How to apply for a bank card when studying in Canada?

For students studying in Canada, they can apply for Canadian bank accounts in China, for example, the Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank have branches in China, or they can apply for scotiabank through China Everbright Bank and Dominic Bank through China Standard Chartered Bank.

Bank accounts in Canada are more complicated than credit cards. Therefore, before opening an account, we must understand and compare the business policies, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of major banks in detail.

1, Canadian bank cards are basically divided into debit cards and credit cards (Visa).

Debit accounts can be divided into two categories: one is checking accounts. The second is a savings account (investment account). When paying the bill in the future, you need to choose one of them to pay the bill.

A checking account, which is similar to a current account in China, but different:

1) There is no interest on the funds in the checking account.

2) There will be a certain amount of free transactions in the checking account every month. The so-called transaction refers to a transfer of funds (whether transferred in or out, including but not limited to credit card consumption, cheque settlement, ATM withdrawal, counter withdrawal and pre-authorization transaction) by the bank in your account. After this limit is exceeded, the bank will charge a handling fee for each transaction.

Savings account, that is, savings account. Similar to a fixed account in China. There are also some differences:

1) The savings account needs to pay special attention to its few free transactions per month (1 or 2 times). If you use this account for settlement multiple times in a month, an additional service fee will be charged for each transaction! But one advantage of a savings account is that it can be withdrawn free of charge at any time. Automatic monthly interest settlement.

2) Different kinds of savings accounts have different interest rates.

3) Check transactions are prohibited in savings accounts.

2. About debit cards.

The debit card of the Bank of Canada contains multiple accounts. In other words, a card includes checking account, savings account and even credit card. So when you pay by debit card, you will be asked to choose between checking account and savings account.

3. About credit cards

Unlike China, in Canada, credit cards are more than just a means of payment. As a legal photo-free identification, owning a credit card is equivalent to establishing your lifelong credit record in Canada. Whenever you apply for services that need to provide proof of credit history (such as buying a car, renting a house, buying a house, etc.). ), the relevant company will investigate your credit history report, which will directly affect the result of your application. Therefore, when using a credit card abroad, please be sure to repay it on time, and don't maliciously swipe the credit card.

4. About banks

According to the scale of total assets, the top five well-known banks in Canada are:

1, Royal Bank of Canada.

2. Trust Bank of Canada.

3. scotiabank

4. Bank of Montreal

5.CIBC Imperial Bank of Canada.

Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada, founded in 1869, is the bank with the highest market value and largest assets in Canada and one of the leading diversified financial services companies in North America. Globally, Royal Bank of Canada has about 70,000 employees and branches in more than 30 countries, providing various financial services to more than 654.38+04 million customers.

Generally speaking, Royal Bank of Canada is the best Canadian bank. Most branches can maintain efficient operation, and there is basically no queuing phenomenon. Friendly service attitude. Moreover, RBC credit cards are relatively relaxed for international students who have just arrived in Canada, and students are not required to provide credit records. Its credit card service is also very good. If the card is swiped maliciously, RBC will check it by phone immediately. If it is confirmed that the credit card has been stolen, the credit transaction will be stopped immediately and a new card will be issued for free. In addition, the interface of online banking of Royal Bank of Canada is easy to understand and use.

Disadvantages of RBC:

1, credit card online bills and balances are not displayed immediately, and the response is slow.

2. Although the transfer from RBC account to credit card will arrive immediately, it will take 2-3 working days for online banking to reply.

It is not a good agreement to meet the account manager at the bank counter to open an account. Fortunately, there is a Chinese service phone.

Debit card is not given to you when you open an account, but mailed to you in your name like a credit card. New users can spend with temporary cards in a short time.

Dominion Trust Bank of Canada

TD Bank is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with branches all over the world. TD Bank is a chartered bank in Canada.

If you want to find a bank anytime and anywhere in Hafa, TD is definitely the first choice. The second advantage of TD is that it has the longest business hours in the Canadian banking industry, which makes it most convenient for customers to handle business. In addition, TD will also launch various preferential activities such as cash rewards and free checks to encourage new users to join. TD's Chinese service is also good, Mandarin is articulate and the telephone connection rate is relatively high.

Features:

1) Select service: TD: TD main current account, with a monthly fee of $29.95, and unlimited transactions; If there is $5,000 in the account (it must always exceed $5,000), the monthly fee can be waived.

2) In addition, there are some advantages as follows: no credit card annual fee (up to $65,438+070/year), free small safe (worth $60/year), free personal checkbook, free money orders/traveler's checks in Canadian dollars and US dollars, no extra charge for ATM withdrawals from different banks around the world, and free US dollars.

TD also has the following disadvantages:

1) Students who have just landed are not allowed to apply for unsecured credit cards. I don't know whether it is stipulated by the Chinatown branch in Toronto where I went or by the whole TD. It is difficult for freshmen to get unsecured credit cards from TD.

2) The quality of 2)TD magnetic card is not good. Most of them reflect that they can't swipe their cards when they encounter TD debit cards for many times;

3) There are too many advertising calls. TD will often call you to promote various insurance products. It is annoying that this excessive telephone promotion is tantamount to reducing goodwill;

4) There are no branches in China.

scotiabank

Scotiabank is one of the largest financial institutions in North America, with total assets of 36,543,880.8 billion Canadian dollars as of July 2005. It is also the most international bank in Canada. Among all Canadian banks, Scotiabank has the largest share in Chinese mainland. They have representative offices in Beijing and Shanghai and branches in Guangzhou and Chongqing, which can handle foreign currency and local currency business.

Scotiabank is a well-behaved bank with few branches. It is a bank that must apply for an American visa. The scene of its cooperation with Cineplex is very distinctive, that is, the accumulated points can be exchanged for movie tickets. Free monthly fee, interest rate 19.5%, suitable for users who like movies.

Disadvantages:

1, with too few branches, slightly inferior to the other four major banks.

2. The credit card is single. There are no other special credit cards except the scene.

Bank of Montreal Bank of Montreal

The first chartered bank in Canada. Bank of Montreal is one of the largest credit card companies in Canada. In addition, the bank has the largest number of traders in Canada and cooperates with more than 60% of Canadian traders.

The Bank of Montreal is one of the oldest banks in Canada. Chinese clients are generally Hong Kong immigrants, so the telephone operator's Mandarin is very poor.

Features:

1) The checking account has a performance plan: $ 13.95/ month, and the transaction is not limited; If you deposit more than $3,000 in your account, you can avoid the monthly fee;

2) Nowadays, many online free banks have sprung up, and BMO has also cooperated with Sobey's supermarket to launch bank cards: BMO Club Sobeys Chequing and savings account. There is no monthly fee and no minimum deposit requirement. Every time you shop in Sobeys' supermarket, you can accumulate points, which are the same as air miles.

3) BMO's housing loan service is ok, and the general interest rate is lower among the five major banks, especially for new immigrants without Canadian credit history. At present, the fixed interest rate of BMO5' s five-year low-interest mortgage is 3.09%. If your credit history is long, the interest rate should be lower;

4) Cash repayment account: the monthly fee is $ 14.95, with no limit on the number of transactions; You can get 1% cash back when you pay by debit card, up to $300 a year.

Imperial commercial bank of Canada

CIBC was formally established on 1867. Its history can be traced back to Halifax Bank Company in 1825.

CIBC provides completely free transactions and credit card services for student accounts. Chinese service is average, but English service is friendly. Business hours are between RBC and TD, and some branches are still open on Sundays (12- 16), which is convenient for customers to handle business.

Disadvantages:

1. The student account needs to be re-registered every year. Although it is not very troublesome, it is always inconvenient.

2. The extra promotion is scary. Doing business with my classmates and being promoted several times.

3. Some employees are not skilled in business. I went to open an account and got my gender wrong. I asked him to use a debit card to hang a credit card account, and he added the payee to me (all branches in China).