We would like to share some exciting news about Home Capital, the parent company of Oaken Financial. Home Capital has reached an agreement to be acquired by Smith Financial, a company backed by one of Canada’s leading investors in the financial services industry.

The most important thing to know is that it is business as usual for you and all our Oaken customers. This news will have no impact on the quality products and services you have with Oaken, or how you do business with us. Our parent company, Home Capital, is thrilled about the prospect of partnering with Smith Financial, a company known for providing innovative financial products and services that meet the needs of a diverse range of Canadians. It marks an exciting milestone in the evolution of our company and acknowledges the value that we offer those that work with us. The acquisition of Home Capital by Smith Financial is expected to be completed in the next 6 – 12 months.

At Oaken, we will remain focused on providing you with market-leading solutions to meet your needs and the exceptional service you have come to expect from us.

We look forward to continuing to serve you and we thank you for your trust and confidence in us.

We are pleased to announce the following updates that are effective from July 11th, 2022:

• Vancouver Oaken store will be open for walk-ins and will continue to take appointments 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday.
• Toronto Oaken store will reopen to 5 days a week on an appointment-only basis from 9 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday.

We look forward to seeing all of you in our stores soon!

Thank you for your continued business.

We are excited to announce on April 11th, 2022 that our Calgary and Vancouver stores will reopen to 5 days a week. We will be operating on an appointment-only basis from the hours of 10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday. We look forward to seeing all of you in our stores soon!

If you are feeling unwell or have symptoms including a fever, cough, or shortness of breath on the day of your appointment, we kindly ask that you contact us to reschedule your appointment.

Thank you for your continued business.

In keeping with recent public health guidance, Oaken Financial stores will operate on a reduced schedule until further notice. We will continue to serve our customers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but will be closed to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We regret that this measure was necessary, but we remain committed to offering our customers the best service and support possible while prioritizing safety. The Contact Centre remains available and our customers can continue to use Digital Banking or the Oaken Digital App, specifically for iOS and Android to manage their accounts. If you need assistance, you can speak with an Oaken service representative by calling 1-855-OAKEN-22 (1-855-625-3622) Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 8:00pm EST and Saturday 9:00am – 5:00pm EST.

We sincerely appreciate your business and look forward to returning to our regular hours.

Please note that our stores and Contact Centre will be closed on September 30th, 2021 in observation of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. However, our Oaken Online Banking remains available 24/7.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch. We can be reached at 1-855-OAKEN-22 (625-3622) from Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 10:00pm and Saturday 9:00am – 5:00pm ET, or by sending an email to service@oaken.com.

At Oaken, we’re committed to ensuring the health and safety of our customers and employees. We also understand that as a community, we must work together during these challenging times and do everything possible to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

That’s why effective the close of business Monday, March 16, we will temporarily close our Oaken stores until further notice.

The Oaken team remains committed to delivering service and support to our customers. Our Contact Centre and mailroom are open and our Online Banking remains available so you can continue to manage your accounts online. If you need assistance, you can speak with an Oaken service representative by calling 1-855-OAKEN-22 (1-855-625-3622) Monday to Friday from 8:00AM to 8:00PM.

We sincerely value your business and look forward to serving you in person again when the Oaken stores re-open.

Oaken continues to operate on a “business as usual” basis and we’ve implemented several new actions to safeguard our customers and employees. We understand that these specific steps must be taken to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus while ensuring that we can continue to meet the needs of our customers.

Protecting our people and our customers

The health and safety of our customers and employees is a top priority. Based on the latest information from the Government of Canada, the risk for the general population remains low, but the possibility remains that the situation could change rapidly.

Reducing public exposure is one of the Government’s prime recommendations to help minimize the potential for spreading the COVID-19 virus. In keeping with this guideline, we encourage you to use Oaken’s Online Banking to manage your Oaken account. As well, Oaken representatives are available Monday to Friday, from 8:00AM to 8:00PM ET by calling 1-855-OAKEN-22 (625-3622) to assist you.

Ensuring Oaken’s business continuity

We’re confident that the infrastructure we have in place and the steps we’ve taken are appropriate and will help protect the health of our customers and employees. We thank you for your understanding and as we continue to monitor the situation, we’ll provide further updates as required.

Thank you for your continued business.

We are currently experiencing longer than normal wait times on our phone lines. In order to serve you better, we recommend that you send your questions or comments to our message centre through Oaken Online Banking.

Simply sign into Online Banking and use the secure Message Management Centre to forward your message. We will respond to all messages as soon as we can and you will receive an email notification once we have replied to your request. Once you receive this alert, log into Online Banking to read the full message.

If you are not enrolled for Online Banking, please click here to get started.

Thank you for your patience.

On March 25, 2020, the federal government introduced a change to the Registered Income Fund (RIF) withdrawal rules to ease the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With this change, you now have the option to reduce the minimum annual amount you are required to withdraw from your RIF by up to 25%.

This reduction is intended to help those who have seen their RIF balances impacted by the ongoing crisis. Because this is a temporary measure, it is only available for the 2020 tax year.

To take advantage of this legislated change for your Oaken RIF, you must provide Oaken with a signed letter of direction. This letter must include clear instructions for Oaken to proceed with the change and you must also specify the percentage by which you wish the minimum annual withdrawal to be reduced, to a maximum reduction of 25%.

Note that in order to qualify, you must meet the following conditions:

• You must not have already withdrawn the full 2020 minimum amount at the time you request the reduced withdrawal amount.

• If you have selected an Annual withdrawal frequency you must not have received payment at the time of your request.

• If your RIF withdrawal is set up as Monthly, Quarterly, or Semi-Annual, you must still have remaining payments at the time of your request

We’re pleased to announce that our Oaken stores are now open to serve our customers in person. Please note that for now, we are operating under reduced hours and our Vancouver and Calgary stores are open for appointments only, while our Toronto office is open for both walk-ins and appointments.

Here’s what you can expect when you visit an Oaken Store:

- An enhanced cleaning protocol has been implemented to sanitize hard surfaces after each client visit
- Plexi-glass dividers have been installed at all reception desks
- All Oaken team members will be wearing masks
- Oaken customers are required to wear masks while in the store
- If you feel unwell or have symptoms including a fever, cough, or shortness of breath, we respectfully ask that you do not visit an Oaken store until you’re feeling better

Please note that when you arrive, an Oaken team member will ask you a few questions before escorting you into the store. These questions will include:

• Have you had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19?
• Have you recently experienced any of the following symptoms?       
• fever, cough, or shortness of breath       
• sore throat, nasal congestion, or difficulty swallowing       
• loss of sense of smell, chills, headaches, or unexplained fatigue       
• diarrhea, abdominal pain, or nausea
• Have you or anyone in your household had close contact with anyone exhibiting these symptoms?
• Are you taking any medication that might suppress any of these symptoms?
• Have you or anyone in your household travelled outside Canada in the last 14 days?
• Have you or anyone in your household attended a large gathering of 50 or more people indoors, or 100 or more people outdoors, in the last 14 days where physical distancing was not observed?

In light of the recent changes to the provincial government guidelines and to help ensure the safety of our customers and staff, the Toronto Oaken store will be closed until further notice. The Oaken team remains committed to delivering service and support to our customers. Our Contact Centre is open and our Online Banking remains available so you can continue to manage your accounts online. If you need assistance, you can speak with an Oaken service representative by calling 1-855-OAKEN-22 (1-855-625-3622) Monday to Friday from 8:00AM to 8:00PM.

We sincerely value your business and look forward to serving you in person again when the Oaken stores re-open.