1, RBC-Royal Bank of Canada
2, TD-Canada Trust Dominion Canada Trust Bank
3, Scotiabank-Bank of Nova Scotia scotiabank
4, BMO-Bank of Montreal Bank
5, CIBC-Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
Now four of the top five banks have set up branches or offices in China (TD has no China branch) to facilitate new immigrants and international students to open Canadian accounts in China. However, students usually need to go to the local bank to activate their accounts and get a bank card after landing.
how to choose the right bank?
which bank is more suitable mainly depends on several aspects. First, it is close to where you live. Second, see which bank has more ATMs in your school; Third, look at the conditions for bank cards to open cards for students, which we will talk about below.
after choosing a suitable bank, you usually need to use your visa, Study Permit, passport, address and telephone number to open an account, and you need an admission notice to open a student account.
what are the precautions for Banking in Canada?
there are two current accounts in the bank card, and the account numbers are different!
after the bank opens an account, you can get a Debit card, which is what we call a bank debit card. Bank cards can contain many accounts, such as current account, fixed deposit account GIC and so on. The current account is most commonly used by international students. The current account can be divided into savings account and checking account. The account numbers of the two accounts are different! If you want to provide an account to the outside world, don't mix it up!
the Checking account is prepared for daily life, and the money in the account may be spent at any time, and the cheque is also drawn from the checking account, with no interest at all. Saving accounts usually have a high interest rate, which is used to save money that is not used in the short term. There is no handling fee for the mutual transfer of Saving and Checking accounts.
is your bank card free of annual fee?
When handling bank cards, international students should pay attention to whether the annual fee is exempted. Most banks have a minimum deposit amount for Checking. Deposits less than 1,5 yuan will charge an account management fee of 3.95 yuan, but student accounts are usually free, so there is no such problem. Students should focus on confirming this problem when opening an account.
there is a limit on the number of free withdrawals, which exceeds the handling fee!
when handling ordinary bank cards in Canadian banks, the number of withdrawals from the Checking account is basically limited to 25 times per month. If the number of withdrawals exceeds this number per month, there will be a handling fee of 1-1.25 yuan for each additional withdrawal. You can make your own comparison when you open an account!
there is a handling fee for withdrawing money from inter-bank ATMs!
Ordinary cards are used free of charge at ATMs in our banking system. If you use ATMs from other banks, you need to charge a handling fee. Most bank cards have a daily limit, and both TD and RBC have a daily limit of 1, yuan.
which is the stronger deposit interest in saving account?
Saving accounts usually have higher interest rates, and the savings interest varies from bank to bank. For example, the annual interest rate of TD Bank is .1%, while the highest interest rate of RBC reaches .8%, so students who save a lot can consider choosing RBC to find out.
there is a handling fee for withdrawing money from saving account!
if you accidentally choose to withdraw money from Saving by mistake, then the first saving withdrawal every month is free, but the second withdrawal will start to be charged! Basically, it's two yuan once. Some high-interest savings, such as RBC, have a handling fee of 5 yuan. In addition, if you set some pre-authorization fees, such as water and electricity charges for renting a house, or car purchase fees by installment, don't keep a Saving account, so you will be charged a handling fee every time you deduct money.
ATM can't be used immediately after deposit!
in terms of deposits, I suggest you deposit more money at the counter. The amount of money deposited in the ATM in Canada can't be used immediately. It will take several working days to deposit money at the counter. In addition, it will take several working days for the money deposited in the check to be used, because the bank needs to verify the denomination of the check.
there is a handling fee for cross-bank remittance!
It is important to note that cross-bank transfer and remittance in Canada are definitely not as convenient as in China! Now basically, if it is a transfer between different banks, everyone will either use a check or Email to transfer money.
if the cheque transfer fails, you will be fined!
There is no handling fee for cheque transfer, but be sure to make sure whether your Checking account has enough money before writing a cheque. Once the transfer fails, it will be severely fined, and the payee will be in trouble! In addition, the check is relatively troublesome, so it should be sent to the payee or delivered in person. Canada doesn't have that kind of convenient express delivery in the same city, so, you know, it's still quite troublesome for bus students to run around by themselves.
Email transfer is the most convenient, but there is a handling fee!
Email transfer is more convenient. As long as you know the email address of the payee's bank, you can initiate the transfer. When the payee receives the transfer email, just enter the withdrawal password you provided, and the money will be transferred successfully. But so far, all Email transfers are charged a handling fee, generally 1.5-2. Canadian dollars.
Credit card
In Canada, it is very important and beneficial for international students to apply for a local credit card in Canada. If students plan to stay in Canada for a long time, it is best to apply as soon as possible, which is conducive to accumulating credit records. The three major credit cards in Canada: Visa, Master and Amex Express. The credit cards of major banks in Canada are generally Visa cards, but BMO's is Master. Under normal circumstances, businesses can accept Visa and Master cards. So it's best to have one of everything.
However, for international students who have just arrived in Canada, it is generally difficult to apply for a credit card without a credit history. If you apply for a credit card, there are two ways: first, you can get a credit card with a Limit of $1, by paying a deposit, such as $1,. This kind of credit card is actually a Debit card, which doesn't accumulate credit points and doesn't make much sense. The second is to apply for a small credit card and accumulate credit value. Generally, the bank card can be obtained on the spot, while the credit card will be sent to the address written at the time of application within two weeks. After receiving the credit card, just call to activate it according to the prompt. If the credit is good, the credit limit will gradually increase!
Credit cards generally have a certain annual fee, and in some cases, they can be exempted from the annual fee. This should be consulted by specific banks, but many banks have also introduced policies such as the return rate of credit card accumulated points to encourage people to use credit cards. The cash back rate is around 1%-4%, and the rebates of different banks in different consumption places are different.
In Canada, credit card repayment is very important. Here, I would like to remind China students who have just arrived here that it is best not to choose automatic remittance in Canada. In China, many people will choose automatic remittance, so that the repayment account will automatically remit money if they forget it sometimes every month. Occasionally, if there is not enough money in the account, there will be no problem as long as they remember to repay in time. However, in Canada, if there is not enough money in the account, the bank will automatically impose a fine. In addition, if you use a credit card to pay, but you don't remember it, you will refuse to pay if the price of the thing you need to pay is high, but if the price is such a small amount as 2-3 yuan, the credit card will still pay and it will become an automatic overdraft. Overdraft is equivalent to borrowing money, and interest will be charged at an interest rate of about 2%.
can international students apply for a mortgage?
Many overseas students in China are willing to buy real estate in Canada. As non-Canadian residents, several major banks in Canada have gradually relaxed various conditions and age restrictions for buying a house, but banks mainly consider the buyer's purpose of buying a house and credit history. If foreign students will buy a house for their own use or rent it, or if they plan to stay in the local area to work or apply for immigration after graduation, the bank will be very willing to provide a mortgage. If they plan to do business and buy or sell real estate, it belongs to the commercial category and may not get loan support!
In addition, if foreign students have a good credit record and no bad records such as default on repayment, it will help them get a mortgage, so it is very helpful to apply for a credit card as soon as possible in Canada.