NBJW

Hi guy's,

Can anyone give me advice on how,if it is possible,to open a bank account whilst on holiday.

My father in law went to Thailand and opened a bank account with his passport. I wondered if its possible to open a bank account in Canada?

Nigel.

Surrey Expat

Show up, fill in some forms, show some ID, passport plus at least one other, give them money (to deposit in your account) and that is about it. Most Canadian bank accounts are not free though, there is a monthly charge.

NBJW

Cheers

I have been looking on the net and found that HSBC have a passport account does anybody know anything about this type of account?

Also if I do open an account does the uk banks transfer money to the bank account which you have opened in Canada?

bazzz

Why do you want to open an account on holiday? Why not wait until you land?

Rob_999

I wouldn't use HSBC, they are not a big bank over here. The big four (in Vancouver) are:

Bank of Montreal
TD Canada Trust
Scotiabank
CIBC

You bank in the UK can directly transfer funds to your canadian bank, however if transferring large amounts you'll get a better rate with a clearing house/ FX specialist. Check out Customs House, Moneycorp, HiFx to name a few....

mandymoochops

With BMO you can open it, and have deposits put in, however the account will remain in a frozen status until you actually move here (be it on a twp or pr) for withdrawls.

So yes you can open it however if you are going to transfer funds over be aware that you won't be able to access them til you "activate" the account by moving here.

You will only need to give your UK address too (unless you have a property out here already), and then update it with your Canadian one when you move.

Last but not least - you do not have to deposit money to open the account but you may need some in there to cover the monthly fees.

Just go for a cheap banking plan of around $4 per month until you move and put enough in the account to cover these fees up until your move date.

You can always change the terms and plan fee in the future.

HTH

NBJW

Thanks guys,

I just thought of opening account and putting money into it before we move as a little saving plan, just to keep me focused.

Earning money and the like.

So what your all saying is that open a account with one of the big four?

bazzz

No, I'd say wait until you get here and can decide which is going to be most useful for you. Keeping money in a Canadian bank account is only going to help it dwindle away. The interest rate will probably be lower than inflation, plus there'll be account charges every month.

Surrey Expat

Royal Bank of Canada is one of the bigger banks, their e-savings offers a higher interest rate. Opening an account ahead of landing helped us get credit cards with no deposit and a reasonably high limit, and access other facilities we would have had to wait for if we had not done this.

ill_only_miss_eastenders

I opened an acount up with Canada Trust, while in Ontario last summer. Everything was very easy. Wasnt any different from opening one in the UK.

SivoxII

Along with the great advice above, I would consider President's Choice (FREE! banking) ... don't know if they cover all of Canada? .. but I bank with them and have had no issues whatsoever.

www.pcfinancial.ca

JonboyE

Eh? I can't move for falling into HSBC branches. Where I work in Richmond there are 4 (yes four) within a ten minute walk.

bazzz

I suspect Rob realises this, but I guess the point is that they're a lot more scarce outside of Vancouver. It's not entirely surprising that they're so popular here.

britsnake

I opened a Savings account with CIBC while over on holidays a couple of years ago. My friend who was a current customer recommended me to them and it took less than 30 minutes for the to do all the paperwork and activate my account and give me my convenience card.

My advisor at my branch said opening a savings account was the best way to avoid charges as initially I would be just transferring money over and not taking it out. Also I'm earning interest. I can take money out if I want, though there is a charge for this.

They are quite happy to send everything over to me in the uk, though they charge a non resident tax on my monthly interest.

I send money over every couple of months to avoid the danger of the account going dormant and will open the checking account online maybe just a little time before I land.

There is no real reason for opening it before you land, but personally, I do feel richer seeing the balances in Canadian dollars.

Bigstar14

But it gives you the chance to build up some history I presume?