The main banks in Canada are:
- Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
- ScotiaBank
- TD Canada Trust
- BMO Bank of Montreal
- CIBC
- HSBC Bank Canada (international)
- ING Direct Canada (international)
- VanCity Savings Credit Union
- Coast Capital Savings Credit Union
Most banks in Vancouver open around 9 or 10 am and close sometime between 4 and 5 pm, Monday through Friday. There are, of course, a few branches here and there open beyond the typical opening hours, and some are also open on Saturdays. Nearly all banks are closed on Sundays and holidays.
All Canadian bank employees speak English (with perhaps the exception of those in Quebec), and many speak additional languages, such as French, Spanish, Mandarin/Cantonese, Tagalog, Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi, Korean, and more.
The major Canadian banks are global, international institutions, in the same ranks as other major banking corporations. They are, therefore, very safe to use. All of the major banks in Canada are also members of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), a Federal Crown corporation created by Parliament to insure Canadians savings up to $100,000.
Online banking is widespread in Canada, and you are provided with sign-up and login information at the time of opening a new account. Most banks provide lots of self-serve options for online banking, for greater convenience. You can even open new accounts online (example, if you already have a checking account with your banking institution, it is simple to open a savings account). All banking websites are encrypted with the highest possible level of security, but it is always necessary for you to ensure that your own computer is protected with a high level of security as well, such as a firewall, up-to-date antivirus and antispyware protection, and the regular installation of important updates. These measures together make internet banking quite safe and secure.
Most Canadian banks provide a way to send and receive funds overseas through wire payments/transfers. There is a fee for this service, usually somewhere between $12 and $25, depending on the amount being sent or received. RBC offers Interac money transfers, where you can send money to anyone with an email address (and their account number) for free. RBC also offers something called International Remittance, where you can send up to $1000 (per day) to over 120 countries (not to the U.S. or anywhere in North America) worldwide and the money is usually received within 2-3 days’ time. It is sometimes possible to open bank accounts in different countries with the same institution (for example, RBC), making banking as convenient as possible (especially for expats), and making funds transfers seamless.
In Canada, ATM refers to automated teller machine, while ABM refers to automatic banking machine. Both are in use in Canada. The main difference between the two is ATM’s are usually only for cash withdrawal, while ABM’s offer more banking functions.
Banks
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) — http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/
The largest bank in Canada, RBC provides personal and commercial banking, wealth management services, insurance, corporate, investment banking and transaction processing services on a global basis. Operating in both Canada and the U.S., RBC offers the convenience of cross-border accounts and access.
Numerous branches and ATM/ABM locations across the Lower Mainland: http://maps.rbc.com/.
Locations and branch information:
ScotiaBank — http://www.scotiabank.com/
ScotiaBank (Bank of Novia Scotia) is the third largest bank in Canada, and Canada’s most international bank. Scotiabank and its affiliates offer a broad range of products and services, including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking, to more than 12.5 million customers in some 50 countries around the world. ScotiaBank offers the StartRight program for new Canadians: http://www.scotiabank.com/.
For branches across the Lower Mainland, please use the Branch and ABM Locator: http://maps.scotiabank.com/en/index.php.
TD Canada Trust — http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/
Canada’s second-largest bank, TD Canada Trust provides a full range of financial products and services to personal and small business customers, offering banking solutions through telephone and internet banking, more than 2,600 ABMs and a network of approximately 1,100 branches across Canada.
Locations and Branch Information:
For branches and ATM’s across the Lower Mainland: https://www.tdcanadatrust.com/locator/index.jsp.
BMO Bank of Montreal — http://www4.bmo.com/
BMO provides more than eight and a half million customers across Canada and in the United States with fully integrated personal and business banking solutions, such as deposit accounts, loans and credit cards, mutual fund and GIC investments, insurance products, and investments such as RRSPs, RESPs and RRIFs, through more than 1,198 branches nationwide, telephone and online banking, and a network of more than 2,667 automated banking machines.
To locate branches across the Lower Mainland, please use the Branch Locator: https://locator.bmo.com/Default.aspx?t=bb.
HSBC Bank Canada — http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/en/home/home
HSBC Bank Canada, has more than 260 offices, including over 140 bank branches, and is the leading international bank in Canada. HSBC also offers financial solutions and guidance for newcomers to Canada: http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/en/personal/immigration-canada/new-to-canada.
For branch locations please refer to the Branch Locator: http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/en/contact-us/atm-branch-locations.
CIBC — http://www.cibc.com/ca/personal.html
CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) provides a full range of products and services to almost 11 million individual, small business and commercial banking clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients. CIBC also offers the Newcomers to Canada Plan, which is a financial plan and solutions to help newcomers successfully settle into their new life in Canada: https://www.cibc.com/.
For branch locations please refer to the Branch Locator: http://cibc.via.infonow.net/locator/inter/?LOC=en_CA.
VanCity Savings Credit Union — https://www.vancity.com/.
Canada’s largest credit union, VanCity and its subsidiary companies are guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility and to improve the quality of life in local communities. VanCity offers a wide range of banking products with minimal fees. Membership required.
For additional branches, please refer to the Branch Locator: https://www.vancity.com/ContactUs/FindBranchATM/.
Coast Capital Savings Credit Union — https://www.coastcapitalsavings.com/
Coast Capital Savings is Canada’s second-largest credit union serving over 400,000 customers across the Lower Mainland. Membership required.
Online Banks
ING Direct Canada— http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/index.html
An online-only bank with over 1.6 million clients in Canada alone, ING Direct passes on the savings to their customers with record-high interest rates on savings and investments, and low interest rates on borrowed money (mortgages).
For further information please go to: http://www.ingdirect.ca/en/aboutus/faq/index.html.
