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ViewsBanking-CanadaFrom Wiki
[edit] BanksThe main "highstreet" banks in Canada are, in no particular order:
One other bank worthy of note is President's Choice Financial. This is a subsidiary of the CIBC, run in association with the supermarket giant, Loblaws (also known as the Real Canadian Superstore in the West). Its main attraction is that it offers fee-free daily banking, with the caveat that services are primarily offered online or by phone banking, rather than through branches. The following banks offer FREE banking for one year for new arrivals to Canada (who hold a PR Card/Landed Immigrant Status and open the account in the first year or so of landing in Canada):
HSBC is also worthy of note, as it's a relatively large bank in Canada, especially in the West, and offers the convenience for some customers of being able to open an account while still in the UK (albeit with some strings). Also worth considering are local credit unions...think of them as building societies...you become a member rather than a client. They offer the services of the banks, but with a more local friendly flavour. Some also offer fee-free daily banking ING Direct offers fee-free savings accounts at competitive interest rates, as well as other financial services, such as insurance and mortgages. With the increased competition from the likes of ING, banks such as HSBC & Royal Bank are offering higher interest E-savings accounts to customers. Transactions for these accounts can only be done online, though. [edit] Types of accountsIn general, banking in Canada costs money, either in monthly fees, or in lost interest through having to maintain a sufficiently large balance in a low interest daily account to have the fees waived. A regular day to day transaction "current" account is referred to in Canada as a chequeing (checking) account. Interest in a chequeing account will be very low, so most people operate savings accounts in parallel. You can also buy guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) from your bank. These offer higher rates of interest than savings accounts but your money is tied up for the term of the certificate. In general, savings interest rates in Canada are lower than the equivalent rates in the UK. Many canadians prefer to save money in mutual funds instead, often tax sheltered in their Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).
[edit] ChequesWhen you open a bank account in Canada, you'll probably be asked whether or not you want cheques. If you rarely / never used cheques in the UK, you may be inclined to answer, "No thanks." Big mistake. You'll probably find that you'll need cheques for many transactions in Canada. So, when you're asked whether or not you want cheques, you'd be well advised to say, "Yes, please." As time passes, you may find that you can pay many of your bills online, and you may need fewer and fewer cheques. That's fine. Then it'll take you a long time to run out of cheques, and you'll have to order new ones less frequently. But, in the beginning, you'll be glad to have cheques.
[edit] Choosing a bankFinancial Consumer Agency of Canada provides an interactive tool that helps you to select a bank. You complete a questionnaire about the types of banking services you use, and it gives you a list of banks that would be the best fit. Several forum members have stated that, while Canadian banks are "behind" UK banks in terms of technology, they actually enjoy the old fashioned, one-on-one contact with the staff at their Canadian banks. Several forum members have made favourable remarks about RBC. But, with that having been said, many forum members have complained about mistakes that all the "highstreet" banks in Canada have made at one time or another.
[edit] Opening account from UKHSBC permits you to open an account while you're still in the UK and before you've moved to Canada. The following banks permit you to open an account before you have moved to Canada, but do not allow you to "activate" it until you get to Canada:
Please note that these banks do not require you to be a permanent resident of Canada in order to open an account.
[edit] Maintaining account in UKSome members of the BE forum have reported that they've experienced challenges in opening UK bank accounts upon returning to the UK (if they'd closed all their UK bank accounts upon leaving the UK). Even if you do not intend to return to the UK, it would be worth your while to read the discussion thread entitled Keep UK bank account open! before shutting down all your UK bank accounts.
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