snoopdawg

Sorry, you sound frustrated. Given you will be a valued customer- unless your manager is really stupid- you could try quoting me! I would! I can PM you our branch if he/she wants to check. It seems very short sighted and against Scotia's own promotions
http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,2468,00.html- if you look under foreign workers- at the very bottom of the page you can click on "read more". It suggests a minimum loan to value ratio of 50% going up to 95% for a residential mortgage.

Credit card- I asked for a doubling of credit whilst still on a TWP ( may be 2 years after arrival)- couldn't be done on line but via branch had no problems. It was a real pain for a while .

mandymoochops

Maybe inefficient is the wrong word for this situation, maybe just stringent criteria and that particular branch aren't as flexible. It certainly helps to be on good terms with the manager though even with their recommendation, the ultimate decision to give you a mortgage is with the banks lending department.

I have no idea how long it takes to become 'established' credit wise - though what does seem apparent is that there are no hard and fast rules regarding mortgages or credit cards in Canada. If you get what you want - you are lucky, if not - oh well thats the criteria!

The4BellsLondon

Have been with HSBC since we got here and haven't had an issue with them , maybe because we came as Premier from UK?

5k Credit card straight off and a mortgage within 3 months when only on TWP .. I think we only out 20 PC down too but I can't really remember.

HSBC has a big presence in Van, so no issues with locating a branch!

The global banking thing also makes it easy for stuff back in the UK like grandparents / kids presents into .

Tirytory

We've brought our Premier bank account with us, but there isn't a local branch so it's difficult to use. Main salary is of course fine, but he also get cheques/cash for private work which need to be paid in locally to business account so can't use HSBC. Have always found them to be great which is why I'm getting frustrated. Plus like you said we've kept our uk account to send home money (without penalty) etc, and we have another rental home with mortgage with them....again no problems.

Honestly inefficient is totally the right word. Cheque books they say they ordered, no arrival, oh we'll reorder them, still not arriving, ooh I don't know where they are, argh, meanwhile we have to play swap the money from bank to bank to use the HSBC chequebook. Just certain things they say oh we'll sort that, require a second and third trip to bank to sort out finally. That's inefficient in my book- certainly for my time it is.

I didn't think they were inefficient for not lending to us, more as Snoopdawg pointed, a bit short sighted

The4BellsLondon

Can you not use the photo app for paying in cheques? We can ...

Tirytory

What the heck is a photo app??? Scratch that....I can work out. Ideally though you don't want your nearest branch to be hrs away.. So we'll just keep that for the back to UK stuff..

Siouxie

https://www.cibc.com/ca/features/mobile-deposit.html

Quite a few of the banks offer this.

http://www.iphoneincanada.ca/app-sto...ne-ipod-touch/

Pretty Flowers

Another thing to think of is the amount of business you do with a specific bank.

My checking account is with TD and I used to have my mortgage with them as well.

Last year, I swapped my mortgage and TD have been much less flexible than they were in the past - they've increased the interest rate on my credit card by 4% for example.

Be aware that most banks like you to have as much of your financial business with them as possible.

jwtimmon

Are you limited to using just that credit unions atm? And do they offer an debit card.

Looking online at the various banks charges I must admit the credit unions do look interesting just wondering what pitfalls there might be in doing all your banking and pay via a credit union?

And at a later stage if we were to go forward with a mortgage would banking with a credit union have an impact?

scrubbedexpat091

Pretty much sums it up. All I have is a measly checking account that never has money in it, and getting any sort of help from the banks is pretty difficult, they just don't care.

Some like TD are better then some like Scotia is, but unless deemed a valuable customer financially for them, good chance they wont be interested in you much.

danfolkestone

Is that with HSBC? What device are you using? I have the iOS app, but it doesn't mention cheque deposit as an option.

We found that HSBC were a good starting point. Having banked with them in England it was easy to get a mortgage and credit card with them and they had relatively good saving rates (then, but not any more). Their mortgages are very flexible, although they don't have the best interest rates.

We're in the process of switching away now though, as they don't have many branches here and none are open out of working hours any more. Moreover, they don't have many affiliated ATMs in Alberta, and their bank accounts don't offer features that other banks offer (eg: email transfers, Visa Debit cards). I've also found it hard to get my credit limit increased, despite having an excellent credit score. I had to pretty much grovel to get up to $4,000 which still isn't enough to pay for a family holiday. By contrast, CIBC have now given me a credit limit way beyond anything I'm likely to need.

The4BellsLondon

Yup HSBC .. Only used a couple of times. Would have to check how I did it!

JonboyE

No, but credit union ATMs are free. Yes, you get a debit card.

I like credit unions.

The high street retail banks are much of a muchness IMO. What matters is the relationship you have with the staff and your account manager.

tweed_wearer

I have to say, banking in the UK seems a heck of a lot easier than this!

JonboyE

It is not. It is just what you are used to. I do 99% of my banking online. On the odd occasion I have a problem, or need a new service, I have someone I can call who will sort it out.