Common sense of handling bank cards for Canadian immigrants studying abroad

Students who immigrated to Canada to study abroad are a little nervous about going to the bank. They feel that they are new here and it is always difficult to communicate these special terms in English. In fact, first of all, when you come to the bank, you can express your hope generously and communicate with Chinese-speaking tellers. Now, as long as they are not too young, China employees of major banks in Canadian cities are not uncommon. In addition, the daily banking business involved is not complicated, but we need to pay special attention to the following differences with domestic banks! The top five banks in Canada are:

Royal Bank of Canada

2. Trust Canada means Trust Bank of Canada.

3. scotiabank-scotiabank

4. Bank of Montreal

5.CIBC- Canadian Imperial Commercial Bank, Canadian Imperial Commercial Bank.

At present, four of the top five banks have set up branches or offices in China (TD has no China branch), which is convenient for 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 in your school has more ATMs; Third, look at the conditions for bank cards to open cards for students, which will be discussed below.

After choosing a suitable bank, you usually need to open an account with your visa, study permit, passport, address and telephone number, and you need an admission notice to open a student account.

What are the precautions for Canadian banking?

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, GIC time deposit account and so on. The current account is most commonly used by international students. Current accounts can be divided into savings accounts and checking accounts. The account numbers of the two accounts are different! If you want to provide an account, don't mix it up!

A checking account is prepared for daily life. The money in the account may be spent at any time, and the check is also taken out from the checking account, and there is no interest at all. Savings accounts usually have high interest rates and are used to deposit money that is not used in the short term. There is no handling fee for mutual transfer between savings account and checking account.

Is your bank card free of annual fee?

International students should pay attention to whether they are exempt from annual fees when handling bank cards. Most banks have a minimum deposit for enquiries. Insufficient deposit 1.500 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 this question when opening an account.

There is a limit to the number of free withdrawals, and the handling fee is over level 2!

When handling ordinary bank cards in Canadian banks, the monthly withdrawals from checking accounts are basically limited to 25 times. If this number of withdrawals is exceeded every month, a handling fee of 1- 1.25 yuan will be incurred for each additional withdrawal. You can compare it yourself when you open an account!

There is a handling fee for withdrawing money from inter-bank ATM machines!

Ordinary cards are free to use at ATMs in our banking system. If you use ATMs from other banks, you will have to charge a handling fee. Most bank cards have daily limit, and both TD and RBC have daily limit of 1000.

Which is better, deposit interest in savings account?

Savings accounts usually have high interest rates, and each bank is different. For example, the annual interest rate of TD Bank is 0. 1%, while the highest interest rate of RBC reaches 0.8%, so students who save a lot can consider choosing RBC to find out.

There is a handling fee for withdrawing money from the savings account!

If you accidentally choose to withdraw money from your savings, the first withdrawal from your savings every month is free, but the second withdrawal will start to be charged! It's basically two yuan at a time. Some high-interest savings, such as RBC, charge 5 yuan. In addition, if you set some pre-authorization fees, such as utilities for renting a house, or car purchase by installment, don't leave a savings account, so you will be charged a handling fee every time you deduct money.

You can't use it immediately after ATM deposit!

As for deposits, I suggest you make more deposits at the counter. The money deposited in the ATM in Canada cannot be used immediately. It takes several working days to deposit money at the counter. In addition, it takes 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!

Pay special attention to cross-bank transfer and remittance to others in Canada, there is absolutely no domestic convenience! Now, basically, if it is a transfer between different banks, everyone will either use a check or mail to transfer money.

If the cheque transfer fails, you will be fined

There is no handling fee for cheque transfer, but make sure you have enough money in your checking account before writing a cheque. Once the transfer fails, it will be severely punished and the payee will be in trouble! In addition, the check is more 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 quite troublesome for bus students to run around by themselves.

Mail transfer is the most convenient, but there is a handling fee!

E-mail transfer is more convenient. As long as you know the mailbox of the payee's bank, you can initiate the transfer. When the payee receives the transfer email, he only needs to enter the withdrawal password provided by you, and the money transfer is successful. But so far, all mail transfers have to be charged a handling fee, which is generally 1.5-2.0 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. Canada's three major credit cards: 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, merchants can accept Visa and Master cards. So it's best to have everything.

However, for foreign students who have just arrived in Canada, it is generally difficult to apply for a credit card without a credit record. If you apply for a credit card, there are two ways: first, you can get a credit card with a limit of 1000 USD by paying a deposit, such as 1000 USD. This kind of credit card is actually a debit card, and it doesn't make much sense to accumulate credit points. The second is to apply for a small credit card and accumulate credit value. Generally, you can get a bank card on the spot, and the credit card will be sent to the address written at the time of application within two weeks. After receiving the credit card, follow the prompts and call to activate it. 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. Specific banks should be consulted, but many banks have also introduced policies such as credit card cumulative points return rate to encourage people to use credit cards. The cashback rate is around 1%-4%, and the rebates are different in different consumer places and different banks.

In Canada, credit card repayment is very important. 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 it is sometimes forgotten every month. Occasionally, there is not enough money in the account, as long as they think of repayment in time, there will be no problem. However, in Canada, if there is not enough money in the account, the bank will automatically fine them. In addition, if you pay by credit card, but you can't remember, if the price of what you need to pay is high, you will refuse to pay, but if the price is as small as 20-30 yuan, the credit card will still pay, which becomes automatic overdraft. Overdraft is equivalent to borrowing money, and interest will be charged at the interest rate of about 20%.

Can international students apply for a mortgage?

Many international students from 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 purchase purpose and credit history of buyers. If international students will buy a house for their own use or rent it, or plan to stay in the local area to work or apply for immigration after graduation, banks will be very willing to provide mortgages. If they plan to do business, buy and sell real estate, which belongs to the commercial category, they may not get loan support!

In addition, if international students have a good credit record and no bad record 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.