Inside Montreal, journalist Louis-Philippe Messier travels mainly on the run, his office in his backpack, on the lookout for fascinating subjects and people. He speaks to everyone and is interested in all walks of life in this urban chronicle.
The Chillionnaires, whose members live and do business under one roof, finally realize an old dream: a bank has finally granted them a joint account for seven people.
Following my column regarding their “communo-capitalist” company which appeared in The newspaperthe Chillionnaires tell me that they are suddenly being taken more seriously, they who for more than 10 years have been struggling with distrust and skepticism.
“It’s like becoming valid in people’s minds, our model, from the moment when media coverage allowed us to explain ourselves and answer questions in interviews,” Jack Blouin, the president, told me.
“Before, we were seen as young people chilling, but now people say to themselves: “Wait a minute! It’s really not stupid, their way of doing things!” »
Stronger than a couple
“The National Bank had already told us no for the seven-member account, as well as other financial institutions,” says Guillaume Carpentier, the group’s accounting manager.
“No doubt they have problems with joint accounts when couples break up… but between the seven of us as partners, we will be much stronger than many couples!” »
Since everyone will draw from the same account, Mr. Carpentier will no longer have to transfer amounts from one account to another all the time to equalize expenses.
All for one
The joint account will certainly be used for collective expenses, but also for all individual expenses, including credit card balances and repayments of loans and bursaries.
“Once you’re in the group, the group covers your expenses, including student debt,” says Mr. Carpentier.
“I’ve never seen a seven-person account in 40 years of economic journalism,” Stéphane Desjardins, who writes in the Argent section of the Journal.
“It’s crazy, but it’s encouraging and it shows that banks are becoming more and more flexible under the pressure of new financial technologies. »
