Photoplex

Wouldn't dream of it. Illuminati, Rothschilds, and all that.

scrubbedexpat091

I banked with RBC for more theb a decade and still could not get credit card from them.

Luckily Capital One exists...but 300 credit line isnt too useful but better then nothing.


We are with Van City now as RBC was becoming difficult, but thus far not too impressed with them. The employees are fine but they let you do so little online so even somethinf basic like a direct deposit form requires a branch visit. 2 free then like a dollar each. Less upfront fees but more hidden fees.

Just have to make sure to never have a balance as the interest and fees they have are steep.

Siouxie

It has nothing to do with your salary. Both my son (PR) and his friend (IEC 2 year twp) were newly arrived and unemployed at the time of applying for a CC with RBC. My sons card was $1000 unsecured, his friends was a $1000 secured.

As previously mentioned (a few times, lol) it really depends on the customer service advisor you see.

Engineer_abroad

In modern day banking the advisor's role pretty much ends at them making a product recommendation and entering your application into a computer.

The decision, in most cases, is actually made by a centrally located computer system which calculates some form of risk vs opportunity score for the applicant and weighs this score against the financial institutes acceptance criteria at the time of the application.

The reason there are huge differences in the decisions being made is actually down to the fact that the risk vs opportunity acceptance level is different for different banks and continually changing (at least daily) based on current market conditions.

A perfect example would be the availability of 100% mortgages only a decade ago which are now completely extinct. The reason they were being approved was not that applicants at the time were any less risky than their peers today but that the banks are no longer willing to accept the risk of 100% mortgages.

When I was given my credit card the criteria was:
1) new arrival in Canada with a visa at least 2 years long
2) Employed with a minimum salary (credit limit to be linked as a % of salary)
3) Holds or is opening at the same time a chequing account with the bank

My yes vs someone else's no was down to what the banks board of governors or their appointees would accept as the risk of lending me money at that given point in time and not the advisor I spoke to.

BristolUK

If it gets that far.

But if you're enquiring and the bank employee tells you "no" that might be as far as you get.

Conversely they might also suggest there's no problem and then you get a contradictory result.

It's a few years ago but I was initially turned down flat. They changed their mind when I provided statements showing the activity on my UK credit card.

None of that changed my credit rating or income yet it changed the decision.

Engineer_abroad

Because your risk vs opportunity profile is about more than your credit rating, for example showing them your UK credit card information would of given them an idea of the sort of money they would make in interest etc. (opportunity part of the risk vs opportunity). Many people think having a perfect credit rating means you will be approved for credit but if it is perfect because you never pay any interest and the bank makes no money from the agreement they may still decline.

My guess would be that by providing them additional evidence you had an impact on your risk vs opportunity rating which took you over the threshold.

I agree that lack of knowledge on the part of the advisor can be an issue and that they sometimes don't keep up with their own banks acceptance criteria. But all being equal with the advisor the decision is very unlikely to change.

scrubbedexpat091

I thought the govt banned no down payment mortgages and require a minimum down payment?

Some credit unions still have a sorta no down mortgage via a seperate loan that happens to be the same as a 20% down payment but at least with Van City its only available to low income folks living in social housing or non profit housing.

dbd33

Sort of. A mortgage broker can arrange for a personal loan for the deposit so there's still all sorts of scope to get in over your head.

I see that every salesperson is now an "advisor". I'll have to reach out to the cheese stand owner to see if he's upstatused his assistant peddlers.

BristolUK

Yes, I know. That's why I did it.
Not necessarily lack of knowledge though, just doing what the bank tells them to do.

As in my case, ultimately they may change their general position. At the time, I was clearing the amount monthly so there wasn't any indication there would be interest for them. The time they spent turning me down, turning me down again on reconsideration in view of home ownership outright with no mortgage and eventually allowing it on the second request was probably a lot of effort for no immediate gain.

JonboyE

Don't these statements contradict each other? If the decision is made by a central computer how does showing branch staff UK credit card statements help? The second statement is nearer to the truth. Many of the small lending decisions are made by branch staff. Maybe not the receptionist or junior teller but relationship bankers influence credit acceptance or rejection decisions.

As is common with many things, banking is about building relationships.

Siouxie

On both my son and his friend's application for a CC - and when I applied for a CC (and when I applied for a line of credit, unsecured) - the customer advisor (not a teller) over-rode the computer recommendation.

It's really not as cut and dried as you are making it appear.

bc2015

My first credit card was secured. After a couple of months, I applied for an unsecured one off AmEx and was approved for a higher limit too. I have since been offered another increase in limit from AmEx. Also have a card with another provider (unsecured) and have been told that if my SIN didn't begin with 9 then I would have 3-4x my current limit.

R I C H

I agree. I had no residency status here when I arrived, but secured a commercial mortgage. I was self employed with no proof of income. I got issued a 3yr TWP a number of months later. It took a couple more years before I was allowed a credit card, despite having vehicle leases that exceeded my TWP expiry date and credit lines for business purposes. There's not a lot of logic to the system as far as I can see.

Engineer_abroad

But in most cases people don't think about this so the vast majority of decisions are made by the computer/centrally located credit team. I am sure that some local staff can override but this requires some confidence from them and they still need to act within the current risk environment of the bank. i.e. no service advisor is going to approve you when the banks management is saying absolutely don't.

I agree that it is about building relationships but the institutions risk appetite at the time of application is still without doubt the biggest influence on credit being approved or not.

Mr.CBB

I opened my PC Bank account while I was waiting for my PR back in the UK. I've been with them ever since and never paid a penny to them for banking. If you need certain services like any other financial institution in Canada it will cost. I.e: Bank Draft, Money Transfers etc. PC Financial is also great to collect PC Plus Points to use in store. Best decision I ever made moving to Canada for my finances.