Overview 

One of the first issues that you will need to address when you first move to Canada will be to open a new Canadian bank account. You may be able to get along without a bank account in Canada for a while but in the long term you will probably struggle to survive without one. You will also need to organise a bank account if you are not living with someone that has a bank account to pay your utility bills each month. Canadian banks are no different from most banks around the world and offer services such as online banking and automatic banking machines (ATM’s). Most ATM s in Canada operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Most Banks offer similar services and accounts but we would recommend that you go into a few different banks and compare the interest rates and services they offer. It is also important for you to find out which bank is best going to suits your needs. 

To open a new bank account you will need to provide a form of identification which would normally be your passport and a proof of your address such as a utility bill. As a foreign resident, you will usually also be asked to provide a reference from your employer/host university or educational institution or a previous bank you have held an account with.

The biggest Canadian banks are:

• Royal Bank of Canada - www.royalbank.com
• TD Canada Trust - www.tdcanadatrust.com
• Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce - www.cibc.com
• Bank of Nova Scotia - www.scotiabank.com

• Bank of Montreal - www.bmo.com