Scotiabank has launched a campaign called Let the Savings Begin to encourage Canadians to save more. The bank says its market research found that saving an additional $1,500 would improve the financial well-being of 72 percent of Canadians and it has designed a campaign to do just that. It’s not just empty words — the Bank is offering a nice bonus for clients who participate in the campaign.
If you are already have an eligible Scotiabank chequing account, the Let the Savings Begin campaign allows you to earn a bonus of 10% on savings that you accumulate over a 16 month period between July 5, 2010 and October 31, 2011. The maximum bonus amount is $150. The savings should me made through a combination of at least two of the following:
- Bank the Rest program that automatically rounds up every purchase made using a Scotia debit card to the next multiple of $1 or $5 and the sweeps the difference between the purchase total and the round up amount to a Scotia Money Master Savings Account.
- Scotia Momentum Visa card that earns a 2% cash back on eligible gas, grocery and drug store purchases and a 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
- A new or additional automatic transfer of at least $50 into a savings or investment account.
If I were a Scotia customer, the easiest way to earn the $150 bonus would be to sign up for a pre-authorized contribution (PAC) deposited into the Money Master account, which normally pays a pitiful 0.15% interest on balances below $5,000 and one of the other programs. The actual PAC amount would depend on the estimated savings from the other program. You can find the terms and conditions of the savings bonus here.
