Get the Most Value From Your Bank Account

In this podcast we’ll be discussing how to get the most value from your everyday banking; how to choose the right bank account, the importance of convenience and how to save more with your banking. Joining us to do that today is Gillian Riley, she’s Scotiabank’s Managing Director of Retail Deposits. Choosing the right bank account may not seem that exciting but it really is an important part of our daily life. Gillian, what are the most important things that people should consider when they are choosing an account?

Gillian Riley: Well, Fred, the most important thing that people should consider when they’re choosing a bank account is to understand how they do their banking. Do they use their bank card a lot, do they like to bank in a branch, do they like to bank in an on-line environment? Understanding how you like to do your banking and how many transactions you do on a monthly basis which would be split between debit card, cheques, on-line… would be very critical to understand the account that would match your needs.

For example, at Scotiabank we have an account called the Scotia One Account. It provides an unlimited number of transactions on a monthly basis for a low monthly fee. So if you’re somebody who does a lot of transactions, this would be the perfect account for you. There are other types of accounts that would be helpful if you made fewer transactions. There are also accounts that are targeted to certain segments like seniors and students. So it is important to understand the type of things that you would do on a monthly basis to meet your needs.

Many banks have on-line tools which are very helpful in determining what type of account would be helpful and useful for your every day banking needs.

Fred: So it’s really all about, and I can see this, Gillian, knowing how you conduct your banking… so that’s the financial value of this whole aspect. What about the convenience side?

Gillian: Well, the value of convenience is obviously critical to everyday banking. Being able to access your money or do other banking when and how you want in this day and age is absolutely critical. Canadians are using ABM machines, they’re using the internet, they’re going into branches, they’re using all of our channels, all of our access points and they want that value… and that’s critical when looking at convenience.

Understanding the ABM networks, understanding both abroad and in Canada…bottom line you don’t want to be driving around looking for a bank machine, you want to be able to get the cash when you need it and you want to be able to pay bills, transfer funds when and how you need to. So it’s important to understand all of those aspects on your everyday banking to make it useful and right for you.

Fred: I am a regular user of my ABM card when I’m here at home. I really have never thought about using it when I go away and I travel somewhere else, but I suppose it could be just as convenient in that way as it is if it was right next door.

Gillian: It definitely can be and very, very helpful when you’re abroad.

Fred: So if I go to Florida in the wintertime, I just take my ABM card and I don’t need a whole lot of extra cash running around and worrying about whether or not someone is going to put their hands in my pocket and steal it.

Gillian: That’s right or traveler’s cheques.

Gillian: I think there’s a few other things, Fred, that are important also. Pre-authorized debits are a good way to pay bills instead of using cheques.

Fred: So you see I got modern, I use pre-authorized debits to pay the parking where I park my car; I know my gas bill is paid by pre-authorized debits. So that’s very convenient, I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Gillian: Very convenient. Self-service banking packages are typically less expensive than full service. The difference between the two, a self-service would mean somebody who uses the on-line internet ABM channels as opposed to going into the branch channel. So there are different packages geared to those groups. Use your debit card at stores, better than carrying cash… that’s more convenient and having an overdraft protection for those rainy days when you might get into a bind and get in a little bit of sticky situation.

Fred: I remember when I was much younger; I really got the dickens from my father because I had written a cheque, and I had written a cheque for more than I had in the bank account and that didn’t go over very well. I’ve done that since then, as well, but didn’t get into trouble over it and didn’t get any charges because I did that. So I guess that’s very, very important when you forget how large your bank account is or how small it is and how large the check is that you’re writing to pay a bill.

Gillian: Yeah, that’s right, making sure you have that convenience of overdraft protection.

Fred: Convenience is extremely important. There’s another thing, the other day I heard an ad on the radio talking about Scotiabank theatre, and I thought well this is something new maybe all the people at Scotiabank can become movie stars and star in the theatre but that’s not what that is. But it is a very, very interesting process that the bank has created and can you tell us something about that?

Gillian: Yeah, we have launched an exciting new partnership with Cineplex that’s called SCENE. And SCENE allows people to earn reward points for free movies for every purchase they make using their debit card. So it would be a Scotiabank SCENE debit card that allows you to earn points towards free movies. It’s quite exciting.

Fred: Sounds very exciting and a whole bunch of entertainment to go with it. Those were great tips, Gillian. Anything else that you think people should consider?

Gillian: I think there are a few important things that people should consider. Two accounts are always very, very useful. A savings account for larger balances and chequing accounts for your transactions. I think an important concept we talked about pre-authorized debits earlier. There is something called, we call them PACs, but it’s a simple way to set up a savings plan where you put aside money every single month say $50, $100… and on a regular basis its just like paying a bill and a first start to a savings plan.

Fred: I like that kind of idea too, because really when you set up the plan you go through the process of saying how much money you want to come out of your account that is going to be put into a savings account and, of course, then you get the magic of compounding that takes place for that process as well. I am a strong believer in the advantages of compounding because it builds up much faster than it would if you didn’t do that.

Gillian: Yeah, and its a great way to get started on a Registered Savings Plan as well through this pay yourself type of a plan.

Fred: I like that idea, we all need to get a registered account and save for our later life. I do thank you for this, Gillian, for sharing your insights with us today and we hope that this information on how to get the most value for your banking has been helpful. I do thank you for listening. I’m Fred Ketchen, and please join us for our next podcast. And for more information, please drop by your local Scotiabank branch, we’d love to have the opportunity to talk with you.