Banking

One of the first thing you should do during the first week of landing in Canada is to set up a bank account. You'll need a bank account to receive your salary since most employers will deposit your salary directly to your bank account. You will also need to set up chequing accounts and other banking services.

There are six major Canadian banks and various other foreign banks that operate in Canada. Most people will typical deal with the domestic banks. These are

TD Canada Trust
RBC Royal Bank
BMO Bank of Montreal
Scotiabank
Laurentian Bank
CIBC

There are also various other online or Internet only banks. But it is usually easier to set up an account with a bank with a local branch first.

Here are the different banking services you'll typically need:

Chequing Account

This is the most basic account you'll need. You need a chequing account to pay bills and for your daily expenses. Most banks typically charge for this service. They range from $4 to $12 a month depending on how many cheques you will be writing or how often you will be using your account.

Every bank has different service fees and how much activity they allow. It is best to do a comparison and figure out how much service you need so you don't end up overpaying for services. Some banks waive the service fee if you maintain a minimum balance. The minimum balance is usually $1,000, but if your balance goes below $1,000 at any time during the month, you will be charged a service fee.

Chequing accounts usually don't pay any interest so it is not advisable to put all your money in this account. This is also usually your ATM account so don't put all your money here in case your card is stolen.


Savings Account

You will need this account to put money that you won't be needing immediately as this account pays interest compared to a chequing account. It does help to compare each banks offering since you would want to get the highest possible interest you can get. Don't settle for just a 1% interest for this account since some banks offer higher rates. The Internet only banks usually pay the highest interest for savings account and they do not charge any service fees. This is because they don't have a branch but you do all your banking either by phone or through the Internet. They in turn pass on these cost savings to their clients through higher interest rate, no service fees and no minimum maintaining balance requirements.

The more popular Internet banks are:

ING Direct
President's Choice Financial
Manulife Bank
ICICI Bank

Go to their website to find out more about their services.