Banks, insurers shy away from former grow ops + MORE Jun 30th

The surprise bid to keep Greece’s lifelines open from the European Union came as Greece’s banks remained closed for the second day, with ATM withdrawals limited to €60.

What looks like a credit card, works like a credit card, but doesn’t charge interest or require monthly payments? Prepaid credit cards, which carry a pre-determined, reloadable balance, are one of the fastest growing product markets, and Canada’s big banks are keenly interested in getting them in your wallet. Here’s why, and some warnings for consumers who use them.
What’s The Difference?
As the name suggests, rather than getting a monthly statement balance owning, these are credit cards that you pay for in advance, with either a one-time (non-reloadable) balance deposit, or with a reloadable card – which the banks refer to as an“open loop prepaid card” – that you can continually top up the balance on. Other than the method of payment, you use them as you would a regular credit card at any of the same online or bricks-and-mortar retailers you normally shop at.
A Growing Market
A survey conducted for the newly formed industry association the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO), found that only 29 per cent of Canadians have used a prepaid card, compared to about 60 per cent of Americans…

TORONTO – At first glance, the mid-century, three-level Winnipeg home was everything that Sarah Fehr and her fiancee had been looking for.
It was located in the right neighbourhood, had a double garage and the backyard was spacious enough for the couple’s two pugs to frolic in.
Perhaps most importantly, it was reasonably priced.
However, a quick Google search revealed the home’s shadowy past: it had been busted several years earlier for housing a marijuana grow operation.
While former grow ops may seem like a good deal to some buyers, experts caution that banks and insurers are increasingly shying away from these properties — even after all of the necessary remediation has been done.
“It’s always been strict, but it was a lot looser four or five years ago,” says Jeff Mark, co-founder of broker Spin Mortgage, adding that only credit unions and subprime lenders are willing to finance these homes, often at higher rates than those offered by the banks.
Running a grow-op in a residential home can cause extensive damage that may be pricey to remedy…

What looks like a credit card, works like a credit card, but doesn’t charge interest or require monthly payments? Prepaid credit cards, which carry a pre-determined, reloadable balance, are one of the fastest growing product markets, and Canada’s big banks are keenly interested in getting them in your wallet. Here’s why, and some warnings for consumers who use them.
What’s The Difference?
As the name suggests, rather than getting a monthly statement balance owning, these are credit cards that you pay for in advance, with either a one-time (non-reloadable) balance deposit, or with a reloadable card – which the banks refer to as an“open loop prepaid card” – that you can continually top up the balance on. Other than the method of payment, you use them as you would a regular credit card at any of the same online or bricks-and-mortar retailers you normally shop at.
A Growing Market
A survey conducted for the newly formed industry association the Canadian Prepaid Providers Organization (CPPO), found that only 29 per cent of Canadians have used a prepaid card, compared to about 60 per cent of Americans…

(Illustration by Sebastien Thibault)
The Conservatives are expected to table a new consumer protection code governing banks in the coming months, but don’t expect the campaign-friendly bill to improve your bottom line. While intended to empower banking customers navigating the financial services industry, pundits say the “Comprehensive Financial Consumer Code” falls flat because it does little to protect Canadians from being nickel-and-dimed at every turn.
“If people think this code will in any way limit what they pay to their banks, they’re dreaming,” says John Lawford, executive director and general counsel at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre.
Instead, the code will only feature standardized fee disclosure boxes on bank statements, loosened ID requirements on new accounts, mandatory cooling-off periods on a greater range of products, and a crackdown on misleading advertising.
As is now the case with Canada’s telecom providers, Lawford would have preferred to see the banks prevented from charging paper-bill fees—not to mention more egregious pay-to-pay tactics, such as charging customers $1 to $2  to make mortgage, loan and credit card payments…