Money and finances. Opening a Bank Account

Source:getsmarteraboutmoney.ca

If you are thinking about coming to Canada, you have to take into account that you will need some money to support you during your first months. There will be a lot of initial expenses while you settle and look for a job. You have to pay your accommodation, food, and buy household items. So.. let´s talk about money!

Currency: 

Canada´s official currency is the Canadian Dollar ($). There are 100 cents in a dollar. And all paper money is printed by the Bank of Canada in the same size, but each bill has a different colour as you can see in the picture below

Source:newcanadianmoney.ca

Before coming, you can change some money from your country to Canadian dollars. So, you will be able to pay for the things you will need from the moment you arrive. You can also exchange money after you arrive (i.e. in the airport, but it is usually more expensive) or you can get cash from automated banking machines using your foreign debit or credit card.  You should check with our bank which is the best option for you.

If you send money through the mail, do not send cash. Use a cheque or a money order.  

Banking:

Banks and credit unions, and "caisses populaires" are safe places to keep your money. To be safer, open an account in a finantial institution member of the Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation. That means that the goverment insures the money in your account (up to a maximum of $100.000 per depositor or, in the case of joint deposits, per set of joint owners).

Source: Nane

Opening a Bank Account: 

Unlike in other countries, in Canada, you have the RIGHT to a personal account even if:

• you don´t have a job
• you do not have money to put in that account in the moment you open it.
• you have poor or no credit rating (we will talk about this in next posts)
• you have been bankrupt

You just have to go to the bank and show them 2 Identification items from the following list:

• A Canadian Driver´s licence
• a Social Insurance Number (SIN) card
• a provincial or territorial health insurance card
• a permanent resident car or a Citizenship and Inmigration Canada form.

if you don´t have two pieces of this list, you can show one and, 

• an employee ID card with a photograph from a known employer
•  a debit or credit bank card with your name and signature on it
•  a valid foreign passport

All documents must be originals. 

Important Tip: You don´t have to have a permanent address to open a bank account, but before opening a bank account you should go to the Provintial Services in order to get your Canadian identification.

Types of bank accounts:

1. Chequing accounts: They usually include a debit card and they allow you to write cheques. They usually are cheaper than other kind of accounts. You will need this kind of account if your employer uses payroll deposit. And that is the account you will use for your day to day banking needs.

2. Savings and investment accounts are helpfull if you want to save money.They give you more interest than the chequing accounts but, you are allowed to make only certain type of transactions or just a number or them per month. If you make more, it may be expensive.

If you want to know more about investments, or to be better informed before making important decisions about money, go to "ItPaysToKnow.gc.ca"

In next posts, we will talk about debit and credit cards and the importance of having a credit history 

Hope this is useful!