For Canadians, applying for a bank card itself is a very simple matter, especially a debit card, just like in China. However, since most students have just come to Canada, there are many differences in banking between the two countries, and they involve transnational banking business, so there is information worth knowing in advance. First of all, there are four major banks in Canada: Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank Financial Group, Scotia Bank, and Bank of Montreal. In addition, the more commonly used ones are Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) and HSBC (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, referred to as HSBC). Step 1: How to open an account. Although bank cards can be processed directly locally, some can be completed on the spot. , some may take time. The safest way is of course to understand the situation in advance and handle it domestically, so that you can remit money in advance without carrying a large amount of cash.

Due to the relevant laws and regulations of the Banking Regulatory Commission on the banking industry, there are strict controls on the domestic business of foreign banks. The currently known Canadian banks with domestic branches/offices (Note 1) are: 1. Royal Bank of Canada (Royal Bank) of Canada) Royal Bank of Canada Limited Beijing Branch Room 921, 9th Floor, Yinglan International Financial Center, No. 7 Financial Street, Xicheng District, Beijing Postal Code: 100014 Tel: 0086-10-5839-9388 Or call the national toll-free hotline 800-990- from all provinces in China 1188 Fax: 0086-10-6655-3223 Business hours: (Beijing time) Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 5:30 pm 2. Bank of Montreal (Bank of Montreal) BMO Bank of Montreal Beijing Branch Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing Unit 03B, 27th Floor, Office Building 3, No. 77 Huamao Center Postal Code: 100025 (86-10) 8588-1688 China Toll Free Hotline 800-810-1438 Bank of Montreal Guangzhou Branch Room 1903, International Financial Plaza, No. 8 Huaxia Road, Zhujiang New Town, Guangzhou, China Postal Code 510623　(86-20) 3815-0088 Bank of Montreal Shanghai Branch Room 3208, Haitong Securities Building, No. 689 Guangdong Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China Postcode 200001　(86-21) 6136-3600 3. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce )Beijing Representative Office Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Room 1106, West Tower, Twin Towers, No. 12, Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China Postcode: 100022 CIBC Units 1106-1107 West Tower, Twin Towers B-12 Jian Guo Men Wai Ave. Beijing, China 100022 Tel: (8610) 6566-7071 Fax: (8610) 6566-0102 Email: [email?protected] Shanghai Representative Office Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Room 4807, Laifu Plaza, No. 268 Tibet Middle Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China 200001 CIBC Unit 4807-4808, Raffles City Tower | 268 Central Tibet Road | Huangpu District | Shanghai 200001, PRC: Please contact the above bank by phone and ask the other party to send the application form by email or download it. After filling it out, add other relevant information and send it to the corresponding address to process. . Note 1: Representative office: It should be noted that the above-mentioned banks, whether they claim to be representative offices or branches, do not conduct ordinary personal RMB cash business. At least according to what I verified by phone before (if there has been no change recently), they all need to go through Chinese capital. Only banks can remit money, and the bank card must be obtained by going to an outlet or by mail after arriving in Canada. 4. HSBC This is a rather special situation. HSBC has ordinary cash business in China, which means that not only can you open an account, but you can also directly deposit money into HSBC's domestic outlets without having to go through wire transfer or wait until you go to Canada, and you can open a credit card account. HSBC, like ordinary domestic commercial banks, has branches in many places in the country. Don’t worry, we will talk about remittances and credit cards next. There are rumors online about other banks, but after verification by myself, no branches/representative offices have been found yet (by the way, some things in Chinese forums may be unreliable, and some are very old information, such as the Quebec driver's license application documents circulating on the Internet... It says one year, but it actually takes three years.

The first habit that everyone needs to develop when coming to Canada is to contact directly by phone or go to the official websites of various institutions to verify any information, even the content of this article. This is not to say that Chinese forums are not good, but it never hurts to check) Step 2: Understand the charges Yes, you read that right, Canadian banks charge for ordinary banking services, such as transaction fees (card swiping, withdrawals), there is a monthly fee, but fees are generally waived for students. Specific regulations vary from bank to bank. 1 Full-time students of Royal Bank of Canada (including University, College and CEGEP, the same below) are exempt from monthly fees and 25 transaction fees every month. 2. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) full-time students are exempt from all transaction fees and monthly fees. Electronic bills and records are free, while paper passbooks and paper statements are chargeable (actually, it doesn’t matter whether you have paper passbooks and statements...) 3. Toronto-Dominion Bank Financial Group (TD Bank Financial Group) full day 25 transaction fees and monthly fees are waived for full-time students 4. Scotia Bank waives 20 transaction fees and monthly fees for full-time students each month. 5. Bank of Montreal (Bank of Montreal) full-time students are free of charge for 30 transaction fees and monthly fees, one free Interac transfer, and free bill payment at the counter (Note: General phone bills, credit card and other bills are automatically paid by default, here Maybe it means you can pay for free at the counter if you make more than 30 purchases? I will check.) In addition, BMO will give you a Student Price Card (SPC), which can sometimes give you discounts, such as changing small cups at Second Cup. Second Cup (Second Cup is a chain of coffee shops similar to Starbucks in Canada). The length and amount of information I write about each bank are different. This is mainly due to the author's laziness. . . There is no preference, students should decide according to their own preferences. It should be noted that the transaction fees mentioned above only include ordinary withdrawals, card swiping, transfers (generally referring to internal transfers within the bank) and bill payments. There are still fees for checks, money orders, etc. . . Step 3: If you have an account for remittance, it is useless without money. . . This requires remittance through a Chinese bank. At present, the main methods are wire transfer and draft (many schools recommend American Express Traveler's Checks. Unfortunately, after telephone consultation, American Express does not have this magical business in China. If you apply at a Chinese-funded bank, you will be charged a lot of handling fees first. It can only be exchanged for U.S. dollars, and you will be charged a handling fee when you exchange it in Canada. Don’t do this, Khan) Suggestion: Before making a remittance, it is recommended to understand what the current exchange rate is, what the buying price is, and what the exchange rate is. is the selling price. I. Wire Transfer simply means that the remitter's bank instructs the payee's bank to pay a certain amount to the payee (that's you~~) through international inter-bank contacts and pre-set accounts, and Pay a fee. The characteristic is that it is relatively fast (Canadian dollars are a small currency and usually arrive in two to three working days), and you can remit money in advance if you open an account in China. Of course, although you can't rob a bank, the bank can rob you, so it charges a fee. . . Different Chinese banks charge different fees, which is roughly 150 yuan for communication fee plus one thousandth of the handling fee (generally each bank has its own minimum handling fee, I don’t know much about it). 1 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China communication fee 150 yuan 0.1 thousandth handling fee 2. Bank of China communication fee 150 0.000 yuan handling fee (gold card users’ handling fee (not communication fee) is reduced by half) 3. China Construction Bank communication fee 80 yuan 0.000 yuan One handling fee (the handling fee is reduced by half for purchases above 10,000 U.S. dollars, and there are different exchange rate preferences for purchases above 5,000 U.S. dollars and 10,000 U.S. dollars) (The only drawback is that China Construction Bank online banking cannot exchange foreign exchange, and you have to go to the counter, so I want to buy short-term lows. Forget it for those who are crazy.

) Although you can save communication fees by transferring a large amount at once, the interest rate in Canada is very low (the one-year base interest rate is 1), so everyone has to weigh it. II. Money order is basically the same as wire transfer. The only difference is that this time the bank does not communicate, but you carry the money order to Canada yourself, so the communication fee is waived. Please note that a money order is almost equivalent to cash. When you apply for a money order, the bank has already deducted the equivalent amount from you. To get the money back, you must return the money order, so don't lose it. Note!: Whether it is a draft transfer or a wire transfer, the beneficiary bank usually charges you a collection fee of 10-15 Canadian dollars, so choose a bank with cooperative relationships to waive the fee. CIBC: Handling fees are waived for remittances from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China. BMO: The handling fee is waived for remittances from Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China. TD: According to netizens, there is a charge of $25, but Bank of China does not seem to charge it. RBC: It seems there is a fee. . . It is better to use another bank to collect it first and then transfer it. Note: I cannot directly confirm the above information about the handling fee exemption of the beneficiary bank. For example, if you ask the operator of Bank of China, you should ask BMO, and BMO will say you should ask Bank of China. . . People at China Construction Bank simply don’t even know how much handling fees they charge. . . Although it should not be a big problem, here is a special case for reference only: HSBC, for HSBC Premier users - after opening an account in China, deposit it into the domestic account, and directly use online banking to remit to Canada, eliminating communication fees. fee. There are no collection fees when transferring from any bank in Canada. - HSBC provides one-on-one account managers and priority services at financial centers around the world. In the event of an emergency such as lost wallet, you can receive an emergency fund of US$2,000 at any branch around the world, including yourself and your family members. - HSBC China provides overseas branch account opening (cards, related check books and information will be couriered from Canada by DHL), free cash transfer, and accepts wire transfers from any other bank without handling fees - HSBC Canada provides free monthly transaction fees , free unlimited checks, free Money Order, cashed checks arrive instantly (generally it takes 3-7 working days from banks), no currency conversion fees when exchanging foreign currencies, you can use HSBC ATMs to withdraw local currency directly anywhere in the world for free, no need to cross borders Transaction fees and currency conversion fees, high-interest savings accounts, getting a Premier card (1rebate or points for hotel and air tickets, free travel and car rental insurance) - but you have to deposit almost all your money abroad with HSBC (at least 500 , 000 RMB) HSBC is mainly engaged in cross-border business, and its outlets are everywhere in the world (even small countries like Costa Rica can be found everywhere). These are mainly designed for people who do business cross-border (such as cross-border Free transfers, immediate cashing of checks), whether this is necessary or not depends on personal choice. Step 4: Follow-up question 1 Checks are required for large overseas transactions (such as paying rent) and need to be booked with the bank (some banks can also buy several on the spot). The bank will charge a fee based on the number of checks (actually, it charges a handling fee in advance). Meaning), the more sheets, the cheaper they are. 2. Credit cards Generally, international students do not have a fixed income and need to pay a deposit to guarantee the credit card. Some banks provide credit lines of equal amounts, while others require a deposit of 125, 150 or 200. Above a certain amount, the handling fee will be waived or you will be upgraded to a better card type. Different cards have different benefits (Cash Back, Reward Points), etc., so I won’t go into details here. It should be noted that it is very, very important to establish a credit history in Canada, and a credit card is the best way. However, Canada’s credit score system is not as complicated as that of the United States. It is very idiotic. Generally speaking, you just need to pay it back on time. *Added on May 17: If you use a credit card brought from China, you can also use it, but it will bring two problems: 1. If you don’t have a credit record in Canada, you will encounter problems when you get a loan to buy a house, a car or rent a house in the future. 2. The Canadian dollar is a small currency. After verification with various Chinese banks, no one currently issues Canadian dollar credit cards.

If you use it, you will be charged a handling fee ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 by Visa or Mastercard. Then these two companies will first convert the Canadian dollar consumption into U.S. dollars, and then convert the U.S. dollars into RMB for repayment. There will be a repayment between each conversion. There is a bid-ask spread. . . So it is not recommended to do this ~ 3. Branches In fact, the four major banks have almost the same number of branches. Although there is definitely a certain difference in the specific numbers, it is not obvious in daily life, and it is also related to different regions. TD's business hours are relatively long, which is one of its advantages. RBC has cash machines everywhere. HSBC will pay less, but you can use National Bank, ING Direct and Manulife Bank ATM machines for free. There are many RBC cash machines in the Campus, which is more convenient. There is also a Scotia Bank cash machine in the student union building. In addition, CIBC, HSBC, and Scotia Bank branches are all opposite the school. TD, BMO, and National Bank are only about one or two blocks away, which is quite convenient.