I officially closed my Royal Bank Savings account today after about 10 years of banking with RBC. I have moved on to Citizens Bank, a subsidiary of VanCity based in Vancouver. Here’s why:
No Fees:
Because I am no longer a student, RBC wanted to start charging me $10 a month to keep my account. Or, they could waive the fee if I had both a credit card and investment with them–gee, thanks for the courtesy. You already make interest on my money, why do I need to pay you a fee? Citizens on the other hand offers a free chequing account and offers free ATM service anywhere in the world. It’s true that Citizens Bank doesn’t have a branch in my area, but there are a lot of ATMs around and 99% of my banking is done online anyway.
High-interest Savings Account:
The account which first attracted me to Citizens was their high-interest savings account. They offer one of the highest interest rates around; you can read my post on high-interest savings accounts here. Not only do they offer a nice rate, but they are socially responsible
Social Responsibility:
Citizens Bank is dedicated to social responsibility and uses its clients’ money to make investments in businesses that have a positive impact on the world community. For example, much of their investment goes into microcredit programs which give small loans to people in the third world so they can start their own businesses or get on their feet. You can read more about microcredit here. Also, VanCity produces accountability reports to show where their money is being allocated, how much profit they have made, etc. They are pretty transparent about it, so you know where your money is going. Oh, and their mutual funds are also provided by Ethical Funds, ensuring that your investments are socially responsible as well as profitable.
All-in-all I’m happy with my decision to switch banks. Sometimes its good to move away from the big players and join a bank that is willing to pay more attention to the concerns of its clients while still running a quality operation. If you’re interested in Citizens Bank, you can visit their site here.
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3 Comments
I congratulate you on your interest in ethical banking and investing!
You also might like to look at my site which is considered one of the leading ethical investing sites on the web. It also covers the latest global ethical investing news and research. It’s at http://investingforthesoul.com/
Good luck and best wishes, Ron Robins
Thanks, I’ll take a look.
I too change my bank account from the previous one to another bank, because beginning the previous bank said there is no need of any minimum balance but now they said I should maintain $300.