beeginger

advice on banks, is it best to arrange from england eg hsbc or wait till we are there and approach directly

Sarahad

We have opened an account with Royal Bank of Canada from the UK via email.

britsnake

I opened an account while I was there. I used CIBC. It was alot less hassle than trying to open one in the UK. It took me about 20 minutes in the branch and I left with my bank card and my account fully functional.

One thing that I noticed about HSBC is that is is not a very big bank in Canada so there is alot less choice of branches.

Arris

Hi,

We opened an account with HSBC when we were over last month. Took about 15 mins & it was all up & running as we walked out - they set us up with cards there & then.

We do all our banking with HSBC here in the UK so it made sense for us to open one with them.

Not sure about opening one up from the UK though - "sorry"

handyandy

just returned from Prince Albert SK, Have opened a TD Trust bank account, have bank cards and online banking. Can access from UK.
No problems just took 20 minutes or so plus a very good talk about mortgages.
Advise anyone to stick to the big 5 banks.

printer

Hi beeginger

Love your user name, i first red it as beeginner and then realised it wasn't.

To answer your question if you search you should find a lot of information about bank accounts as this has been covered a few times before.
From what i remember there was conflicting information with some saying "no problem opened one from UK" and others diagreeing and saying it was very difficult. It maybe that there are a lot of variations between provinces and the banks themselves.

P.S. Dont go into the Australia forum with that user name

PROLLINSON

Hi

I went to the TD and had an account opened, bank card given and some investment sorted in about 25mins, can't do that at home!

TD internet banking also very good.

Phil

Southcote

I opened an account with TD Canada Trust - everything was easy, we opened it from the UK by e-mail. PM me if you need contact details etc

We bank with HSBC in the UK and thought it would be easier to open with them from the UK - don't even try, it was a nightmare. After 8 weeks of trying, we gave up

handyandy

It would appear that TD Trust are the way to go. Glad that I opened one on my last trip to Canada.

Andy

Souvenir

Does that really matter? How often do you really need to visit a branch?

My 'home branch' of Scotiabank is over 300 miles away. I haven't been into it for well over two years, and that was just to deposit a very large certified cheque. Scotiabank branches are thin on the ground in Gatineau. The only time I've felt a need to visit in person was to ask for a change of address and get a new card. I could probably have done that over the phone. If I want cash, my local gas station has a Scotia ATM. However, most stuff is paid for via the internet, by VISA or Interac. I don't need that much physical cash.

Tidge

We opened a HSBC account from our branch in the UK.

However, HSBC Canada is frikking useless - let's just say I haven't been able to get any money out of my account all weekend due to a simple task that they messed up, about the third screw-up this month!

handyandy

Get out from HSBC.
The thread of this post seems to indicate that HSBC are not very good but TD Trust shine. Trust me i don't work for them but like to praise good service.
It,s your money if you can't get it out I would be mad as hell.
I would be phoning my Bank Manager at Home.How many UK banks would give you a home number to phone.

Andy

printer

It is interesting to read your post and southcotes as you both say you opened an account by E mail. I tried this with TD Canada Trust, RBC, and Scotia Bank and all three replied to my mail with the same message.
"You would need to present yourself to the bank here in Canada with your ID in order to open an account with us"
So i am interested in how you both managed it via mail??

Southcote

Printer

It depends what type of account- you can open a deposit account by e-mail (this will enable you to make deposits but you can't withdraw any money until they've seen the original ID documents). They won't open a current account unless you are over there

or4ngecrush

I opened a bank account with HSBC when I was over in October was very simple had more hassle opening bank accounts in Scotland. I have a savings account so I dont have to pay a monthly fee but can change it when I get nearer the time to moving, she also said that I can keep my money in sterling in the Canadian bank account and when the time is right I can convert it over to CAD's when it suits. I left with a bank card and advice on internet banking that I set up in the UK, with UK phone numbers and it was easy which means I can now check my money online etc....

Emma