cheepnis

Coming from the UK, where no-fee current accounts are the norm (no bank charges rants please!), it was great to see that while not the norm in Canada, the Presidents Choice checking account does exist.

Apparently in the coming weeks, Citizens Bank is gonna do the same deal.

I am on course to come to Montreal on a TWP later next month and so i was dismayed to see that both of these great deals are not available in QC.

Finance is so fiercely competitive in the UK, with products coming and going, rates rising and falling all the time. Surely Canuckistan is no different?

But, I have had no success in trying to find a website that can look at (and regularly update) vast swathes of Canadian products - be they bank accounts, utilities, insurance etc within a few clicks, like moneysupermarket.com or the FSA's Money Made Clear comparison tool does here in the UK.

Don't you folks switch utilities companies from time to time?

Having such sites would make life prior to departure so much more straightforward. So, can someone please point me in the direction of a canadian equivalent?

Furthermore, as QC plays by different rules, can anyone point me in the direction of a site that can give me a comprehensive list of banks in QC/Mtl. I am not interested in just the main players, cos judging by british banking standards, the best banks aren't necessarily found in the high street...

One more thing... As a disciple of Martin Lewis' Moneysavingexpert.com, does any forum even remotely similar exist, besides redflagdeals.com?

ta.

jonfrank123

They haven't embraced the internet in that respect as much as the UK, especially in Quebec. Also shopping online is very much in it's infancy here.

iaink

http://www.pcfinancial.ca/ now has a little flag in the top right corner that say "Now Serving Quebec"


EDIT; Never mind, I see now...Mastercards, but no banking

clynnog

Quebec...the only 3rd world nation with snow. (ha, ha just kidding). There may be financial comparison sites in Quebec but they are likely en francaise.

dthomas

Check out TD/Canada Trust: Their chequing account offers zero fees if you hold a particular balance per month ($1000-2000). ING is another, but it isn't a Canadian chartered bank.

PS: Worst offenders for fees are probably Royal Bank and BMO.

montreal mike

The only provincial player is desjardins

http://www.desjardins.com/en/a_propo...10-raisons.jsp

Other than that all banks are federally regulated so it matters not where you settle.

johnehsmith

Some blogs :
www.milliondollarjourney.com/
and
http://www.canadian-money-advisor.ca/
and
http://www.four-pillars.ca/

People dont switch utilities from one to another in Quebec because guess what - you cant.
Hydro Quebec has the monopoly on Electricity.

Id love to get a free bank account here, but there arent any. You have to
maintain a minimum balance of $1000 at least to get one.

As another person said, the internet is way behind in this province, but its coming on slowly. As for the donut that said its third world here... I could throw an obscene comment his way but wont.

montreal mike

Good for you. Such a silly comment is not worthy of rebuke.

clynnog

It was meant tongue in cheek...the 3rd world reference was a quote I heard from an anglo quebecer once.

jonfrank123

Definitely not 3rd world!! Apart from the roads that is.

I think Quebecers and Canadians to an extent, prefer to go out shopping, rather than browse the web for stuff, lots also comes down to not trusting the internet. I think the percentage of Internet households is the same as the UK, certainly sites like Facebook have the same level of popularity as England.

When it comes to Electricity, Hydro Quebec has a monopoly and thats it. In fairness electricity has been and still is relatively cheap here, however this is rising in common with the rest of the world.

iaink

If you are losing interest on $2000 at 4%, your "free" banking is costing you $80 a year

cheepnis

$80? Is the interest taxed as it is in the UK? And when you factor inflation, what do really end up with? Yeah, i kind of figured that having such a huge minimum balance was gonna work in their favour. Surely there are better performing savings accounts to whack the cash into than leave such a large amount there?

Oh well... i better lube up before i start banking in Canada then!

Still, i guess nothing ain't free - I can't #~$@ing wait to get out of London, and if its gonna cost me a few extra bucks, then so be it.

What about ISP comparisons? Ain't there a comparison site for that? I am after an uncapped service if only for uknova...

Elaine B.

We keep a minimum balance of $1,500 on our CIBC account to avoid bank fees and we've never received a penny in interest.

iaink

True, you would get taxed on the $80 I guess. Its the priciple of the thing though...

There are (truly) free banks, but PC (presidents choice) dont operate in Quebec as a bank it seems (seperate legal thing I guess), so its only Quebec where you would have to "lube up"

mandymoochops

you could keep your 1500 or whatever in a saviungs a/c and earn something pitiful like 1.5% interest or keep the 1500 minimum per month in checking and save around $8.50 on fees (average use charge of an account) - whatever way you look at it saving $8.50 a month is better than earning 1.5% annually!

Most banks do not offer fee waiver on minimum balance for interest bearing everyday accounts so that option is out of the question before anyone asks so Elaine that would explan why.