russ_user

Hello,

are there any recommendations for getting cash until you have a canadian bank account?

I am going from Ireland to Canada for 2 years. Should I buy CAD from Ireland or just use an ATM when I am in canada.

I have a cirrus/maestro card.


thanks

russ

shunter1977

It is possible to open HSBC accounts in Canada from the UK if you have a UK HSBC account you can then transfer money between the two exchange rate isn't the best in the world but could be a possibility in the short term.

JB0591

You will be able to open a bank account very quickly once you are here. Be wary of HSBC, (which you can open with or without an existing HSBC account). HSBC is not a big bank here and they wont be very helpful unlike a Canadian bank. That is what we have experienced.

HSBC do have the easiest way of transferring money between accounts.

You can pay cheques of different currencies into Canadian accounts directly.

JonboyE

It depends where you are. In the Vancouver area there are more branches of HSBC than you can point a blunt stick at. I understand this is not the case in other parts of Canada.

Though the banks may put a lengthy hold period on foreign currency cheques - especially for a new customer.

JB0591

My experience is Ottawa. One year with HSBC Canada and we got zero help from them. They even lied to us about credit card application, and dont get us started on the whole transfer of HSBC credit score crap. Two weeks with BMO got us a unsecured credit card, zero-hold period on UK cheques and daily cash/debit limits that dwarfs HSBC crap $400.

shunter1977

I cant speak from experience in Canada as we have not arrived yet but HSBC in UK were very helpful i suggest you check to see if they have branches where you are going and work from there.

cheeky_monkey

Exactly..HSBC are a complete waste of time here in Canada

iaink

I had a canadian account and cash card the day after I landed in Canada after walking into a bank here. With hindsite though the trick is to bring enough cash to put in it to open it so you do not run into issues waiting for the funds to clear as a new account holder. The large cheque my employer had given me took ten days to clear

HSBC are OK in some parts of the country, and few and far between in others...

Alan2005

I think you mean "here in Alberta".

As others have said, they are all over Vancouver and surrounding areas.

I'm with them and have no issues; they've always been fine to deal with for me.

People get far to hung up on this, all banks are pretty much the same really. The difference in quality of service is going to be more about the individuals working at your local branch than anything else.

wardy_1990

How much is enough?

iaink

Enough to keep you going until an electronic transfer in from the UK will clear the system I guess, plus some safety margin, unless you want to charge everything to an existing credit card, which of course ads the hassle and expense due to exchange costs and paying the bill in the UK.

You will have a lot of deposits and start up costs as a newcomer at first, so you need to factor that in, maybe $5k in cash is a good idea so its available immediately to start with. Once the account is set up you can transfer funds from the UK as necessary, or hopefully have a pay cheque coming in, but be aware that it may take a week or so for a SWIFT transfer to actually show up as available in your account, and canadian cheques deposited likely will take as long to clear too. A UK cheque can take significantly longer to clear.

wardy_1990

Will need to buy a bigger wallet to smuggle 5 grand on plane will they accept pound sterling to start an account or will i have to buy it in dollars from airport

dgagitw

To answer your actual question, it's likely to be cheaper to get cash out of an ATM or pay using your credit card than it is to buy CAD in Ireland and bring it over.

scottyxx

What I did was bring $1000 in cash. This was to keep me going / open my bank account etc, basically some "just incase" cash.

I brought my UK Visa Debit card with me, and used ATMs to witchdraw $500 at a time (that was my daily limit) in cash in Canada, and then put this into my account.

To get money out of an ATM using a UK bank card would cost $1.50 per transaction, so just take out your maximum daily limit, and this works out the cheapest way to transfer funds.

wardy_1990

scottyxx

captain jack: "i like it. simple and easy to remember"