Simplii Financial Money Transfer Review

Exchange rates, Payment methods, How to, Transfer fees and much more

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Simplii Review

Are you looking to send an international money transfer from Canada? If so, you may want to consider Simplii Financial Global Money Transfer. From one of the top online banks in Canada, this is a fairly popular option for sending money to friends or family overseas.

Firstly, what is Simplii Financial? It’s a Canadian bank that operates completely online. It offers services through its website and app with no fees or minimum balance. It’s an easy way to bank and benefits from its association with CIBC, a leading bank.

In 2019, it launched its Simplii Financial Global Money Transfer service. This international money transfer option reaches a network of over 75 countries globally.

Payment Methods Available With Simplii Financial Money Transfer

If you have a Simplii Financial account, you may send money abroad with the following accounts or lines of credit:

  • No Fee Chequing Account
  • Personal Line of Credit
  • Secured Line of Credit
How Much I Can Transfer With Simplii Financial Money Transfer?

Simplii Global Money Transfer requires a transfer to be at minimum of 100 CAD. You can send a maximum of $30,000 CAD in a 24 hour timeframe. Do note that there may be a limit in your recipient’s country on how much they can receive. In particular, China has a limit of CAD $6,000. For Indonesia and Vietnam the transfer limit is CAD $5,000 per transfer.

Simplii does not cap how many transfers you can do in a day, so send as many as you like.

Simplii Financial Money Transfer Fees

Simplii Financial boasts that its global money transfer allows clients to “send money internationally with no transfer fees”. But is this accurate?

In fact, there is no fee for sending a transfer through this service once you have an eligible Simplii bank account. Simplii is able to offer this as it makes money in another way, i.e. by charging a margin on the exchange rate it offers. In some cases there is also a fee charged by the recipient’s bank for receiving the transfer.

Pros And Cons Of Using Simplii Financial Money Transfer

Pros

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    No fees for online banking

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    Tracking transfers through online banking and app

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    Ability to do all your banking and money transfers in same place

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    Large number of countries covered

  • Cons

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    Customer service can have its issues

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    Must have a Simplii Financial bank account to send

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    No physical branches

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    Exchange rates are not transparent

  • How Does Simplii Financial Money Transfer Work?

    Here's a breakdown of how it works:

    1. Start by logging into your online banking. You can do this through the Simplii website or using the Simplii mobile app. You’ll need your card number and password.
    2. Enter the following information for the recipient:
      • Name and address
      • Bank account number
      • SWIFT, IFSC or IBAN code (which can be found on the CIBC Swift website: CIBC Swift Code)
      Enter the details and confirm the amount you want to send.
    3. You can track the transfer’s status using either the Simplii Financial app or online banking. During this time the transfer status will be “pending”. It takes 1 to 3 business days to arrive in the recipient’s account.

    Other Money Transfer Providers

    Simplii Financial Money Transfer Exchange Rates

    Simplii’s international money transfer exchange rates are not published, but it is known that the bank does not use the real exchange rate.

    The real exchange rate is also called the mid-market rate. It is the rate used by banks globally among themselves for large transactions. You may see it quoted when you search for today’s exchange rate in a search engine. However, when banks like Simplii exchange money for you, they do not use this rate.

    How Does Simplii Financial Money Transfer Make Money?
    Simplii is able to offer a no-fee international money transfer by charging you a margin on the exchange rate. The exact amount of the exchange rate and margin is not clear until you actually make a transfer.
    Platforms Where Simplii Financial Money Transfer Is Available
    As an online-only bank, you would expect Simplii Financial to have a robust set of technology tools. It has an app for both Android and IOS users. On Google Play the app is rated 4 out of 5 stars, and the App Store version has a lower 2.8 out of 5 score. For Apple users, it is available on the iPad and Apple Watch as well.
    Is Simplii Financial Money Transfer Secure?

    Simplii takes security seriously, although it has had a major security breach in 2018 when hackers were able to access some accounts’ information. This is probably the reason why it now has a high standard of encryption for access to the service.

    In practice, this means that your confidential information and data is scrambled when connecting to the bank's server. This way no outside parties can decipher it. Simplii also makes it mandatory for your browser to use 128-bit encryption. This is the highest level available. In addition to all of this, Simplii has a Digital Banking Guarantee, so if you are a victim of fraud you can get your money back.

    What Countries Does Simplii Financial Money Transfer Allow You To Transfer Money To?

    Simplii Global Money Transfer covers many countries and currencies around the globe. This is no doubt because it is a part of the CIBC banking network. The full list of countries is over 90. Among the most popular are Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Jamaica, Pakistan, the Philippines, the U.K. and the U.S..
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    Simplii Financial Money Transfer Customer Reviews
    Reviewers tend to highlight customer service as an area that should be improved. Some clients have complained that their accounts were locked for a period. They also had issues with the accounts being locked until Simplii could complete their verification process.
    How To Contact Simplii Financial?

    You can contact Simplii Financial in several ways.

    Telephone 1-888-723-8881

    Email:

    [email protected]

    Chat:

    You can chat with a live agent on www.simplii.com

    If you already have an account, sign in to chat securely. Online chat is available Monday to Friday from 7 am to 12 am ET and on Saturdays, Sunday and holidays from 9 am to 6 pm ET.

    By Post:

    Although Simplii has no physical branches, you can mail to Simplii Financial, P.O. Box 603, Stn. Agincourt, Scarborough, ON M1S 5K9

    Alternatives To Simplii Financial Money Transfers

    Other banks

    Online banks offer a more modern way of sending. Their costs are low since they have no branches to maintain. However, their service is conducted entirely online. This may not be the best option for you if you prefer the security of having a branch to go into if something goes wrong. However, if you are tech savvy and need just basic banking, an online bank like Tangerine or Simplii Financial could be a good choice.
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    Online banks

    Online banks are easy to use if you are tech savvy and save time and hassle. In addition to Simplii, other Canadian online banks include Tangerine and EQ Bank.
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    Traditional Money Transfer Providers

    You have probably seen traditional money transfer companies in your local neighborhood before. These include MoneyGram, Ria, and Western Union. They are often in convenient locations and it’s likely that your recipient has one near them as well. However, their fees and exchange rates make this an expensive option.

    The below options are online money transfer services. They operate completely online, so their costs are often lower.
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    WorldRemit

    WorldRemit does not use the mid-market exchange rate. However, it has more pickup options than Simplii.

    These include bank transfer, cash pickups, mobile money.
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    Remitbee

    Remitbee is well reviewed and has competitive exchange rates. Unlike Simplii, you will know what the rate is before you send. For most destinations, receivers can get money with Remitly through a bank deposit. Additionally, in some countries, cash pickup and delivery are available. It covers a large number of countries and currencies and is available for senders across Canada.
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    Remitly

    Another online money transfer alternative to Simplii Financial is Remitly. Its website and app are user friendly and have high ratings. A large network of banks means that there’s a good chance your receiver will be able to use Remitly as an option. Even if they do not have a bank account, they can use one of Remitly’s other pickup options, including home delivery.
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    Frequently Asked Questions About Simplii Financial Money Transfer
    You can transfer a minimum of CAD $100 and a maximum of CAD $30,000 each day.
    No, but you can transfer from a Simplii line of credit. You can also use your Simplii bank account.
    Once you have given instructions and confirmed you cannot cancel the transfer.
    There are no fees for a Simplii Global Money Transfer. There may be a fee taken by the recipient’s bank. The exchange rate will be shown when you complete the transfer.
    In some cases as quickly as one business day, and in most cases in a maximum of 3 business days.
    History Of Simplii Financial

    Simplii Financial started in 2017. Although this seems like a short time to have been in operation, it actually isn’t that new.

    Simplii is owned by the bank CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce). CIBC and Loblaws were partners previously. As part of their partnership, Loblaws operated an online bank called PC Financial. PC Financial, or President’s Choice, was founded in 1996 as a low cost banking option. As with Simplii today, the customers of PC Financial could use CIBC ATMs at no charge.

    When these two partners split, CIBC took control of the bank and rebranded it as Simplii Financial.

    Other Services Simplii Financial Offers
    • No-fee online foreign cash delivery service
    • Mortgages
    • Joint accounts
    • Credit card once you have built a credit history
    • Student account

    It does not offer small business or other accounts, but is primarily geared towards individuals who need simple banking services.

    How To Open An Account With Simplii Financial

    You may be surprised to hear that Simplii is actually rated as one of the top banks for new immigrants to Canada. It is also rated a top Canadian bank by Forbes magazine. Since CIBC owns Simplii, you get the benefit of having free access to CIBC ATMs. It also frequently has offers for new signups, such as a bonus for signing up for a new chequing account. If you choose to sign up for a savings account, you will have access to a high rate of interest on your money.

    For international students there is a special International Student GIC Program offered by Simplii. It helps students in the Student Direct Stream (SDS) get their study permit. The account also has no fees and you can apply for it before you arrive in Canada.

    The two ways to sign up are either by calling or applying online. If you choose Simplii remember you will need to be able to understand how to do all your transactions online. There is a large help section on the bank’s website to make this easier. The bank’s services are also not available in Quebec.

    So What Is Simplii Financial Money Transfer In A Nutshell?
    Simplii Financial is definitely convenient for customers who don’t mind a 100 percent-online bank. However, this must be balanced with the customer service issues, which may make it difficult if you run into problems with your transfer. To read more about your transfer options, check out the Remitbee Blog.
    Try Remitbee today and get a 15$ bonus for your first transfer!
    Best exchange rates, one-day delivery, free transfers over 500$ and amazing customer support! Too good to be true? How about a sweet 15$ bonus towards your first transfer? Just give us a shot!