 >RB>> That _is_ a direct account transfer, as the purpose of the check
 > isRB>> to provide the account details for a direct transfer. And the
 >RB>> authorization you speak of is precisely what I mentioned above,
 >RB>> except that I called it an "agreement".
 >
 >BS>> However, this is not what happens when you pay bills
 > "electronically"BS>> online from your own bank account. No, it is an
 > automated payment of
 >BS>> the same amount every month for a recurring bill that is always
 > theBS>> same.
 >
 > And the payment is either truly electronic or by check depending on the
 > payee and whatever arrangement he has with the bank.


      Truly electronic.  The issuing bank does NOT  prepare and send a cheque
on your behalf.  If you are a recipient, the $$ simply appears in your account.


 >
 >BS> I would think that Canadian banking has changed considerably since
 > youBS> lived in Montreal, and definitely the US system is not emulated
 > here.
 >
 > As I mentioned, the system seems to be some kind of a mix between the US
 > and European systems, which makes it hard to follow for both the
 > Europeans and the Americans.
 >
 > Thanks for describing things, that helped.
 >
 > Cheers, Bob
 >
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 >  * Origin: Jabberwocky System - 02363-56073 ISDN/V34 (2:2448/44)

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