Guys,

If only internet transactions are required, (for a PR living going to live outside Canada for couple of years) which bank would you suggest? i.e, with Minimum deposit, no account maintenance fee, etc?
Will the bank give credit card also (by putting a security deposit), which can be repaid through the net?

is TD the best? pls advice...

The two largest Internet banks are PC Financial and ING.
I know that PC financial does not have any account fees, minimum balance or other such BS.
Most of the brick-mortar banks like TD, RBC, Scotia, etc. have all sorts of fees, minimums, limits, etc.

I don't know whether PC or ING issue secured credit cards or not - call them and ask.

BTW, if you are going to live outside Canada, why do you need a secured credit card anyway?
Get a credit card in the country where you will be living.
Lots of banks charge huge fees for foreign currency transactions.

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I am not too sure if you can get a PC chequing account without Canadian credit history.

You can get both secured credit card and online banking with TD. If you keep minimum monthly balance over $1000, you do not have to pay any fees to TD (else it is $4/month) and also you get couple of transactions and couple of cheques free every month.

With RBC, there is no monthly fee but you have to pay 50 cents for every debit transaction or go for a package starting from $4 a month that gives you 15 debit transactions and internet and telebanking access to your account. To get cheques or chequebook, you have pay separately.

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Quote:

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Orginally posted by rajcanada

I am not too sure if you can get a PC chequing account without Canadian credit history.

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Man's Best Friend

Quote:

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Orginally posted by YoursTruly

Quote:

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Orginally posted by rajcanada

I am not too sure if you can get a PC chequing account without Canadian credit history.

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Under an agreement with the Bank of Canada, the Canadian Chartered Banks cannot refuse to open a new account for PRs without any credit history. Under the same agreement the banks agreed to offer chequing accounts without any fixed service charges. That is why every bank has atleast one chequing account where the customer does not pay any monthly charges if a certain minimum amount is on balance throuout the month.

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The new rules are in force from Sept. 2003. The following booklet would be helpful in clarifying the doubts.

http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/consumers/rights/PDF/NewBankingRights_e.pdf

It should be noted that these rules are not applicable if one opens account either online or over telephone. However, the PCF does have physical points of contact where one can open the account. The above booklet also provides useful contacts if the bank still refuses to open an account.

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Man's Best Friend

My correspondence with PCF

My e-mail to PCF:

I am a recently landed immigrant and want to open a chequing account with the PC Financial. I was told that I should have atleast one year's credit history to be eligible for the same.

Please confirm this information given to me by one of your customer service agents. The other banks do not impose any such restriction.

Thanks in advance.

Reply from PCF:

Dear Sir or Madam:

Thank you for taking the time to write President's Choice Financial.

At President's Choice Financial services, customer security is taken very seriously. To protect customers and shareholders, we must ask for identification whenever a product or service is opened for a new customer. Existing customers have already satisfied identification requirements, and are not subject to the same requirements when they purchase another product.

When you apply for a product or service over the Internet or by phone, you'll be asked for your Social Insurance Number and a major credit card number. You must be the primary cardholder of the credit card. If you apply for a product or service at an In-Store pavilion, you'll be asked for two pieces of identification (one must be photo).

The following pieces of photo identification are accepted at pavilions:

- Driver's License (Canadian) with photo
- Canadian Passport
- First Nations Status Certificate with photo
- Canadian Citizenship Card with photo
- Immigration visa with photo
- Canadian Provincial Identity Card with photo and signature
- Department of National Defence Identification Card (CAFIB20)
- Permanent Resident Card
- CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind) Card

The second piece of identification can be:
- Major Corporate ID with photo
- Valid foreign passport with photo (when details can be verified against an Immigration Visa)
- Valid Social Insurance Number (SIN) card
- Citizenship and Immigration Canada Form IMM 1000, IMM 1442, IMM5292
- Old Age Security Card
- Certificate of Naturalization (non-commemorative issue)
- Canadian Birth Certificate
- Major Credit Card
o VISA
o MasterCard
o AMEX
o Diner's EnRoute
- Health Insurance Card (except in Ontario, PEI, and Manitoba)

If you do not have or wish to provide identification from either of the above categories, you can provide:
- A signed bank card from a Canadian financial institution
- A reference from someone who:
o has known you for at least two years,
o accompanies you to an in-store Pavilion
o presents two pieces of identification from the first two categories above
o signs the appropriate form.

Department store credit cards, Student ID with photo, Bus passes or Library cards will not be accepted as valid identification.

President's Choice Financial services uses information from the credit bureau to identify you. This information is also used as the basis for personal account details like daily cash withdrawal limits, overdraft protection amounts and the amount that you can immediately withdraw from bank machine deposits.

If you require additional information, please call 1-888-723-8881. Assistance is available seven days a week from 7:00 a.m. to midnight local time across Canada.

Thank you for visiting http://www.pcfinancial.ca." rel="nofollow">LINK


Sincerely,

XXXXX
Internet Communications Specialist

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