Is this fee because of COVID-19?
No, the External Regulatory Maintenance Fee (ERMF) is being applied to all CU accounts to
help mitigate the extraordinary regulatory costs being implemented. Although our costs did
increase due to the implementation of our COVID Safety plan, costs such as Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) and extra cleaning supplies along with other branch upgrades to ensure the
health and wellness of our staff and members, we felt those costs were the cost of doing
business and did not adjust our pricing to reflect these costs. The ERMF was implemented in
response to other cost increases not associated with COVID-19. Please keep in mind that this
ERMF will only help mitigate these upcoming costs, not cover them completely. It will only help
us recover a partial amount of what we will be facing.
Exactly what kind of external fees are you talking about?
Some of the increased costs we know about are listed below. These are above and beyond the
costs of doing business and providing the products and services that our members have come
to know and love.
• Our Deposit Insurance Premiums are increasing by a minimum of 20% due to added
Regulatory expectations and reporting. We also know that this fee will increase in the
future as well.
• Our AML Compliance costs will be increasing 49% over the course of the next 3 years.
• Our Internet Banking Provider is moving us to a mandatory new platform. This
mandatory conversion is necessary to utilize API technology to drive Digital Banking
forward and keep pace with the industry standards. Payments Modernization
Infrastructure. This is Payments Canada’s initiative at improving the speed of payments
relating to clearing and settlements and providing more data rich transactions. The
infrastructure is focused on modernizing Canada’s payment systems and related rules to
support innovation. While the ongoing costs have not been finalized, the cost sharing for
the infrastructure to support these changes has been determined.
Why do I have to pay when I am an Infinite member?
We had to think long and hard about this. What would be fair? What would be the most
equitable for our members? How could we still provide outstanding service to our members
and keep the lights on? We do not want to introduce a monthly fee for our loyal Preferred or
Infinite members! We also know that if you are a part of a credit union you are seeing the value
of being a part of something bigger! It was a tough decision but the most fair and equitable way
we could think of was to introduce the External Regulatory Maintenance Fee in lieu of monthly
fees to our most loyal members. A one-time fee of $9.85 for all Energy CU members. We hope
you agree that value is received for the service rendered to you. This ERMF will help us make
sure that each member is paying their fair share for the products and services they enjoy.
I am already being charged for the Annual fee. Why this ERMF too?
The annual fee is a fee that was created to ensure that all our members are receiving fair
treatment for services used and has been around for years. Every account costs the credit
union to operate and all our affiliates look at pricing our services based on account numbers.
Just by simply having an open account there are costs to the credit union, even if you perform
no transactions. Loyalty is rewarded at the CU and full-service members have this annual fee
waived. We would be happy to discuss options for you to avoid this Annual fee, but the ERMF is
intended to help mitigate the additional fees that have been implemented by our regulators
and affiliates. This ERMF will be applied to all CU accounts regardless of whether the account is
considered full service.
Other Financial Institutions are not charging this fee. Why are you?
We looked at what the big guys were doing. A monthly fee for everyone (unless of course you
were willing to sacrifice earning that ever elusive interest by having a minimum balance earning
little to nothing by sitting in an account) Yep, you gave up potential interest for “no fees”.
Seems a bit sneaky right? Those big guys have all your business, and they are still taking money
from your pocket for the privilege of being your FI of choice. This ERMF is out front and in the
open and not hidden in other fees. We made this choice to be as transparent as possible to all
our members.
Why should I care if you are being transparent or not?
We strive to be honest and transparent to our members. Our Mission is to enable growth,
wellness, and financial prosperity for our community through the values of Trust, Loyalty,
Compassion, and Integrity. We want you to be able to say that you are getting a fair deal and
know exactly where your money is going and how much value you can get. Make sure you are
comparing apples to apples when you look at our fees. And of course, we hope you find great
value as a member. Please do not hesitate to reach out and we can show you all the ways we
can make your membership in the Energy CU as value packed as possible. Our profits are
returned to our members in the form of free products and services, great low rates on our
loans, industry leading high rates of deposits and into retained earnings for future growth. Can
the other guys say that? We are also always looking to improve our member’s experience by
going the extra mile.
What “extra mile” kind of things did you do for me this year?
Even with government restrictions, we were able to introduce upgrades to our mobile app and
we increased our Flash limits. You asked and we answered! Increased flash limits mean less
contact when you are out buying those essentials. We strove to make sure you could bank
remotely with ease. We also made sure you were able to reach us and do all your banking in
the ways that you felt most comfortable, we did our best to make sure that was a flawless
process. Extended Hours meant that you could reach us by phone to 8am-8pm Monday to
Friday. Those members who were struggling to make their financial obligations were treated
with compassion and each was handled on a case-by-case basis to ensure the best fitting
solution.
We showed our members how they could send funds overseas using their online CyberBanker
and how to monitor their account by using our free alerts. This also meant that we were able to
start from scratch and help them through the whole process from start to finish depending on
their comfort level with technology. Sometimes it took 5 minutes and there were times it took
much longer. And we were happy to take whatever time was needed to make sure all our
members are comfortable and aware of the great things technology can help them do while
banking (and even when not banking!) Tips and tricks to keep connected and safe like adding a
password to unlock their smartphone or adding updated information to the contacts on their
device. We were able to hold a virtual AGM for the first time in our 80-year history. We happily
helped our members troubleshoot audio and visual concerns in advance of the meeting so that
they could focus and enjoy history in the making!
I still have some questions that I do not think were addressed here. What should I do?
Please reach out to us either by phone at 416-238-5606 ext. 0 or by email at
mail@theenergycu.com and we would be happy to answer or clarify any questions or concerns
you may have.
