How mistake-proof is the process for receiving a Tangerine email money transfer?

Question

I want to send about $500 to a local charity.

Some electronic-payment options include Vogogo (fee: usually $1.75), PayPal (fee: about 2%), or Interac e-Transfer (your bank sets the fee: between $0 and $1.50).

Another option: I have a checking account with Tangerine (formerly ING Direct Canada). They let me send no-fee "Tangerine email money transfers".

The problem is that the charity isn't so well-organized. If their receptionist enters their banking information incorrectly, the money will go to the wrong recipient. How mistake-proof is the process for receiving one of these Tangerine transfers?

Answer 1

I sent myself an Tangerine email money transfer. They sent me an email which took me to a website.

After I entered the secret answer, they asked me for the destination bank account's details. They asked me to enter the transit number once, the institution number once, and the account number twice. They also showed a bold warning message: "Please ensure that the details of your Canadian Bank Account (account number and bank information) are entered correctly." Asking for the account number twice isn't a perfect safeguard, but it's better than nothing.

In some countries, bank account numbers include a "check digit" for typo prevention, but I was unable to find any evidence online that this is true in Canada.

Tangerine's system isn't 100% mistake-proof, but it's good enough that I think I'm going to use it.

Answer 2

I can't speak to Tangerine's system specifically, but I have used similar systems through Bank of America and Chase (both US-based).

It sounds like my experience in terms of identity verification were very similar, and I now use this to pay several contractors on a regular basis. No problems so far.