Tag Archives: Canada

Graphical example of financial technology or FinTech.

Neo Financial isn’t a Bank

Rants, Technology, ,

Below is a personal anecdotal experience with Neo Financial. I am writing this as I have realized that NEO Financial is a unregulated financial services company that skirted Canada’s highly regulated banking industry and is under no direct supervision.

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In 2010, I signed up for an HBC Mastercard, issued by Capital One, as a backup independent of my bank. I used it occasionally to keep it active.

In 2021, The Bay switched to Neo Financial, a Canadian FinTech company. Intrigued by their modern slick web interface, I gave it a try. They offered a 2.5% savings account, so I moved my emergency fund into a Neo Money Account through Concentra Credit Union, a CDIC member with a dedicated account number.

Later, I switched to their 4% High-Interest E-Savings account (Through the Peoples Bank of Canada another CDIC member bank). Neo expanded into investing and mortgages, though I only used their credit and savings services. I might have contacted customer service once in three years.

Then, on May 2, 2024, I had a question about my April interest—it didn’t seem right.

I phoned support on three separate occasions everyone understood the issue and no one had a proper answer or explanation for me. It was always I had to submit your request to another department which I couldn’t speak to and they would get back to me. No one ever did.

The email addresses I had used previously to contact support were bounced back. The letter mailed their head office location was not replied to.

By the end of May 2024 I was completely fed up with the lack of response, I had decided to withdraw all my funds. It then took me an hour on the phone to close my account. In short, it was the worst customer service experience I have ever had with a financial company in my life. I felt lucky that I didn’t have any major issues and got all my money out.

(I later found out from an actual bank what happened which was quite minor and easy explainable, but no one at NEO Financial could do this given multiple chances over the course of a month)

Financial Institutions deal in two products. Currency and Trust and I had lost all Trust in NEO Financial.

My former journalist mind then switched to:

How could a financial technology company (fintech) operate in Canada like a bank?

Who regulates them?

Graphic and Neo Financial with Spray Paint like graffiti saying your not a bank.
Neo Financial is not a bank

I found out those are not easy answers to find.

When I looked for Neo Financial in the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions ( OSFI ) Neo Financial won’t be listed, As it’s not a bank. It’s not regulated by the OSFI.

When I contacted the OSFI in July 2024 and asked who regulates Neo Financial I received this reply:

Neo Financial is not a federally regulated financial institution and does not fall under OSFI’s jurisdiction.

Depending on the business model, a financial institution in Canada may need to be registered at the provincial or federal level. Every province and territory in Canada has one or more bodies to regulate financial institutions under provincial responsibility. These institutions include securities dealers, credit unions and caisses populaires, as well as other financial institutions that are registered or incorporated at the provincial level.

Since Neo Financial is located in Alberta, we recommend that you contact the applicable provincial regulator, the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance, for possible assistance.

So I then emailed the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance Ministry in August 2024. The same questions and their reply surprised me:

Our office is only responsible for regulating and overseeing Alberta credit unions, Alberta loan and trust companies, and ATB Financial. This oversight does not extend to Neo Financial.

They go on to say:

Neo Financial is a Canadian fintech company that provides a range of banking products and services despite not being a traditional bank. This is achieved through a partnership model and specific regulatory frameworks.

Since Neo Financial falls under the Business Corporations Act, Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction can be contacted to file a complaint.

If you look under the Ministry of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction “What we Investigate” Financial Technology Companies (FinTech) are not listed, however I got this email:

The circumstances you have described in your email (who regulates NEO Financial)  appear to be related to the consumer protection legislation administered by the Consumer Investigations Unit.

The Consumer Investigations Unit accepts complaints via their online consumer complaint portal.  To access and submit a complaint via the online consumer complaint portal you must first obtain a Complaint ID from the Service Alberta Contact Centre.

So if I wanted to file a complaint I would have to do that through the Consumer Investigations Unit of Service Alberta and Red Tape. But only if I have a problem.

After hours of research and emailing various government departments. Neo Financial isn’t regulated by any financial regulated body in Canada but if you have a problem you have to report it to non-financial provincial government agency that focuses on red tape.

In the June 27, 2024, Neo Financial Account Agreement It states:

If you are not Your complaint will be escalated to Neo’s Complaints Officer.

Or if you are not satisfied with the resolution provided by Neo you can escalate your complaint to Peoples Bank of Canada.

The People Bank is required to be a member of the Ombudsman for Banking Services in Canada and is regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

This only apples to the People Bank of Canada. The OBSI is not responsible for Neo Financial and nor is the OSFI as they have stated above.

As someone from the Alberta Treasury Board and Finance said:

“If customers are dissatisfied with the services they receive, they are free to choose a different financial institution that better aligns with their needs.”

The above statement is quite true once I knew who I was really dealing with. I truly couldn’t leave their services fast enough. One thing that saved Canada from the 2007 Banking Crisis was our highly regulated banking industry. I hope we have our highly regulated banking industry for years to come. Otherwise, I see more Neo Financial in our future.

Who owns Neo Financial?

Who owns Neo Financial? The Founder of  SkipTheDishes Chris Simair along with some others from that venture also started Neo Financial. They originally got backing from Peter Thiel via his Valar Ventures and the Chinese technology giant Tencent. But Neo Financial was not very forth coming about who was backing them according to the Globe and Mail.

Post Script

In March 2025 I had to get my T5 – Statement of Investment Income for my 2024 Taxes and since I had closed my account with Neo Financial I asked how they would get it to me. It took me three weeks of emails back and forth and then half an hour on the phone to confirm my identity because I wouldn’t become a customer of Neo again. According to the Canada Revenue Agency, it is up to the institution to get those documents to me, not the other way around.

bus logo black on white

The Bus Shirt Story

General, News, , , ,

Good friend Rebecca Coleman invited me to do some co-hosting for her youtube channel on Aquafaba and her cookbook Aquafabulous. While we were filming I thought it was a great idea to wear my famous Bus Shirts. Rebecca decided to make a trailer of my our conversation and how the Bus Shirt came to be.

Thanks to Pacific Speciality Brands for letting us film in their awesome showroom.

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Vimy 100

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This post is an email from my father. When I visited Vimy Ridge I had no idea our relative John (Jock) MacGregor commonly known as Uncle Mac fought at Vimy Ridge I knew of his service since high school but never knew he fought in this historic Canadian battle until I returned from my trip abroad. 

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MacGregor V.C.: Goodbye Dad: Biography of the Man Who Won More Awards for Valour Than Any Other Canadian Soldier
MacGregor V.C.

This weekend marks the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The ridge had long been held by Germany with the Allies trying unsuccessfully to capture the ridge several times. This was the first battle where Canada’s troops were together under Canadian command.

We have a relative who played a key role in winning the battle. He was John (Jock) MacGregor who later married Granny Newman’s (nee Louisa Amelia Nelmes) niece, Ethel Flowers. To the family they were Uncle Mac and Aunt Ethel and lived in Powell River, B. C. Their oldest son, Jim, wrote a book about Uncle Mac’s life titled MacGregor VC.

Sargent John MacGregor V.C.

Sergeant MacGregor was in charge of “C” Company and at 5:30 am on April 9th, 1917 he led them through light snow flurries to the attack. Their objective was an enemy trench line 700 yards away through heavily defended terrain as shown in the pictures. Part way through, they were pinned down by machine gun fire. Sergeant MacGregor told his men to take cover as he went on ahead and singlehandedly took out the machine gun nest, killed the crew and captured the gun. He then led “C” Company to their enemy trench objective. Sergeant MacGregor then fired three white flares that signified their success. They had secured their objective in 30 minutes, a few minutes ahead of time. The opening battle was won – soon followed by Canada taking the ridge.

We visited Vimy last June and I have included some pictures of what it looks like now. It is peaceful, green and eerily beautiful. How they could advance against the well entrenched enemy is beyond me. I checked with an historian there and he confirmed that “C” Company was the first to reach their objective.

Uncle Mac went on to more heroic deeds. He ended up being Canada’s most decorated WW1 foot soldier. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the Military Cross with Bar, and the Victoria Cross (our nation’s highest award).

I have a hard time relating the quiet, soft spoken man I knew with the man revealed in his war record. In fact, I didn’t know much of his war history until I started doing Family History.

Canada’s success at Vimy is often credited with our country coming of age and taking its place as an independent nation. Uncle Mac played an important role in it.

There is much more about him and the battle on the internet and I have a file on him.

The pictures are of the battlefield (seen below), the modern concrete version of one of the trenches, and one of the allies tunnels. Since the ridge battle lines were stable for a couple of years, both sides built tunnels. The tunnel was right where “C” Division prepared to go out and over the top of the trenches.

Bob Dall

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Post Script:

While I will be watching the ceremonies on TV. I really enjoyed walking around the imposing monument alone in the rain. I was awestruck by it’s beauty in quite contemplation.

The recreated trenches made out of concrete (instead of sand) at The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
A new sign showing “Dead End” in the tunnels of the The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France. I felt the sign was very apropos for the purpose of the tunnels and the troops waiting for battle inside.
The trenches had names of local area that were familiar to the soldiers so they didn’t get lost on making there way around the battle field at The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
Artillery shells created a bumpy landscape at The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.

50 Year Anniversary of “The Maple Leaf”

The largest collection of Canada Flags I have seen. Yes even more then the previous Canada Day.
2010 Olympic Hockey Gold. The largest collection of Canada Flags “The Maple Leaf” I have seen. Yes even more then the previous Canada Day (2009). Since the Olympics I have seen more love of our maple leaf.

For a nation that is still quite young in many respects it certainly has had a large number of flags flown over it’s soil. Although I don’t know one that suits it more then our Maple Leaf, Happy 50th Birthday.