rosetopography ([info]rosetopography) wrote in [info]vancouver,
@ 2008-07-05 10:16:00
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Recommending a Good Bank
I'm planning on starting at UBC in January 2009 and was wondering if anyone had experience with setting up a bank account in Canada. On CIC's Web site they give a listing of various banks, but I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good one for a student at UBC living on, or hopefully, near campus. Vancity seems to be a pretty good one based on their Web site. Anyone know if there's a bank on-campus?

Also, does anyone know if I could get a Canadian VISA (credit card)? I've heard that my credit score in the US does not transfer into other countries (not that it's terrible or anything), but I'm thinking that if I'm going to spend a few years in BC, and will probably charging a few things, I'd rather set up a local account versus get hit again and again with international fees.

Any help would greatly be appreciated!

Thanks!

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[info]whoopseedaisy
2008-07-05 08:45 pm UTC (link)
VanCity is awesome. Two thumbs up. You can also get a Visa through them. If you don't qualify for a regular one, they have a secured Visa and a Reloadable Visa, neither of which require credit checks. But you have to have the money up front.

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[info]retro_rider55
2008-07-06 07:26 pm UTC (link)
- and you don't get dinged for using any other credit union's ATM - of which there are plenty in the lower mainland, and the Island, etc...

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[info]lesbiassparrow
2008-07-05 08:53 pm UTC (link)
There's a CIBC and Bank of Montreal in the University Village. There is, I believe, a TD machine in the Sub, but I am not sure about Vancity.

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[info]palmer_kun
2008-07-05 08:58 pm UTC (link)
I recommend Vancity wholly and completely. They have exceptional customer service, very low fees that save you money, and give you the peace of mind knowing that you're dealing with a company that has a clear social and ethical policy (the only bank with such a policy in Canada).

While they don't have a branch on campus (as far as I know) they do appear to have an ATM in the Student Union Building. They do have online banking and 24 hour telephone banking available however, making the need for an actual branch minimal.

In addition, you have the flexibility of doing your banking using any ATM from any Credit Union in BC (as well as any HSBC ATM) without any fees. This gives you access to a network at least as large as any of the major banks.

If you want to set up an account, you will need to make an appointment with them. You can pop in a branch to set one up, or call 604-877-7000 to set up an appointment.

I don't know about your credit rating, but you can usually still get a visa with no credit history (I know I did). Vancity has several visa cards to pick from.

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[info]stereophonicrpm
2008-07-05 08:59 pm UTC (link)
Vancity is a bit different as it is not a bank but a credit union; I've found that to be one of the important things. :)

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[info]palmer_kun
2008-07-05 09:04 pm UTC (link)
I, moreso than a lot of people, know the difference. But for day to day interactions, there's no visible difference :)

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[info]stereophonicrpm
2008-07-05 08:58 pm UTC (link)
I love, love Vancity and they have a branch super close by the Sassamat Safeway. They have great student plans.

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[info]julieghoulie
2008-07-05 09:30 pm UTC (link)
I like Vancity too, but just a fyi, it's a pain in the ass to do money transfers with them. I'm currently in the US going to school, and I needed to transfer money from Wells Fargo to a friend with a Vancity account. We had to make a bunch of calls and no one at Vancity could give us the correct numbers that we needed. Ugh it was a nightmare. I ended up finding another way.

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[info]brooklebee
2008-07-05 09:47 pm UTC (link)
paypal! it is the best way to transfer money across borders hassle-free.

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[info]ladylickwid
2008-07-05 09:31 pm UTC (link)
Stay far, far away from the big banks like CIBC, RBC etc.

A credit union really is the way to go. While I'm not with VanCity, I am with a credit union and I couldn't be happier since I told CIBC to eat a hairy dick.

I took my niece to CIBC to open a savings account and they wouldn't let her open one until they ran a credit check on her. She's six years old.

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[info]fiji_mermaid
2008-07-05 10:40 pm UTC (link)
I've had a fantastic experience with BMO, actually. They have a student/youth plan that waives all fees until a certain age (23?) and you can get a master card as a non-working student. I have never had anything but perfect customer service from them in any bank or on the phone, and their website is easy to use.
That said, the other commenters have nearly convinced me to switch to VanCity.

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[info]starra74
2008-07-05 10:40 pm UTC (link)
Another vote for VanCity! The charter banks are evil so don't have anything to do with them.

AND

Paypal is the easiest way to transfer money from the US to your Canadian account, and the Hyperwallet feature that VanCity offers is the easiest way to transfer money to the US from Canada.

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[info]zippydooah
2008-07-05 11:08 pm UTC (link)
Vancity.

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[info]rosetopography
2008-07-06 12:12 am UTC (link)
I guess Vancity it is!

Your willingness to help has warmed my heart and made me feel a little less nervous about pulling up roots and relocating.

So thank you :)

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[info]cow
2008-07-06 01:14 am UTC (link)
I also recommend Vancity, but you've already gotten that. :)

As a recent immigrant to Canada, one thing I'll note is that almost nobody will give you an actual credit card until you have permanent residency. (Vancity and RBC were ones I tried, but every credit card application I looked at says it in the fine print.) However, you can get a secured visa; basically, you put $x in a term deposit (a CD, in American terms) and they hand you a credit card with a limit of $x.

I Have Heard that some banks will make an exception for full-time students, but not being one here, I can't speak to that.

Edited at 2008-07-06 01:15 am UTC

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[info]annamaryse
2008-07-06 06:17 am UTC (link)
Keep your US bank and US Visa, no reason not to use it in Canada. Also... you WILL get a debit card (called "interac") in Canada which will have the Visa symbol on it and works like a Visa but you have to have money in the bank to spend it.

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[info]vinkint
2008-07-06 07:29 am UTC (link)
Ummm I think you might be a little confused. In the US there's "debit Visa" but not in Canada.

Unless of course you meant that the debit card will not have the Visa symbol...

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[info]spitefairy
2008-07-10 09:39 am UTC (link)
Plenty of reason not to use it: you get hit with atm fees, international charges, exchange rate fluctuation nonsense and most credit card companies will require that you call and validate all of your charges after you make them. This is fine if you're just visiting, but if you're coming for school, get an account here.

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[info]straysparrow
2008-07-06 05:40 pm UTC (link)
All of my international friends had trouble getting visas in canada. They all ended up getting them through VanCity, but they had to persevere. Even VanCity said no at the start.

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[info]spitefairy
2008-07-10 09:36 am UTC (link)
We used VanCity when my husband and I moved to Vancouver and love it. We were able to get a visa card through them under a student plan, plus you'll get a debit card for just your standard purchases.

Just a word to the wise for your move, get a prepaid cell phone or an international plan with a US company. Because you have no credit you'll get pretty much hosed with a lot of them anyway. I really can't stress enough how much I regret signing a contract with fido after we moved here.

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