“With a booklet, it’s easier, you see right away where you are in your finances,” says Pierrette Goyette, met Wednesday a few steps from a branch of Desjardins, in Montreal. Like thousands of other people, the 91-year-old lady will have to change her habits next fall, when the financial institution’s cashbooks disappear.
Some have never known bank books. Others have used them all their lives. And for the latter, the announcement on Wednesday of the upcoming end of Desjardins Group cash books – after 120 years of existence – is a blow.
The deadline has been set for November 19. From that moment, people who were still using the bank book will no longer be able to do so, confirmed the spokesperson for the financial institution, Jean-Benoît Turcotti.
The decision was made after the supplier of the booklets informed Desjardins Group that it would cease production. There was a choice to be made. “You had to either find a new supplier or stop [using] the passbooks,” Turcotti explains over the phone. Faced with the decreasing number of people who used them, we decided to put an end to it. »
Already, since 2021, it was no longer possible to obtain a bankbook when opening a new account with Desjardins.
We went to meet them on Wednesday afternoon, in two branches in the metropolis.
On the eve of June 1, it was time to pay his bills. Or simply to check their account balance. One thing is certain, people come and go to the Caisse Desjardins du Cœur-de-l’Île, located at the corner of rue Bélanger and avenue Christophe-Colomb, in Montreal.
“I’m comfortable with the bankbook, because I suck at everything related to parallel solutions”, confides Gilles Poulin, met on site. This 78-year-old man was unaware that his booklet would no longer be usable next fall.
A little further on, a septuagenarian uses the ATM. Every day, she comes to update her cash book, she says. This is his way of keeping track of his finances. “I’m a bit of a spendthrift,” the lady points out. I would like it to continue [the cash book]. Because the account statement is just once a month. »
Another client of the Caisse du Cœur-de-l’Île is indignant at the decision of the Mouvement Desjardins. “That’s penny-pinching savings!” “, she denounces before leaving the premises.
At the Caisse Populaire in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, rue Ontario, Pierrette Goyette is already trying to imagine her life without her cash book. According to her, there are too many papers in the account statements. Difficult to navigate, says the nonagenarian.
“It is a lack of sensitivity towards our senior citizens. It is a clientele that has been there for a very long time, which is very loyal, ”denounces Pierre Lynch, president of the Quebec Association for the Defense of the Rights of Retired and Pre-Retired Persons (AQDR).
Desjardins spokesperson Turcotti says the Movement is aware that this decision will lead to “habit changes”.
Letters will be sent to affected customers in the coming weeks, he said. For members who need more support, help at the Caisses populaires will be offered.
“Our employees at the Caisse will be able to explain to customers [their options], says Mr. Turcotti. They will be able to have their support at ATMs. »
Receipts printed at ATMs will continue to provide account balance and latest transactions, for example, he adds.
Customers will also be able to receive their paper transaction statements by mail on a monthly basis. In addition, a third of passbook users already use Desjardins’ AccèsD online services, reports Mr. Turcotti.
“In all the technological changes putting an end to paper documents, companies must respect the rhythm of their customers”, reacted by email the network of organizations for seniors FADOQ.
According to Mr. Lynch, Desjardins must ensure that the members affected by this decision are well supported: “They have to find a way to reassure them, and to inform them of the specific reason why [they are terminating the booklets]. . »
Royal Bank of Canada stopped using passbooks several years ago, opting for “greener digital options,” regional communications manager Jessica Assaf said in an email. At Scotiabank, the passbooks disappeared in March 2021, confirmed the director of communications, Mathieu Beaudoin. The booklets are still available at the Bank of Montreal, according to Marie-Catherine Noël, director of communications. The other banks contacted by La Presse were unable to provide the information on Wednesday.
For decades, Quebecers tracked their savings in Desjardins passbooks. Produced for 120 years, passbooks have evolved with the financial institution. Here is a review of their history.
The Desjardins cash book existed even before the First World War. The very first credit union was founded in Lévis in 1906 by Alphonse Desjardins. Dates, deposits, withdrawals, balances: the information contained in the cashbooks has changed little over time. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was written by hand.
This notebook from 1928 is similar to the one dating from 1911. The name of the person to whom it belongs is still written on the cover.
The form seems to change little during the following decade.
In the 1950s, the booklet was still referred to as the “member’s booklet”. Some booklets come with an envelope in which it can be slipped, to protect it. Others have a hard cover.
The booklets are still not uniform until the 1960s. It is in this decade that the horizontal format appears, rather than vertical.
The booklets are standardized and become more colorful. In 1982, Desjardins tested its first ATM in Trois-Rivières.
Green and white, colors associated with the financial institution until today, appear.
