Canadian Bank Accounts

[DeadPoolX 9]

I've looked over the "big five" banks in Canada and there seems to be a very disturbing trend with all of them: They all charge fees for their checking accounts and impose limitations on how often debit cards may be used!

That's insane! I've never seen anything like that in my life.

The U.S. banks I've used in the past are Washington Mutual and Bank of America and neither of them charge any fee whatsoever for checking accounts or limit you on how you use your debit card; in fact, as far as I know, WAMU actually rewards you for using it! Are there any banks in Canada that offer unlimited transactions (debit, account, etc) and no fee, like in the United States?

[Krikit 1,164]

Service fees are waived when you keep a specific minimum balance in your account. With TD Canada Trust it's 1k.

[WaitForever 0]

Welcome to Canada. A lack of abundant competition allows them to do this. Plus I would not be surprised if they all get together and agree to fees ahead of time. Just wait till you have to get cell service - another area where Canadians pay a ton more than Americans. Pick up a recent issue of Macleans where they compare US and Canadian prices on goods and come to the conclusion that doing business is Canada just costs more due to government intervention, forced bilingual packaging, more regulation etc. etc.

[iteachkids81 1]

if you go to president's choice and open an account there, they don't charge fees. its more like a credit union. you can get a credit card with them too and you can accumulate points when you shop at Loblaw's or Superstore (or other stores that sell the president's choice brand).

[aravis227 1]

Welcome to Canada. A lack of abundant competition allows them to do this. Plus I would not be surprised if they all get together and agree to fees ahead of time. Just wait till you have to get cell service - another area where Canadians pay a ton more than Americans. Pick up a recent issue of Macleans where they compare US and Canadian prices on goods and come to the conclusion that doing business is Canada just costs more due to government intervention, forced bilingual packaging, more regulation etc. etc.

Guess that explains why Canadian wages are higher...they HAVE to be! I've never had a bank account that had fees just for having an account, no matter what your balance is.

[GregS 0]

I have always had an account at Scotiabank, and they too had no fees if you keep a min balance.

[Emancipation 2]

President's Choice is a great idea.... Plus they are "loosly" connected to CIBC.. so

Yep.. that's one of the good things about US banking (if there is any)... no fees

Edited August 25, 2008 by Emancipation

[jedinite 0]

Most Canadian banks require a min balance of $1000 for free transactions. If you dip below the min balance requirement during the month you will probably be facing service charges for the transactions you've used for that particular month.

Most banks also impose a daily limit to your Interac (debit card) usage to protect you in case you get your card stolen. If you want this daily debit card limit removed call or visit your local branch and get the CSR to change it. Also most accounts that are less than 6 months old will likely have a maximum $500 limit to it this is because the bank does not want to allow you to over extend your limit (borrow) until you have established a history with the bank. It's annoying yes, but at least there are safe-guards in place to protect you and them.

Just think, Canada banks are not in trouble like the US Banks are right now because Canada doesn't over extend it's loans and mortgages. That's why there's now a housing and mortgage crisis in the US. Food for thought.

[badspellor 0]

I have to say PC Financial is the way to go. No fees no matter what the balance, free cheques and a decent interest rate to boot! Just no teller service which never bothered me one bit.

What I don't like about banks in the states is there's SO MANY of them! There can be 10 banks in one area then you drive an hour and there'll be 10 banks in that area, too, but none of them the same as the 10 banks in the first area! It's nice to know that most populated areas in Canada have a CIBC or Dominion/Loblaws/Superstore/SaveEasy that I could use an ATM to make deposits or withdraw without fees. Using another bank's ATM in the states (unless you have a bank card from another country) will almost always incur fees. $3 per transaction isn't all that uncommon. If you travel within the country at all, you're likely to go to an area where there isn't a branch of your bank for quite a distance. It looks like the bigger banks are buying out the small community banks and we might start seeing the same banks everywhere like Bank of America and Chase.

[Krikit 1,164]

I have to say PC Financial is the way to go. No fees no matter what the balance, free cheques and a decent interest rate to boot! Just no teller service which never bothered me one bit.

What I don't like about banks in the states is there's SO MANY of them! There can be 10 banks in one area then you drive an hour and there'll be 10 banks in that area, too, but none of them the same as the 10 banks in the first area! It's nice to know that most populated areas in Canada have a CIBC or Dominion/Loblaws/Superstore/SaveEasy that I could use an ATM to make deposits or withdraw without fees. Using another bank's ATM in the states (unless you have a bank card from another country) will almost always incur fees. $3 per transaction isn't all that uncommon. If you travel within the country at all, you're likely to go to an area where there isn't a branch of your bank for quite a distance. It looks like the bigger banks are buying out the small community banks and we might start seeing the same banks everywhere like Bank of America and Chase.

I've heard nothing but good things about PC.

And about the number of banks in the States..... I agree. I have to laugh whenever I drive by the First Third National Bank. There are so many banks with random names like that. My husband and I joke about it all the time. We're going to open up a First Third Fifth Ninth Bank.

[DeadPoolX 9]

PC Financial, huh? I'll definitely look into that.

As for U.S. banks, one of the largest and most common -- as I'm sure you all know already -- is Bank of America. Naturally, they can be a bit of a pain sometimes. The best bank, in my opinion, is Washington Mutual. They seem the friendliest overall and have the best options when it comes to checking and savings accounts. I also like their debit cards, since as far as I know, WAMU charges absolutely no fee to use their debit card at any ATM, whether or not it's theirs. If the ATM charges a fee, well... that's something else entirely. I've found that WAMU doesn't even charge a fee for me using my debit card in an ATM in Canada, which is pretty cool.

One thing some of the Canadians here might want to know about American credit/debit cards and the banks that lend them out, however. You absolutely must inform your card provider if you are going out of country beforehand. I don't know if this is a requirement in Canada or not (my wife said she never had to), but if you don't do it with the cards in the U.S., they'll probably put a "hold" on them, thinking they're stolen. It's a relatively easy (but annoying) thing to do, since you need to call them up and tell them.

Bank idea: The First Canalien Bank

Edited August 25, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[EmilyandJason 0]

What part of Canada are you in? Coast Capital savings has a no fee account and I have only great things to say about their customer service.

https://www.coastcapitalsavings.com/Persona...quing_Accounts/

[k34 0]

Another vote for PC Financial! I have been with them pretty much since they were brand new maybe 10 years ago, and have never had so much as a minor annoyance with them. They even go so far as to compensate you if you have any trouble (eg I tried to withdraw money from a CIBC machine and it said that it gave me the money, but none was actually dispensed... they actually credited my account with $20 for "goodwill" because I had to go to the trouble to make a phone call to resolve it).

Because of the CIBC affiliation, if you require a service that goes beyond what they can offer without a physical location (a bank draft, for example), for a fee, you can arrange to complete the transaction at a CIBC branch (at least that's the way it worked several years ago when I had to do this).

[Reba 2]

I used to bank with ScotiaBank and I don't remember any fees. I could even use BoA machines in the US without service charges. I had a daily limit on my debit card, but as previously mentioned, that's for your own safety in case someone gets hold of your number. I also have a daily limit on my State Employees credit union debit card here in the US. And montly fees

Canadian banking is far ahead of US banking as well IMO. Pretty much entirely paperless, unless you're a luddite without a debit card. Which I'm guessing there's not many of in Canada anymore, considering most retailers and grocers will no longer accept cheques. Cheques are so silly, and make people wait longer in line at the grocers I'm not even sure you deposit or withdraw from your account unless you have a bank card in Canada.

the credit union here just got card readers at the tellers but no one will use them. Not even the tellers.

[EmilyandJason 0]

I've noticed the same thing Reba!

It feels weird to have to fill out a deposit slip at the bank!

Also, it seems to me that the BOA online system is pretty behind the times as it can take several days for a debit transactions to show up. I'm in WA and I know that WA and ID are on their own system. Maybe it is better for the rest of the country.

Sorry to hijack, but does anyone know if WAMU is better for online banking?