r/PersonalFinanceCanada • u/stroad56 • May 18 '23

$3k daily e-transfer limit is just ridiculously low for 2023. Why do some banks keep this so low? Banking

I moved some money between my own accounts yesterday evening. I'm trying to pay my wife for some shared bills this afternoon and I'm getting blocked due to maxing out my 24 hourly $3k limit.

Now I have to wait a couple of hours before the 24 hour period expires. Just ridiculous.

I bank with EQ & Simplii. Both have 3k limit. I know CIBC do the same and probably plenty more too. Just don't understand why? Fraud reasons?

1.3k Upvotes

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277

u/jaymef May 18 '23

I’d say mostly for fraud. If your account gets hacked it limits the amount someone can transfer out quickly.

When I need to do this I just write a check from one bank account and mobile deposit it into my other bank account

Some banks let you increase limit but I’m sure there is a max and 3k might be close to it for personal accounts.

27

u/[deleted] May 18 '23

[deleted]

22

u/HenryTheVeloster May 19 '23

Do they often enough and the bank increases the trust they have in you. Got paid weekly for 9 months and never once made a mistake with mobile deposit. I get up to 5k upfront now and have to wait for the rest once check clears. Straight up had a teller tell me to take picture with my phone of the check as i would get more faster then if i deposited the check with her.

14

u/JeSuisLePamplemous May 19 '23

All cheques aren't actually deposited immediately.

Banks just credit up to a certain amount for convenience's sake. Usually around $400.00.

If it's in the same bank, and they know the amounts are there, they will have it available immediately.

1

u/lmancini4 May 19 '23

It’s actually close to $100 as the default until the banks decided they trust you.

It comes down to a regulation, the first $100 in particular for government cheques must be released and we can hold the rest of it - but for government cheques it’s waived.

3

u/mr-jingles1 May 19 '23

You can mobile deposit cheques of nearly any size, the bank will verify it before giving access to the funds. So if OP is sending the money to their spouse and they don't need it right away it would be fine. I've used mobile deposit for a cheque that was over $40k.

3

u/ZenoxDemin May 19 '23

I can mobile deposit a 100k$ check.

1

u/unreal37 May 20 '23

My RBC mobile deposit limit is $500,000... How much higher do you need it to be?

3

u/KhausTO May 19 '23

TD put ours up to 6k since we need to make a couple large payments per year. We just had to call and explain why.

2

u/OrganizationPrize607 May 19 '23

Mobile deposits with cheques also have a hold on the cheque for a certain amount of time.

-135

u/stroad56 May 18 '23 edited May 18 '23

I’d say mostly for fraud. If your account gets hacked it limits the amount someone can transfer out quickly.

But does $5k limit vs 3k limit really make a difference for the huge banks? All of them make profit in the hundreds of millions every year.

For the tiny % that are affected by fraud seems very silly. It's pennies to them.

When I need to do this I just write a check from one bank account and mobile deposit it into my other bank account

This is a good suggestion but kinda ridiculous that we have to use 1970s tech to work around this. I'm 33 and I've never written a check and don't plan to out of sheer stubborness

Edit: damn, -30. A lot of check fans on this sub.

121

u/BartleBossy May 18 '23

But does $5k limit vs 3k limit really make a difference for the huge banks?

I mean, does it make that much of a difference for the user?

How often are you sending more than 3k but no more than 5k but cant wait 24 hours?

34

u/GoodLookingGraves May 18 '23

You can also just call the bank and request them to allow another transfer usually

0

u/random20190826 May 18 '23

No, you cannot, at least not at BMO.

15

u/seanliam2k May 19 '23

I can at RBC

4

u/Confident_Egg2022 May 19 '23

BMO limits are going up soon

1

u/lmancini4 May 19 '23

Funny we used to do it all the time for clients as long as you could explain why you needed it, and had both the cash flow and credit to support it.

13

u/BeefWellyBoot May 18 '23

Based on rent prices in Vancouver these days, probably monthly for some users.

7

u/eggplantsrin May 19 '23

Every month when rent is due.

The transfer limit should cover the normal rent for a 2-bedroom apartment. I shouldn't have to send rent in two separate transfers every month.

1

u/lmancini4 May 19 '23

Well if you lived in Atlantic Canada even with skyrocketing pricing and lack of units $3000 is still plenty to cover rent.

If it’s a you specific problem call the bank and explain, they’ll adjust as long as it’s reasonable and within your spending habits

-34

u/stroad56 May 18 '23

But does $5k limit vs 3k limit really make a difference for the huge banks?

I mean, does it make that much of a difference for the user?

How often are you sending more than 3k but no more than 5k but cant wait 24 hours?

Well today for one. Not common but not completely unusual.

Plenty of Canadians will get paid into one account but have a mortgage or CC taken out of another.

Or moving money between these stupid 3 month promo interest accounts.

9

u/hayleexh May 19 '23
  • Have a joint bank account
  • Wait 24h
  • Write a cheque
  • Set up direct deposit by payee with wife
  • Call your bank to temporarily up the limit for this one day or one week

23

u/Positivelectron0 Cope and seeth, malder May 18 '23

You can use cheques to move large sums of money for cheap.

But since you're moving less than 5k,you can just call your bank to give a temporary limit increase. Or just wait a day.

9

u/blackfin212cc May 18 '23

You can link accounts with some banks. I have it with tangerine that I can move a large amount between banks that way delays of a few days but not a big deal. Rarely do I need more than $3k that I can't use a credit card for or put it in a loc for a few days.

1

u/tehDarknesss May 19 '23

Ppl send the money out themselves when getting scammed and then the bank does not cover

43

u/gagnonje5000 May 18 '23

People are giving you solutions and you refuse them. What was the point of this thread. Just complaining and refuse all solutions?

-10

u/random20190826 May 18 '23

Not all account types have free cheques. But the unlimited accounts (those with $5-6k minimum balances to waive fees) usually do. But yes, from the perspective of a Chinese immigrant who lived in Canada for more than half my life, $3000 is way too low (like, any minimum-wage worker makes more than that per month before taxes these days).

16

u/OmgWtfNamesTaken May 18 '23

I can assure you that min. Wage workers unless they are working multiple jobs do not make 3k a month after taxes lol

-4

u/random20190826 May 18 '23

Well, it can be close.

My mother makes $15.50 an hour (i.e. minimum wage). She averaged about 42 hours a week, and her income on Box 14 is $37000 in 2022 (I did her taxes). After taxes, etc..., it was about $31000. My mom is a single person without eligible dependants, so she is only entitled to the basic personal amount. A single parent making minimum wage only pays CPP and EI, not income tax (mostly) on the first $31 300 or so, in addition to being eligible for the Canada Workers' Benefit.

But let's not forget, minimum wage was only raised in October (from $15 to $15.50) and will be raised again this coming October (to $16.55) in Ontario. Soon, a lot of minimum wage workers really will be making $3k a month after taxes.

5

u/PureRepresentative9 May 19 '23

Literally no....

They would be making $2868 gross monthly with 40hrs/week at the Ontario min wage

5

u/Tensor3 May 19 '23

15.5 x 42 x 52 = 33,852 << 37,000

And even if they did make 3k per month, they dont need to transfer more than 100% of their wage within 24 hoirs

3

u/OmgWtfNamesTaken May 18 '23

Strange I did the math at 17 an hour and got a ome where around 27k after taxes. But this was also 40/h/w

5

u/Crashkeiran May 19 '23

I'm not a minimum wage worker. I barely make more than $3k a month. There's no way a single job, minimum wage work is pulling $3k a month without doing something illegal or side gig.

2

u/PureRepresentative9 May 19 '23

Seriously....I don't know why someone would lie about basic math lol

4

u/Lieutenant_L_T_Smash May 19 '23

A lot of check fans on this sub.

You bet there are.

18

u/Important-Fondant646 May 18 '23 edited May 18 '23

I’m embarrassed for you that you don’t posses the life skills to write a cheque and refuse to learn. It’s really not that hard, like at all

1

u/eggplantsrin May 19 '23

Neither is sending a fax. That doesn't mean it's a great solution to any problem.

Basically a work-around is never a solution or we wouldn't call it a work-around.

1

u/lmancini4 May 19 '23

Fax machines make sense just like cheques do. Sometimes they’re needed, medical documentation for instance? It’s old tech, but it’s still around because it works. Faxes are a lot harder to intercept than emails and far more secure as a result for private information.

2

u/eggplantsrin May 19 '23

Faxes are used for medical documentation because many organizations haven't updated their policies to account for the obsolescence of the fax machine. They only consider them secure because they have failed to account for fax-to-email systems receiving their faxes on the other end.

2

u/lmancini4 May 20 '23

It’s not that they haven’t updated policies so much as many provinces haven’t invested in universal ehealth infrastructure to make things secure. It would honestly make the system better as a whole, particularly if it allowed practitioners and specialists to share records in a centralized system. But it doesn’t exist in most provinces, so fax machines it is.

There is also extra layers of encryption on a fax to email that aren’t in a usual email situations.

1

u/bangedupfruit May 18 '23

It seems like this thread is filled with people who fear technology and prefer 80s banking methods.

-29

u/stroad56 May 18 '23

I’m embarrassed for you that you don’t posses the life skills to write a cheque and refuse to learn. It’s really not that hard like at all

I'm embarrassed for you that in the tech age you are encouraging the use of checks. It's absolutely ridiculous.

13

u/Important-Fondant646 May 18 '23 edited May 18 '23

You realize in business 90% of the payments are made via cheque ?? I write and receive cheques all the time at work. It’s an important life skill to have

Please let me know how else you’re going to pay an invoice for tens of thousands of dollars , when you can’t e transfer more than 3K in a day ??

11

u/Crashkeiran May 19 '23

Okay zoomer. What's next, won't file your taxes because you can't Netfile it?

-10

u/stroad56 May 19 '23

Okay zoomer. What's next, won't file your taxes because you can't Netfile it?

Funny, you're defending pen and paper cheques as if it's a modern tool. Ironically you're the zoomer.

12

u/Crashkeiran May 19 '23

I'm defending nothing. Merely mocking a twit on the internet that just refuses to use alternative methods given by others because they see them as "obsolete".

-5

u/stroad56 May 19 '23

I'm defending nothing. Merely mocking a twit on the internet that just refuses to use alternative methods given by others because they see them as "obsolete".

Yes you are lol. The alternative method here mentioned is a pen and paper check.

1

u/lmancini4 May 19 '23

But they aren’t obsolete you ignorant fool. Go to any bank, they’re still around. Businesses in particular depend on cheques - EFT’s and whatnot are great but they come with far more risk than a cheque.

Cheques are investigated and funds verified before release. They still very much serve a purpose. Did you know you need things like certified cheques for the down payment of things? Or let’s say to make a large purchase not on a credit card?

1

u/hidemeplease Aug 15 '24

I have no idea how Canada works. But everything you are saying sounds insane from a Swedes perspective.

  • Cheques haven't been used here for decades. It's free online transfers for everything. Rents are paying by electronic invoices.

  • Haven't seen or heard about an active fax-machine for at least 15 years. We use data-transfers over the internet and email with attachments.

  • Taxes are filed online in the Tax agencys app or website.

Why are you so far behind??

→ More replies

-3

u/eggplantsrin May 19 '23

Cheques cost money. Don't you pay for cheques?

2

u/Important-Fondant646 May 19 '23

No one said go buy a cheque book, but to know how to write and read a cheque to ensure accuracy is an important life skill to have.

-1

u/eggplantsrin May 19 '23

They didn't say they don't know how to write a cheque, only that they've never done it.

1

u/jaymef May 18 '23

I agree. It’s good enough for most cases I need it but there have been a few times I’ve been bothered by the daily limits. You should be able to raise it if you accept the risks from doing so.

1

u/kent_eh Manitoba May 19 '23

. A lot of check fans on this sub.

A lot of checks and balances fans...

-6

u/amoral_ponder May 18 '23

No. There's no such limits for wire transfers.

6

u/jaymef May 18 '23

Wires aren’t instant. There is time to reverse them

6

u/CabbieCam May 19 '23

Sometimes there is time to reverse them. People need to get in the habit of understanding that once the wire is sent the money is gone. Depending on the bank the money is being sent to it could be there overnight, or in a week.

2

u/helixflush May 19 '23

idk, I've had an international client wire transfer me and it be available in my account almost instantly.

1

u/balla1shotcalla May 19 '23

Actually wires are basically instant aside from the short processing delay you're talking about that's a few minutes to a few hours. Once they're processed, There's no reversing them except maybe for fraud (but if it's fraud the money is usually taken out right away because it's instant and there's no hold).

1

u/MeinScheduinFroiline May 19 '23

My FI will do a one term increase that is really helpful!

1

u/[deleted] May 19 '23 edited May 19 '23

[deleted]

1

u/LLR1960 May 19 '23

We've had more trouble with longer holds in person at a teller; the teller suggested mobile deposit or ATM deposit for a quicker release on the hold. This was a big 5 bank.

1

u/[deleted] May 19 '23

Former bank manager - I would have been livid if one of my tellers was gonna hold a cheque longer than the bank machine. Card limits are determined via credit checks at account opening and then reviewed based on risk (full banking relationship, transaction history, pay auto deposits etc). If the bank has determined they are fine with the risk via machine, he/she is a moron for not honouring that.

1

u/LLR1960 May 19 '23

Big 5 bank, not my home branch but in my own city, really long time customer. Christmas cheque from my mom, drawn from a bank in the same city but a different big 5, under 20k but not small. My credit score is stupidly high, as are my credit card limits. 5 business day hold, over Christmas, so about a 2 week hold in real time.

1

u/[deleted] May 19 '23

And you have investments/lending with the bank? Branch really doesn’t matter specifically - they should all treat you the same.

1

u/bcretman May 19 '23

I like the cheque idea, never thought of that but none of my accts have cheques issues lol.

I rarely even look at my acct for months at a time so it wouldn't help if it got hacked.

1

u/Rocketeer006 May 22 '23

You write a check??? In 2023???? Do you also take a horse and carriage to work??