President's Choice Financial

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President’s Choice Financial is a financial institution that offers banking services through a joint venture between Loblaw Companies (a supermarket chain) and CIBC (a major Canadian bank). There are a number of distinct organizations under the President's Choice Financial umbrella. Because PC Financial is part of the direct banking division of CIBC, its bank number is the same as CIBC (010). PC Financial accounts are all located under one transit number as well (30800).

Most standard bank products (cheque accounts, savings accounts, loans) are provided by CIBC, while MasterCard services are provided by President's Choice Bank, and insurance is provided by PC Financial Insurance Agency Inc., both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Loblaw Companies. PC Financial has no branches; rather, customer interactions are carried out over the Internet, the telephone, at ATMs or at pavilions located inside Loblaw-affiliated stores. As of January 2009, there are 234 pavilions in Canada.^[1]

President's Choice Financial was ranked by J.D. Power and Associates as having highest customer satisfaction among mid-size Canadian banks in 2007 and in 2008.^[2]

Contents 1 President's Choice Financial 1.1 Memberships 1.2 Services offered 2 MasterCard 3 Insurance 4 PC Points 5 Footnotes 6 See also 7 External links

[edit] President's Choice Financial

PC Financial banking offers insurance products, lines of credit, loans, RRSPs, and mortgages. Services are available in all Canadian provinces, except Quebec.

To benefit from its low-cost, "no-fee" structure, clients perform transactions on the Internet, at an automated banking machine, or by telephone.

Between January 2001 and October 2005, banking services for PC Financial were provided by Amicus Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of CIBC. Outside of those dates, banking services were provided by the direct banking division of CIBC. Amicus is now a division of CIBC Retail Markets and is no longer a separate legal entity. Amicus Bank used bank number 326 with transit number 30800 for all PC Financial Customers. Any Customers with cheques with the old Amicus number on them can continue to use them, but when they order new cheques, they will now be under the direct banking division of CIBC and have bank number 010 with transit number 30800 on their new cheques.

The bank has approximately 2.1 million customers.^[3]

[edit] Memberships

PC Financial, through CIBC, is a member of the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) and registered member with the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a federal agency insuring deposits at all of Canada's chartered banks.

[edit] Services offered

• Chequing account
• Secured line of credit
• Unsecured line of credit
• Loan
• Savings account
• GIC
• RRSP
• Mortgage
• Mutual funds (through CIBC)

[edit] MasterCard

The President’s Choice Financial MasterCard credit card is issued by President's Choice Bank, a subsidiary of Loblaw, in association with Credit Union Electronic Transaction Services^[4]. PC MasterCard has no relationship to CIBC, although cash advance fees are waived at CIBC bank machines.

PC Financial MasterCards are embedded with PayPass technology.^[5]

[edit] Insurance

President's Choice offers auto insurance and home insurance, underwritten by Scottish & York Insurance Co. Limited, Pilot Insurance, and S&Y Insurance Company (all member companies of Aviva Canada Inc.), pet insurance, underwritten by SecuriCan General Insurance Company, and travel insurance by Travel Guard Canada as managing general underwriter and agent for American Home Assurance Company. President's choice discontinued their home and auto insurance offerings to new customers in 2009.

[edit] PC Points

President's Choice Financial products offer reward points (called PC Points) through various channels depending on the product (e.g., making purchases on the PC MasterCard, setting up direct deposit to a PC Financial bank account, renewing insurance, etc.) PC Points are provided by President's Choice Bank.

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^  BMO closes supermarket locations
2. ^  President's Choice Financial FAQ
3. ^  CUETS - President's Choice Financial MasterCard
4. ^  2008 Canadian Retail Banking Customer Satisfaction Study
5. ^  [6]

[edit] See also

• List of banks in Canada
• President's Choice

[edit] External links

• President's Choice Financial
• President's Choice Financial - Quebec
• President's Choice Financial MasterCard
• President's Choice Insurance

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