[newbee]

- Can you please give me decent ATM
networked no charge bank for
Savings account and checking account
near Calgary Alberta Canada ?

- Why they charge monthly fees only in Canada
as opposed to other countries in USA there
are no fee checking & savings accounts ???

If you don't want to pay fees on your money, be able to collect points that are redeemable for vouchers and gifts, and a nice online banking system, then try pcfinancial, and ING. Ok there is a hold on your money when you deposit it via a machine in one of the stores ( loblaws, zehrs, no-frills ), but that is a security measure that is well worth it, if you ask me.

If you are like us, where your money gets paid directlt into your account, and bills are paid directly by a set up you have created, then you have nothing to worry about. We just weren't used to paying fees on our money in the UK, and there was no reason to start now.

ING will let you use any machine to get money out 4 times ( they pay the ATM fees ), when you don't use their machine, and after that, you pay the $1.50 charge. At 2.25% interest rate, they are the best out there.


www.pcfinancial.ca

www.ingdirect.ca

Originally Posted by newbee - Can you please give me decent ATM networked no charge bank for Savings account and checking account near Calgary Alberta Canada ? - Why they charge monthly fees only in Canada as opposed to other countries in USA there are no fee checking & savings accounts ???

[newbee]

Thank you for the information.
I am from India and lived in India and USA.

In USA I did not pay monthly fees.
In India also I did not pay any fees, we
can write checks on our savings account.

[newbee]

One thing I need clarification is regarding ING direct...

- My understanding is I can not write checks to pay Bills
such as electricity, house rent etc... correct ????

- Is online Bill payer available from them to minimize check
writing ??

The monthly fee ( transaction fees as it's called here ), seems to be unique to Canada, never paid or heard of it when we were back in the UK, and the same goes for all the places we've visited.

The minimum fee is $4, and it can go up more than that, depending on the amount of cheques/money you write, and takeout. We took all our money out from RBC, and distributed it between pcfinancial and ING.

We are able to monitor our transactions from the comfort of our home, at the grocery store's touchscreen tills, even after minutes of just using the cards.

[newbee]

- I am even thinking of using pcfinancial and ING direct...
- pcfinancial will give check writing.

I believe both are guaranteed and insured by Canadian Agency,
so need to worry just in case some problem with them.

Also, If I need to do some check deposits, require Demand Draft
etc, better to be member of some Credit Union where
branch is near to the residence.

Credit Unions are also safe and insured, they can provide
in-branch transactions if required.

pcfinancial + ING direct + A credit Union
better combination banking need than most Banks

PCfinancial gives you loads of cheques, you can even request them online, and on top of that, you can iniate having your bills paid electronically ( you get pc points for doing this ), and you can cancel it anytime you want.

All our bills are paid from pcfinancial account, and the ING account is just a joint savings account, and with a rate of 2.40%, you can't go wrong really, and yes both banks are protected by the canadian banking institutes ( or whatever they are called ).

Another area you ought to be careful in, is the credit card area, stay away from store cards, they have astronomical rates, that can ruin your newly established credit ratings if you are not careful. Pcfinancial has a master card that has no fees, and you get pc points evertime you use it.

http://www.moneysense.ca/rates/credi...ates/index.jsp

Oh.....It's snowing heavily right now as we speak.......LOL

[iaink]

Nobody uses cheques in Canada anymore, its all either direct electronic debit "interac" payment, or credit card, or cash for small items. Apart from rent cheques when I was renting, the only cheques I have writen in the last 5 years are to send money to my investment company for RRSPs etc, and I suspect even that could be done online. All my bill payments etc are done online or by telephone banking. PC supplies cheques for free, other banks even charge you for that!

[newbee]

ICICI has a large presence in India. My plan is to come with
new comer account, they will set up before landing.
http://www.icicibank.ca/personalbank...comersacc.html

Then gradually add
pcfinanical, ING direct and one Credit Union to the portfolio..

By the time these accounts are set up,
God Bless, I hope to find job,

without job, all these Banking acounts do not make sense...

Your last sentence there say it all really ! That is the most important thing at the end of the day, and the job thing was top priority for me and my husband when we were deciding on the whole issue.

Originally Posted by newbee ICICI has a large presence in India. My plan is to come with new comer account, they will set up before landing. http://www.icicibank.ca/personalbank...comersacc.html Then gradually add pcfinanical, ING direct and one Credit Union to the portfolio.. By the time these accounts are set up, God Bless, I hope to find job, without job, all these Banking acounts do not make sense...

[newbee]

Have you or husband already found a job ?
If so where and how, in which industry ?

I am computer professional and my wife
is interior decorator...

I will reply to you only tomorrow,
as I am going home, it is already 8pm
here in India. Thank you very
much for your postings sofar...
expecting continued help
more on the JOB HUNT!

I work for one of the major insurance companies here, doing accounts receivable, and my husband works for one of the financial houses, as a systems/network/security analyst. Believe it or not, he landed this job and his previous contracted one, through monster.ca, and workopolis.ca.

As soon as he came of the previous contract, and had that experience put on his resume online, it started drawing the attention of recruiters. There were telephone interviews, and face to face interviews.

Like some have said here, you just have to get that canadian experience under your belt, to go with the ones you had previously from where you came from.

[Mike1967]

The Scotia bank offer free banking if you keep $2000 in your account, plus you can use it online..........and they claim to be all over Canada (they are all over BC anyway)

They also offer a 65% Mortgage to people who have moved to Canada in the last 5 years, with no need to prove earnings etc......

Cheers

Mike

Originally Posted by newbee - Can you please give me decent ATM networked no charge bank for Savings account and checking account near Calgary Alberta Canada ? - Why they charge monthly fees only in Canada as opposed to other countries in USA there are no fee checking & savings accounts ???

[iaink]

Originally Posted by Mike1967 The Scotia bank offer free banking if you keep $2000 in your account,

This kind of thing makes me so mad! If you are keeping $2k in a chequing account when it could be earning interest for you elsewhere, or being used to pay down personal debt, then it is costing you money, even if its not a direct fee.
For example in a saving account at 2%, interest on $2k is $40 per year, or if you prefer look on it as a $3.33 a month fee
If you are unfortunate enough to cary a balance on a credit card, $2k paid off a credit card balance at 18% is $360 in interest saved a year.
You have to make your money work for you.

The more people who move to truly fee free banking, the sooner the major banks will have to follow. It is the norm in the rest of the world, so I dont know why canadian customers put up with it, its not like the banks arent making more than enough to cover there expenses through investing your money while they hold it anyway! What makes me laugh is that PCfinancial is run by a major canadian bank anyway, so if they can do it once here, and the rest of the world does it as the norm, how have they managed to get away with this rip off for so long!

I ask the ladies at work the same questions, why do people put up with the monthly fees thing? They tell me that it has always been like that, and people have got use to it.

Like you said, if enough people move away from the big 5s every year, surely they will come round to thinking like the rest of the world banking institutions.