fortbc

Has anyone set up a Canadian bank account prior to landing - is it possible? Would also be good to get a steer towards which bank to go with. Is there much difference between TD, Scotia, RBC….??

scrubbedexpat091

It will all depend on who you ask, and how their local branch is, all depends on the experience, but in my view overall all the big banks are the same, boils down to how well the local branch is more then anything.

We use RBC, never had any major issues, small ones from time to time, but they always rectify the issue.

I also used TD for a bit, no issues, but it was only 1 year so can't say a whole lot about them.

I've used RBC since before I was a PR on a work permit, going on 10 years now, so far so good.

Credit unions might be an option but doubt you could open one prior to coming, but credit unions are pickier then the banks, and may or may not let you have an account when they do a credit check.

fortbc

Thanks Jsmth321.

Pizzawheel

I don't think it is unless you've somehow got an address & the necessary confirmation of that set up in advance.

I've been with HSBC all the while and had no problems at all, also heard good things about Scotia. TD seems to have the most branches, in Toronto at least.

beckiwoo

TD was ok initially as a newcomer but they refused to give me a credit card as Im on a work permit. I switched my account to CIBC and got a chequing, savings and credit card with them as it was new branch, everything is free for a year

pauc

With HSBC it is possible to open an account in Canada whilst in the UK but there is a fee to do so.

With that in mind I waited until I got here and went to my local branch to open an account. It was really easy, free, and they were pretty keen as I was moving a reasonable sum money over.

In my brief time so far I've found Canadian banking to have pros and cons over UK.

There are possible fees for things which are free in the UK, and you don't have the easy access and tools there are in the UK. But on the other side you deal with a human being and as such I have a direct phone number to a kind lady in a bank if I ever need anything. This is a lot better than facing the silent gleaming monolith of HSBC in the UK when you can end up fighting against the computer to do what you want.

vanity

I would not recommend Scotiabank. CIBC have been pretty good - most banks seem to welcome newcomers with open arms - at least they have packages for newcomers which are readily available. I have seen RBC and TD offer these also. Good luck