Canadian Bank Accounts for Newcomers

In a recent article, I talked about Canada being the best country in the world. It’s no wonder immigrants or newcomers from all over the world will be coming to this wonderful country for a better living. Every year Canada welcomes a handful numbers of new immigrants, and not all these newcomers are from third or second world countries. You will find immigrants from other first world, developed, or rich countries coming to Canada. And why not? If you were given the opportunity, why you would not want to be a part of the best country on earth, even if you live in another rich country? If you live in Canada, you will bump into new immigrants from other developed nations like Australia, U.K., U.S.A., France, and so on all the time. When a newcomer first arrives in Canada, the first thing they look for is to have a bank account. And today, I will review some bank accounts for immigrants briefly. I will concentrate on Chequing accounts as majority of newcomers look for a simple chequing account.

HSBC Bank Canada – Although HSBC bank tries to impress by advertising that newcomers can open an account even before you arrive in Canada, their fine print reveals a big catch. Their HSBC Advance Chequing Account requires a minimum balance of $25,000. If you don’t keep this minimum balance, you will be paying $25 monthly fee – which is too much. If you don’t like to waste your money paying banking fees, stay away from HSBC.

RBC Royal Bank – The RBC® Welcome to Canada Banking Package offers free banking for a full one year. This package includes many other products such as a credit card, free safe deposit box, etc. After one year, your monthly fee will be $4 – which is not bad. However, there may be transaction fees depending on how many transactions you do.

TD Canada Trust – TD does not have any separate bank account or any packages for newcomers. To view their products, visit TD’s website.

CIBC – CIBC’s CIBC Newcomers to Canada Plan offers free banking for one year. Also, newcomers get help with purchasing their homes with a CIBC Newcomer Mortgage.

ScotiaBank – Scotiabank offers StartRight Program for landed immigrants. The Scotiabank StartRight Program financial package offers No-fee Powerchequing® free for one year, free small safety deposit box, auto loan program, among many other things.

BMO – BMO Bank of Montreal® offers the BMO Banking Package for Newcomers. This package offers free one year banking, free small safety box, and a secured BMO Term Investments.

Some of these packages offer credit products to build a credit history in Canada. These are the programs offered by Canada’s major banks for newcomers. There may be similar programs offered by other banks or financial institutions. Always do your research before opening a bank account or any sort of account in Canada to get the best deals and to find something that meet your needs. Also, since you are new in Canada, why not broaden your financial knowledge by regularly reading my two financial websites: Canada Personal Finance Blog and Canada Personal Finance Website. Remember, no one cares about your money but you. Only you know how hard it is to earn a dollar, because you are the one who earned it. Save a dollar at every possible opportunity and start investing wisely – you will succeed in Canada.

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Personal Finance Blog Interviews ING Direct Canada CEO, Peter Aceto

ING Direct Canada recently launched its free chequing account, called a THRiVE Chequing. ING Direct pioneered online banking across the globe and made high-interest savings account well-known in Canada. I have just posted an interview with the CEO of ING Direct Canada on my other website, Canada Personal Finance Blog – A Dawn Journal. 

Today, let me take you to my other site for this interview:

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Canadian Banking System Gets A+

Good news if you do your banking in Canada – you are storing your money in what is accepted to be the safest banking system in the world, ahead, even of banking paradise Switzerland. This means that even in the current global financial crisis, there is no cause to worry about the safety of your banking deposits, and that putting your money into a Canadian bank is as close as you can get to a guarantee that it will be handled in the most efficient way imaginable. After the annual study by the World Economic Forum polled bankers worldwide, Canada came out on top – well ahead of near neighbours the United States, which came in 40^th.

The World Economic Forum polls its members every year, asking them to award marks out of seven for the soundness of a countries banking system. Canada polled a remarkable 6.8 out of seven, ahead of the previous leader as well as other notables such as Sweden, Luxembourg and Denmark, all of which are known for unshakeable fiscal probity.

This is news worth shouting about, as banks in many other countries have had to rely on government bailouts while others have gone to the wall. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is a man with plenty of reasons to smile. As his counterparts in supposedly more prestigious economies flounder against a seemingly unstoppable wave of financial doom, Flaherty is presiding over a competitive economy with a lessening level of debt. As other governments borrow to escape the meltdown, Canada’s surefootedness is likely to reassure banking customers.

Canada has a progressive banking system too. It is a lot less stressful to try and get hold of your money here, with more Automated Bank Telling Machines per capita than any country in the world. Anybody who has ever spent time in a city or town with a dearth of ABMs can tell you that it’s a frustrating experience trying to withdraw money that you know you have. Sometimes it’s like they don’t WANT you to spend your money.

Electronic banking plays its own part in this most efficient bank system. Canada has the highest penetration levels worldwide of debit cards (enabling you to make use of your account even if you can’t find one of the country’s many branches or cash points), Internet banking (so if your bank doesn’t have one of the many branches nearby you can still conduct any transaction you care to name) and telephone banking. It’s a quite impressive story overall, to be honest. Knowing that your money is safe and that you face the fewest restrictions imaginable should you wish to make use of it means Canada should be in a position to ride out the crisis and come out the other side ready to compete.

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Are You Still Paying Banking Fees?

Today, I am going to review chequing accounts offered by Canadian banks. I have researched most of the banks offering chequing accounts in Canada; however, I was able to find only two institutions worth mentioning. I am not going to review any products offered by big players like Royal Bank, TD Bank, CIBC and so on, as they do not offer any free chequing accounts. My objective is to review products and services that make perfect personal finance sense, and if you are looking for chequing accounts with lots of features and no fees whatsoever – you have come to the right place.

My First Pick

President Choice No Fee Bank Account

Where on earth you will get free banking + free cheques? Yes, President Choice Financial offers that. Let’s look at some features they offer:

• Free online and telephone (automated and live) banking. 
• Unlimited free transactions at CIBC or PCF bank machines.
• Unlimited cheques come with free chequing account
• Unlimited free Interac^® direct payments
• Earn points towards free groceries

My second Pick

Citizen’s Bank of Canada Global Chequing Account

• Withdraw money globally without paying fees (terms and conditions apply. Visit their website for more info)
• Free online and telephone (automated and live) banking.
• No fees debit card purchases in Canada and US.
• Free access to over 2500 ATMs in Canada
• Overdraft protection up to $1000 if qualified

My Take

The only thing you have to give up to do free banking is the service of a brick and mortar branch. PCF offers Pavilion at Loblaws where you can meet a live person but it’s not like going to a branch. Citizen Bank does not have anything like Pavilion. Do you really need to meet a live person to do your banking? I have been with PCF for ten years and I never needed help from a live person to do any transactions.

if you travel a lot and use your bank card outside the country, you should consider Global Chequing Account. If you do not travel often and don’t need to use your bank card outside Canada, PCF No Fee Bank Account is what you should consider. PCF lets you use CIBC’s ATMs for free – which I find is very convenient.

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