Consumer’s checklist - some things to think about

• What is more important to you: convenience or low fees?



• How do you like to do your banking? Do you want to make your banking transactions in person only (this is called in-branch banking), or self-serve only (by doing your banking through the automated banking machines [ABMs], phone or Internet)? Perhaps you need a combination of in-branch banking and self-serve banking.



• Where do you plan to do your banking? If you want to make some or all of your banking transactions in person or at an ABM, are the bank branches or ABMs conveniently located so you can do the majority of your banking at that institution?



• There are extra fees you will have to pay if you do your banking transactions at the ABMs of another financial institution. Do you know what these extra charges are? Do you know the locations of the automatic banking machines of your own financial institution, so that you can use these ABMs instead, and avoid paying additional charges?



• If you want to do some in-branch transactions, do the branches have convenient business hours?



• Does your financial institution offer a low-fee or no-fee account?



• Could you benefit from a student, youth or senior citizen's service package, with minimal or no fees?



• Does the financial institution have service packages that include all the types of transactions you will need? Transactions include withdrawing money from your account, transferring money from and into your account, writing cheques, paying bills or using your debit card.



• Are specialized services (such as certified cheques, money orders, bank drafts overdraft protection, cheque return, safety deposit box, traveller’s cheques) important to you? If so, it may be more beneficial to look for a service package that includes those services than to pay a fee each time you use them.



• To choose the right service package, you will have to figure out how many times you think you will need to make a withdrawal, a transfer, a bill payment, a direct payment or write a cheque, each month. How many transactions will your service package allow you to make each month? (This is called the "monthly transaction limit".)



• If you go over this "monthly transaction limit", there may be a cost for each additional transaction you make. Do you know what you will have to pay for each additional transaction?



• Depending on your service package, sometimes the financial institution will not charge you the monthly fee, especially if you keep a specified minimum amount of money in your account. Do you know what the minimum amount would be so you can avoid paying this fee?

Do you understand the terms and conditions of your account?

• the monthly fees you are paying for your service package;



• the type and number of transactions that are included in this package (for example, are bill payments included in the package?);



• the fees you are required to pay for any transactions you make over and above your monthly limit (fees may vary depending on the type of transaction);



• whether your monthly fee is tied to the balance in your account. If so, what minimum balance must you maintain in order to eliminate your monthly fees?

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