When you think of savings accounts, business loans, lines of credit, and mortgages, you might automatically think about banks. The truth is, banks aren’t the only financial institutions that offer financial products. You can find banking products from alternative lenders and credit unions as well.
Credit unions provide most of the same financial services and products as a bank. However, credit unions have a different business model. At a credit union, every client is a shareholder. You’re not just a customer, you’re a member that can vote on a board of directors. Like banks, deposits and investments in a credit union are insured by the CDIC. Furthermore, credit unions often offer more personalized service, community events, and competitive interest rates.
Founded in 1946, Vancity Credit Union is a Vancouver-based credit union that provides financial services to 543,000 member-owners. The credit union provides services to members in the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw Indigenous territories and has 55 branches across British Columbia.
The largest credit union in Canada, Vancity is dedicated to improving the financial health of its members and is known for investing in affordable housing.
Vancity offers a wide range of financial services to its members, including banking, credit cards, mortgages, loans, investments, and insurance. Vancity Credit Union offers various channels for you to do your banking, including in-branch, online, mobile, or via telephone or ATM.
Vancity offers 7 different chequing accounts, with the following three being the most popular:
E-Package Chequing: This account features unlimited, everyday transactions as long as members hold a minimum monthly balance of $1,000.
Pay As You Go Chequing: This account features a $0 monthly fee, and the ability to pay as you go for every transaction.
Access Chequing: This account is specifically tailored to members with disabilities.
Vancity offers 4 different savings accounts.
Plan 24 Savings: This account is great for members who don’t make too many transactions, and for those who want a flexible option and minimum account fees.
Plan 24 Savings Plus: This account tailors additional benefits to members under the age of 25 or over the age of 55.
Jumpstart® High-Interest Savings Account: This account boasts the highest possible interest rate on savings, with no minimum monthly balance.
Shared Success Patronage Account: This is Vancity’s profit-sharing savings account.
Vancity offers 3 different kinds of credit cards. Each credit card has an interest rate of 19.50%.
Enviro Visa Infinite Card: With a $120 monthly fee, this credit card offers between 1.25 to 10 points for every $1 spent. It also offers additional insurance coverage and benefits.
Enviro Gold Visa Card: With a $99 monthly fee, this credit card 1 reward point for every $1 spent. It also offers additional insurance coverage.
Enviro Classic Visa Card: With a $0 monthly fee, this credit card offers 1 reward point for every $2 spent.
Vancity offers many different types of mortgages to cater to their members’ unique financial needs. Here’s an overview of the most common mortgages – open-term and fixed-term mortgages.
Open Term Mortgage: Vancity’s open-term mortgage offers total repayment flexibility, with no penalties.
Fixed Term Mortgage: Vancity’s fixed-term mortgage offers the stability of the same interest rate across the term of your mortgage.
Similar in range to Vancity’s mortgages, Vancity’s loan options are abundant.
Personal Loan
Online Vancity Fair & Fast Loan™: This loan is the quickest possible option, offering access to cash in less than ten minutes.
Vancity offers two different types of lines of credit.
Personaline Line of Credit
Creditline Line of Credit
Vancity offers many different kinds of investments, including RRSPs, RESPs, TFSAs, RRIFs, and RDSPs.
RRSPs (Registered Retirement Savings Plan): Members can save for retirement with tax deductions and a variety of investment options such as savings accounts, term deposits, mutual funds, stocks, and bonds.
TFSAs (Tax-Free Savings Account): With maximum contributions of $5,500 per year, members can earn tax-free investment income with a TFSA.
RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plan): Members can save up for post-secondary education at a maximum of $50,000 per beneficiary.
Term Deposits: Eligible for RRSPs, RESP, TFSA, and RRIF, members can access terms from 30 days to 5 years.
RRIFs (Registered Retirement Income Funds): This account lets members accumulate growth tax-deferred until they withdraw funds.
RDSP (Registered Disability Savings Plan): This long-term, tax-sheltered investment provides savings for Canadians with disabilities.
Jumpstart High-Interest Savings Account: This investment offers the most competitive interest rate out of all of Vancity’s products.
Mutual Funds, Stocks, and Bonds: This investment offers a variety of mutual funds, stocks, and bonds, paired with financial, professional guidance and advice.
Socially Responsible Investments: These investments offer both financial returns and positive social returns, such as environmental protection and respectful business practices.
Vancity Credit Union has a subsidiary, Vancity Life Insurance Services. This subsidiary offers personal and business insurance, life insurance, and retirement planning services.
To become a member of Vancity Credit Union, you must meet the following criteria:
If you meet the above criteria, you can book a call to arrange your membership.
Overall, Vancity Credit Union offers quite a wide range of financial products, with lots of flexibility. Their services are well tailored for anybody’s unique financial needs. Additionally, their sense of social responsibility through socially responsible investment options and dedication to affordable housing is admirable.
Chrissy is a Toronto-based communications advisor. With an English degree from the University of Toronto and editing courses under her belt from Ryerson University, she has continued her lifelong passion for writing and editing. In addition to working for Loans Canada on a variety of financial topics, Chrissy has a few years of resume writing and editing under her belt, and takes great pleasure in helping people find work that fits with their experience and passions. When she isn't working, you can find her practicing yoga, hanging out with her dog, reading up on financial and real estate news, or planning her next trip abroad.
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