I will be immigrating soon on PR VISA to Mississauga.
I would like to know which is a good bank for a newcomer like me to open an a/c with.
Also what type of a/c should I open which turns out to have low service charges and one with zero balance or minimal balance requirement.
Also I may get a bank draft from India,so once I land in Canada and open an a/c and then deposit the draft then how long would it take for the amount to get credited in my a/c in Canada.

Thank you
dhiren

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dhiren

The "Which bank" question has been discussed several times on the forum, all you have to do is a search on keywords like "Bank", "Bank account"

I think PC Financial may be the best from what I've read on the forum so far w.r.t. no min balance and fees and stuff. I don't bank with them so don't have too many details, but click the link below and you'll see a lot of posts with details...

http://www.canadiandesi.com/search.php?q=%22PC+financial%22&qauthor=&forums%5B%5D=all&matchmessage=1&perpage=20&sortby=dateline&sort=DESC&viewby=t&action=display

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Are you there?

No need to carry bank draft, just go to any ICICI bank branch in your city and tell them that you are immigrating to Canada show your papers, they will open your account there itself in ICICI Brampton, Canada Branch and you can avoid the hassels of carrying money. ICICI have couple branches conveniently located.

Cheers!

Hi Dhiren,
I have found Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is good in most aspects of Banking.
It has sufficient number of ATMS all over canada, has good internet banking, good transfer facilities.

There are other banks like TD Canada (Has high ATM network within Toronto),
Bank of Montreal etc.

Regarding bringing money to canada: Personally, I feel the most convenient, easy and safer way is to bring AMEX Traveller's Cheques. It is immediately cashable in bank here. E.g. Royal Bank. It was a 10 minute transaction overal for me.

I have also seen people bringing draft from India. We have State bank of India in Scarborough (within Toronto). It handles drafts. I am not sure of the period to encash an indian draft. To send a draft by SBI and to get cash in india, it would take more than a week (from canada to India). May be you can check with SBI in India.

thanks,

Thanks everyone for the reply

dhiren

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dhiren

Open a 'value' account with TD Bank and take a 'green' credit card from them

Carry CAD 1000/- or less in TCs and the balance in draft . U can deposit both .

I am a banker...my office is right near Sq One in Mississauga...let me know if you want to open the acct....and welcome to Canada

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Let's help each other to grow & prosper in Canada