Supporting the needs of our senior clients

Keeping your banking simple is important to us. To make your banking easier we offer:

• Multi-language customer service in English, Mandarin and Cantonese
• Access to our online and mobile banking services and information

Find out more about programs and services for seniors from the Government of Canada.

Our Commitment to the Delivery of Banking Services to Seniors Report 2024

Wealth One Bank of Canada is committed to supporting the unique needs of our clients ages 60 and over. We recognize that Canadians are living longer, which can bring health, mobility, or cognitive changes that may impact their ability to bank.

As a member of the Canadian Banker’s Association (CBA), we have adopted the Voluntary Code of Conduct for the Delivery of Banking Services to Seniors (the Code). The Code recognizes that seniors are a diverse group and while not all seniors will be affected by the same issues, certain issues may affect a higher proportion of seniors than individuals in other age groups. The principles of the Code were established to help guide banks in their delivery of banking products and services to Canada's Seniors.

At WealthONE, we fully support the intent behind the Code and we have implemented the necessary steps to meet the Code’s Principles. We have appointed a Seniors’ Champion, who holds accountability for improving the banking experience for Seniors.

We have incorporated the seven principles of the Seniors Code into our regulatory compliance management framework which results in regular reviews and updates of our policies and procedures.

• Providing ongoing relevant training to our employees on issues affecting Seniors.
• Enhancing how we respond in circumstances where Seniors may need additional assistance with their banking activities.
• Improving our ability to identify and escalate incidents of suspected financial abuse or fraud against Seniors.

Providing quiet, accessible, and private spaces for confidential conversations in our office .  We believe everyone, including our Senior customers, should have equal access to important information about their finances and their relationship with us. To address Seniors’ unique needs, we are pleased to provide multi-language customer service in English, Mandarin or Cantonese to help explain our services and related materials.

Our “Support for Seniors” webpage is dedicated to Seniors and provides valuable information, resources, and tools such as:

• Programs and Services from the Government of Canada, including Fraud reporting and understanding Powers of Attorney and Joint Bank Accounts.
• Access and information on our online and mobile banking services, including online security.
• In-Office accessibility.

The code further underlines the importance of the focus our employees already have when providing seniors with the financial advice and services they need to enjoy the lifestyle they have worked so hard to achieve. To further support our staff, we have designed a dedicated Seniors Training Program.

Key areas of our training program focus on:

• Elder Abuse – including vulnerability factors, fraud, scams, and perpetrators
• Warning Signs
• Communicating with Seniors – including communication strategies and escalating concerns

WealthONE Seniors’ Champion

Our frontline employees also have a specialized support team to assist them deliver bank products and services to our Senior customers. WealthONE’s Seniors’ Champion acts as an additional layer of support if additional information about Seniors’ related topics is needed. The Seniors’ Champion also acts as a subject matter expert for complaint escalations to ensure that the spirit of the code is being applied in all our responses.

Prevention, Detection and Mitigation of Financial Harm

Given the rise in scams targeting Seniors, our procedures include:

• Robust ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) and customer due diligence processes
• Employee training focused on Senior vulnerability factors, signs of financial abuse, POA abuse, anti-money laundering (AML), and ongoing market scans of potential financial threats, frauds, and scams
• Streamlined and centralized processes to act swiftly when a fraud or suspected fraud has occurred against one or more of our Senior customers
• Ongoing monitoring of Senior customers’ activity, transactions, and reassessing customer transaction risks

Principles:

1. Establish and implement appropriate policies, procedures, and processes to support the Code.

We have developed and maintain the Seniors Code Policy that contains the relevant policies and procedures to support the Code and its Principles. 

WealthONE has incorporated the Delivery of Banking Services to Seniors requirements into its Regulatory Compliance Management framework.

2. Communicate effectively with seniors.

We endeavour to make communicating with us as easy as possible. One of the ways we do this is by offering multilanguage customer service in English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

Clients may also consider having the name of a Trusted Contact Person (TCP) on file with us with which, in limited circumstances, we may contact.

What is a Trusted Contact Person (TCP)?

A Trusted Contact Person is someone you authorize us to contact in limited circumstances. It allows us to know who you trust and who we have permission to contact when we are concerned about your wellbeing under specific situations.  This could include:

• If we need to get in touch with you but can’t.
• If we have a concern you are vulnerable and being financially exploited.
• If we need confirmation of your legal representative(s).

For example, we may contact your TCP when we simply can’t reach you because you have taken an extended vacation and forgot to inform us. Or, in a more complex situation, we may contact your TCP to ensure the validity of a request that is out of character if we believe you are vulnerable and being financially exploited.

What can my Trusted Contact Person do?

A Trusted Contact Person can help safeguard your financial assets, but they:

• cannot authorize transactions on your behalf.
• cannot make decisions on your behalf.
• will not be given access to your detailed account information.

You appoint a TCP to act solely as an additional resource to help us help you make decisions about protecting your account. You can specifically outline when your TCP should be involved. 

Who should be a Trusted Contact Person?

A Trusted Contact Person should be someone you trust and someone who is mature and can handle difficult conversations about your personal situation. Consider choosing someone who:

• will protect your interests.
• will be comfortable talking to us.
• knows you well enough to notice changes in your personal situation.
• is familiar with your support network.
• agrees to take on the role.
• is typically not involved in decisions about your finances, and preferably, is not your power of attorney.

How is TCP different from a Power of Attorney (PoA)?

A TCP can’t make financial decisions on behalf of you, meaning they can’t initiate or authorize transactions on your behalf. Nor can they make account changes in any form or be given access to accounts and account information.

A PoA can do anything that you (the grantor) could do unless constrained in the power of attorney document and by provincial and territorial law. They may have the ability to authorize the purchase and sale of securities in an investment account.

Each provincial jurisdiction in Canada has legislation governing the powers of attorney, and the rules vary by province. Typically, the duty to act arises when the PoA has accepted the appointment or has acted in a manner consistent with the appointment. In some cases, the power of attorney document will specify a date or an event that triggers the appointment. An example of an event would be a capacity assessment by medical professionals confirming that you (the grantor) are incapable of managing your financial affairs.

Overall, the PoA must act in accordance with a fiduciary standard and abide by the terms and conditions of the power of attorney document. These duties include but are not limited to the following:

• acting in the best interests of you
• exercising reasonable care and skill in conducting your affairs
• keeping records of all transactions and accounting for your affairs
• ceasing to exercise their authority and duties if the power of attorney is revoked

• make a will on your behalf
• change an existing will
• change the designated beneficiaries of any registered accounts (RRSP, RRIF, TFSA) or life insurance policies
• grant a new power of attorney to someone else
• provide gifts, unless allowed per the power of attorney document and authorized in specific jurisdictions, and the gift doesn’t impoverish you
• co-mingle your assets with their own assets (except for property that is registered jointly)

As with a TCP, you can specify more than one PoA, and there can be PoAs for specific assets.

3. Provide appropriate training to our employees and representatives who serve seniors.

Regular and appropriate training focused on the delivery of banking services to seniors is provided to our staff and representatives.

Our employees continued to receive Code of Conduct for the Delivery of Banking Services to Seniors related training. The training includes:

• An overview of the 7 Principles of the Code
• Mitigating Potential Financial Harm
• CBA’s Commitment on POA and Joint Deposit Accounts
• Complaint Handling
• Protecting Seniors’ Privacy
• Internal and External resources for employees to help Seniors.

4. Make appropriate resources available to our client-facing employees and representatives to help them understand matters relevant to seniors’ banking needs.

Through training and direct communication, we have made our employees and representatives aware of and access to the necessary internal and external resources to help them in delivering banking services to seniors. This information is consolidated in an easily accessible location available to all employees. If our employees have questions, they can reach out to WealthONE’s Seniors’ Champion or any member of our Compliance Team.

Further, we provide client-facing materials available on our website, including information on powers of attorney and joint deposit accounts.

5. Endeavor to mitigate potential financial harm to seniors.

We continue to train and provide resources to our employees and representatives to be able to identify and mitigate possible financial harm to a senior due to financial abuse, fraud or scams. This training includes ways to respect clients’ privacy, and security and autonomy.

6. Take into account market demographics and the needs of seniors when proceeding with branch closures.

Though WealthONE does not have branches, we continue to take into account seniors’ needs when providing our services.

7. Publicly disclose the steps we have taken to support the principles set out in the Code.

We have provided this report to the public on our “Support for Seniors” webpage.