Personal Finance

Why would the bank offer me $50?

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  • Sep 24th, 2016 9:05 pm
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Member
May 30, 2015
364 posts
334 upvotes
GTA

Why would the bank offer me $50?

I got a letter in the regular mail from TD.
They are saying that I can get $50 if I book an appointment with my branch for something that they call "TD Personal Assessment".

Not sure why they value this so much that they are willing to pay me $50. I have some investment with them, but the portfolio is rather small.

I was wondering if anybody else got this kind of offers, from your bank, now or in the past.
Do you know why they do that? Does someone get any commission just because they set the appointment with me?
I expect that they would try to sell me all kind of things (right now I have some e-Series mutual funds with them and probably they don't make too much money out of that).

I am a bit confused. Seems like an easy $50, but maybe I don't understand what's the catch.

I was wondering if anybody can provide a better explanation.

Thx

P.S. This is how the envelope looks, in my case:

Image
Last edited by pishta on Sep 22nd, 2016 11:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
41 replies
Deal Addict
Sep 7, 2004
1599 posts
631 upvotes
Toronto
pishta wrote: I got a letter in the regular mail from TD.
They are saying that I can get $50 if I book an appointment with my branch for something that they call "TD Personal Assessment".

Not sure why they value this so much that they are willing to pay me $50. I have some investment with them, but the portfolio is rather small.

I was wondering if anybody else got this kind of offers, from your bank, now or in the past.
Do you know why they do that? Does someone get any commission just because they set the appointment with me?
I expect that they would try to sell me all kind of things (right now I have some e-Series mutual funds with them and probably they don't make too much money out of that).

I am a bit confused. Seems like an easy $50, but maybe I don't understand what's the catch.

I was wondering if anybody can provide a better explanation.

Thx
You said it above. You have some business with them but they want to increase it. So they are likely going to sell you on some of their personal banking solutions. Ask you to tell them a bit about who you're currently day-to-day banking with, and then tell you why their solutions can either save you money or would be more convenient for you.

Expect a sales pitch. They are offering you $50 as an incentive to come in and sit down with one of their advisers. RBC ran this promotion a couple years ago and I went in for that to get a $50 Visa card. I was there for something else but then the adviser basically said that if I had an extra 5 minutes she could give me $50 if I let her compare RBC banking plans to what I currently have. It wasn't a high pressured sales session at all and I walked out without actually signing up for a new account.
Sr. Member
May 5, 2009
617 posts
320 upvotes
Vancouver
They will try to sell you products end of story
Deal Addict
Feb 11, 2009
1026 posts
294 upvotes
One time RBC handed out vouchers when they opened a new branch in the neighbourhood. All I had to do was spin some sort of prize wheel and I got a $5 Tim Hortons gift card :-D
Banned
Sep 3, 2016
92 posts
23 upvotes
1. They will try to sell you something. Mostly Mutual Funds, RRSP, TFSA that kind of nonsense.

2. Data mining and collecting your info from you. Good for their future targeted marketing and advertising. So even if you don't buy anything, they will try to get info about where and with whom you have your Mortgage, Credit Cards, Insurance, LOC, Investments etc. You don't have to give this info, if you don't want to.

But after getting 50 bucks, you feel guilty and obliged and don't want to come across as rude, so in a coerced environment you provide a lot of info to them :)

Won't be anything high pressured sales tactics. But more like asking, which if you politely decline, its end of the story.
Member
May 30, 2015
364 posts
334 upvotes
GTA
Jon Lai wrote: No catch, except for your time. Yes, they may try to sell you on things. I'd do it.
Thank you for your reply. Yes, it is tempting to get the $50 deposited in my account by Nov 30, as they wrote in the letter. I think that I will set the appointment.
Member
May 30, 2015
364 posts
334 upvotes
GTA
gqbluez wrote:
pishta wrote: I got a letter in the regular mail from TD.
They are saying that I can get $50 if I book an appointment with my branch for something that they call "TD Personal Assessment".

Not sure why they value this so much that they are willing to pay me $50. I have some investment with them, but the portfolio is rather small.

I was wondering if anybody else got this kind of offers, from your bank, now or in the past.
Do you know why they do that? Does someone get any commission just because they set the appointment with me?
I expect that they would try to sell me all kind of things (right now I have some e-Series mutual funds with them and probably they don't make too much money out of that).

I am a bit confused. Seems like an easy $50, but maybe I don't understand what's the catch.

I was wondering if anybody can provide a better explanation.

Thx
You said it above. You have some business with them but they want to increase it. So they are likely going to sell you on some of their personal banking solutions. Ask you to tell them a bit about who you're currently day-to-day banking with, and then tell you why their solutions can either save you money or would be more convenient for you.

Expect a sales pitch. They are offering you $50 as an incentive to come in and sit down with one of their advisers. RBC ran this promotion a couple years ago and I went in for that to get a $50 Visa card. I was there for something else but then the adviser basically said that if I had an extra 5 minutes she could give me $50 if I let her compare RBC banking plans to what I currently have. It wasn't a high pressured sales session at all and I walked out without actually signing up for a new account.

Thank you for your reply. I thought about the things you mentioned too. I did not have too much activity with them lately. I did not like when TD and other banks raised the minimum balance for no fees in chequing accounts. I took the money out of their chequing account and move it to another bank that does not have min balance requirement for no fees.
They will probably use my data for their statistics/analysis. I will try to give them as little as I can.
Member
May 30, 2015
364 posts
334 upvotes
GTA
4seasonscentre wrote: One time RBC handed out vouchers when they opened a new branch in the neighbourhood. All I had to do was spin some sort of prize wheel and I got a $5 Tim Hortons gift card :-D
Quite an number of years ago, I got $5 from TD when their ABM was not working. They had a campaign, at that time, where they would give you $5 if you waited in line for more than 5 min. Now that I think about it, I might have got that one too once. When the only ABM, that they had at a small branch, did not work, I got my $5.
Thx
Last edited by pishta on Sep 20th, 2016 12:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Member
May 30, 2015
364 posts
334 upvotes
GTA
Janis4g3g wrote: 1. They will try to sell you something. Mostly Mutual Funds, RRSP, TFSA that kind of nonsense.

2. Data mining and collecting your info from you. Good for their future targeted marketing and advertising. So even if you don't buy anything, they will try to get info about where and with whom you have your Mortgage, Credit Cards, Insurance, LOC, Investments etc. You don't have to give this info, if you don't want to.

But after getting 50 bucks, you feel guilty and obliged and don't want to come across as rude, so in a coerced environment you provide a lot of info to them :)

Won't be anything high pressured sales tactics. But more like asking, which if you politely decline, its end of the story.
I think that you are right: one main "technique" that they will try to use would be to make the person feel guilty. But it is not that easy to feel guilty about the banks these days. They tried to sell me a few things (including some "recommended" mutual funds) when I went to the branch a few times to setup my e-Series mutual funds. I think i can decline politely their offers. They already know about my mortgage because I contacted them for that, a few years ago, but i did not like their offer because TD (and some other banks) offer only collateral mortgage.

Thx
Deal Expert
User avatar
Aug 18, 2005
21223 posts
5939 upvotes
Burlington-Hamilton
It's basically a sales presentation where they try to convince you to open new products.
- casual gastronomist -
Deal Addict
May 15, 2013
2048 posts
636 upvotes
Alberta
You should accept the invitation only if you know to say no to a good seller...
Deal Addict
Oct 11, 2010
1013 posts
345 upvotes
Charlottetown
$50 isn't worth the time to listen to their BS imo
Banned
Sep 3, 2016
92 posts
23 upvotes
jfall wrote: $50 isn't worth the time to listen to their BS imo
If you are free and the bank is close and you are going that side any ways, its worth it. But no point in going out of the way, just for that.

Plus the max, I would give them is half an hour, nothing more nothing less. Also you have to be good at saying NO, politely but firmly and be assertive about it, without feeling guilty or obliged, just because they throw 50 bucks at you.
Banned
Sep 3, 2016
92 posts
23 upvotes
pishta wrote:
Janis4g3g wrote: 1. They will try to sell you something. Mostly Mutual Funds, RRSP, TFSA that kind of nonsense.

2. Data mining and collecting your info from you. Good for their future targeted marketing and advertising. So even if you don't buy anything, they will try to get info about where and with whom you have your Mortgage, Credit Cards, Insurance, LOC, Investments etc. You don't have to give this info, if you don't want to.

But after getting 50 bucks, you feel guilty and obliged and don't want to come across as rude, so in a coerced environment you provide a lot of info to them :)

Won't be anything high pressured sales tactics. But more like asking, which if you politely decline, its end of the story.
I think that you are right: one main "technique" that they will try to use would be to make the person feel guilty. But it is not that easy to feel guilty about the banks these days. They tried to sell me a few things (including some "recommended" mutual funds) when I went to the branch a few times to setup my e-Series mutual funds. I think i can decline politely their offers. They already know about my mortgage because I contacted them for that, a few years ago, but i did not like their offer because TD (and some other banks) offer only collateral mortgage.

Thx
Its not the bank you will feel guilty for. its the salesperson you will feel guilty for. He/she is just doing his/her job and has quota and targets to meet. So they will make a sad face, when you don't buy anything from them and you will feel that you wasted their time for 50 bucks. Plus you don't want to come across as cheap & rude. just human psychology.
Deal Addict
Feb 26, 2008
1821 posts
1285 upvotes
jfall wrote: $50 isn't worth the time to listen to their BS imo

Spending 1 hour or less listening to a sales pitch isn't worth $50 after-tax dollars? How much do you earn in your day job? You would likely need an annual salary of about $150k pre-tax to get an after-tax rate of $50/hour....

And, who knows, perhaps the bank might actually have some useful advice/observations about how to structure your finances.
Member
May 30, 2015
364 posts
334 upvotes
GTA
Many thanks to everyone for your replies.

I booked an appointment with my branch. It will be during my lunch break. The branch is close to my work location.

According to their offer, the money will be deposited in my account by Nov 30.
Member
May 30, 2015
364 posts
334 upvotes
GTA
Done.
It took about 35 min during my lunch break. The financial adviser did not try to sell me anything, she just updated my profile and asked me what other banks I deal with, what credit cards I use and things like that.
At the end she was not sure if she did the proper thing on the computer so that their system will automatically deposit the money in my account by Nov 30. I hope everything is OK. I will put a reminder in my calendar to check.
Deal Addict
May 15, 2013
2048 posts
636 upvotes
Alberta
pishta wrote: Done.
It took about 35 min during my lunch break. The financial adviser did not try to sell me anything, she just updated my profile and asked me what other banks I deal with, what credit cards I use and things like that.
At the end she was not sure if she did the proper thing on the computer so that their system will automatically deposit the money in my account by Nov 30. I hope everything is OK. I will put a reminder in my calendar to check.
I guess every time they pull Equifax/Transunion they already know all the Banks you deal with...
Newbie
Oct 29, 2010
74 posts
156 upvotes
Ottawa, ON
I did receive a call from other branch rather than my home branch. And they said their investment consular wants to sit down with me to review my investment. No "$50" mentioned during the phone conversation. I just rejected politly.

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