*Please note this is not an endorsement, rather me just providing my own experience with the bank I decided to go with*
If you recall from my blog post here with my list of top ten things to do the week of your arrival, opening a bank account was one of the items on the list, and arguably, one of the most important.
I had to make a separate blog post about it, because having a bank account up here is ideally the best way to manage your finances, pay any bills, send money to friends via e-transfer, and my favourite, racking up points (depending on which bank you decide to go with.)
When I first arrived in Canada, my knowledge about bank accounts, the difference between debit vs. credit, what e-transfer was and just banking in general, was basically zero.
My parents had helped me set up a credit card to use internationally, but when you compare financial activities in Canada to back home in the Caribbean, many transactions back home are done by solely paying in cash.
We're taught to always carry around 'vex money' - aka cash you don't store in the bank but rather keep on you in case of an emergency, and before arriving in Toronto, I'd used a bank card all of maybe five times if so many.
However, within my first few days in Canada, I learned that up here, especially Toronto, is basically cash-less.
By that, I mean you rarely see anyone carrying around cash with them, and even more rarely, seeing people carrying around vex money.
Up here, the concept of using cash (unless the machine reader in a location is broken) seems to be that of a distant idea, since almost everyone pays for everything here with either their credit, but mostly their debit cards.
Say for example there's a line of people in a store; of the ten people in this line, maybe one person, two if so many, would pay with cash. Everyone else, card.
Coming to Canada was also the first time I'd ever learned about things like Interac, and contactless payments.
Back home, and still in many places, you would have to physically insert your card in the reader, for the chip to be read, and punch in your 4 digit pin for a payment to be processed.
Up here, if your card has this symbol on it:
Then this means your card allow for contact-less payments, meaning you don't even need to insert your card, or punch in a pin.
All you need to do is tap your card on the reader for about 3-5 seconds and that's it, your item is paid for.
Forgot your PIN number? No problem, just tap.
However don't get too comfortable tapping away, because there are moments once in a while that the tap may not be accepted, and you'll have to physically insert the card and punch in the pin. In a moment like this, if you forgot the PIN, then you can panic just a smidge - then call your bank for some assistance.
Contactless payments and Interac goes a step further with ApplePay, because you don't even have to pull your card out your wallet to pay for something in some locations. You upload your card information onto your phone once, then just hold your phone up to the card reader (once it takes Interac) and boom, item paid for.
The game has been changed; They love that up here. (Myself included sometimes.)
In the beginning, I was initially against Apple Pay, because I didn't like the idea of having my financial information on my phone. Today however, I am an avid user. My concerns were calmed mainly by the fact that you get a notification on your phone every single time Apple Pay is used.
Whether you tapped your phone on a physical card reader, or you paid for something online with Apple Pay, you will always get a notification. So if you get a surprise notification for a payment you never authorized, you can notify your bank right away.
Note however that there are limits to tapping your card. For example, in some places, you may have to physically insert the card to process a payment over $150 or $200.
Banks in Canada
Now in terms of BANKS in Canada, there are a number to chose from to open your first Canadian, or student banking account.
Options range from TD bank, RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC - these are the most common banking institutions you'll find not only within Toronto, but within Canada itself, and most of these banks offer student banking plans.
The biggest upside of a student banking plan, aside from all the perks you can get, is that you usually don't pay any monthly fees.
Compared to the 'big people' bank accounts as I call them, that carry monthly fees, some starting as low as $15 depending on what perks you want with the account, as a student with a student banking account, you don't usually have to worry about certain fees that would come with other non-student banking plans.
Some banks may charge a fee to send money through e-transfer, but at least with my experience with my student banking account with Scotiabank in particular, there were little to no additional fees for basic day-to-day transactions.
I can only talk about my experience having a student banking plan with Scotiabank, but I encourage you to check out all the main banks.
Compare their student banking plans, what they offer, what perks come with it, and whether there may be any additional fees, or limitations.
For example, some banking plans give you unlimited monthly e-transfer transactions while others may have a limit of say 25.
Check out the student banking plans by clicking on "click here" buttons below for more information:
Since we have international Scotiabank branches back home in Trinidad, when we first arrived in Canada, my dad and I went to Scotiabank up here to set up my account.
The plan I went with at Scotiabank was their 'Student Advantage Banking Plan,' which is their student DEBIT account.
Some of the major perks were no monthly fees, and free debit and interac e-transfer transactions.
We also signed me up for a Scene visa student credit card which also came with $0 monthly charges, and kept it at a minimum credit limit of $1000.00.
Now with both these cards, the biggest perk to me, was the SCENE points.
SCENE is a program here in Canada where you spend money in certain stores, restaurants and locations to rack up points.
The more points you get, you can redeem them for things like free movies in cineplex (The cinemas here in Toronto) or get money off meals from certain restaurants that have partnered with SCENE, like Montana's, Swiss Chalet, the Rec Room and more.
You earn points essentially by spending money in these locations and showing your scene card for it to be scanned.
However - If you have a Scotiabank account, you earn points on every dollar you spend, so you rack up points way faster than a non-Scotiabank account holder.
As stated on their website, with the Scotiabank debit account regarding SCENE points:
Earn 1 SCENE point for every $5 you spend on all your everyday purchases using your SCENE debit card
Earn 5X the SCENE points on your purchases made at Cineplex
And with a Scotiabank credit card:
Earn 1 SCENE point for every $1 you spend on your everyday credit card purchases.
Earn 5 SCENE points for every $1 you spend on credit card purchases at Cineplex theatres or at cineplex.com
It might not seem like the best exchange looking at it here, but trust me, the points rack up quickly.
During quarantine when all the cinemas and everywhere else was closed and on lockdown, I amassed over 10,000 points.
This was just by buying groceries and ordering food and more using my debit and credit cards.
Since the theatres have reopened, I got to see Black Widow and Shang-Chi for free, in 3D, exchanging scene points for free movie tickets.
A regular/general movie ticket will cost you 1,250 points, whereas an IMAX 3D movie would cost 2000, and a VIP movie ticket would be about 2500.
Depending on how many points you have, and what type of movie you want to see, you could end up seeing some of your highly anticipated movies without spending a dollar. (Ideally since you spent money earning the points, but don't think of it that way.)
There's an app for the SCENE card like I mentioned in my post here about my recommended apps to download, but you can also sign into the cineplex website with your information and it keeps track of how many points you have there as well.
When you have a Scotiabank account, you can also see the number of points you have by simply going into your Scotiabank app on your phone. Just select your chequing account and there's a section labelled "SCENE points"
It tells you how many points you have, how many movies you can redeem, and what your membership number is in case you lose the card.
As a student, and even as a recent graduate, I feel like free movies are a hard thing to beat, especially in this weird moment we're in while in a pandemic, but still trying to find some essence of normalcy.
Going to the movies is a nice break from everything Covid-19 related with masks and pandemic and vaccine and anti-vax discussions.
Note that you do need to provide proof of vaccination to enter the Cineplex cinemas.
Documents needed to open a student banking account
In terms of DOCUMENTATION needed to open a student banking account:
Again, just speaking from experience having had a student bank account at Scotiabank, and recently taking my sister to open a bank account there also, documentation you will need is as follows. (Click on the arrows next to the checklist to expand on some specifics.)
Your valid passport with your valid student visa
This is your proof of your identity.
Your Study Permit
Proof of enrolment
Proof of residency (in Canada)
The process of setting up the account is pretty simple.
After checking your documents, the bank personnel tells you more about the plan and what perks it carries, the terms and conditions, you're asked to read and sign some forms, and you get the debit card right there.
I would suggest booking an appointment before hand. You aren't as guaranteed to get help if you just walk in, but this is all dependent on the day and time, and which branch you go to.
We initially went on a Saturday which was already hard to find a bank open on a weekend, far less needing to go to the bank for something outside of regular day to day banking.
Also with COVID and more restrictions in place, it would just make your life easier to book an appointment before hand so you can guarantee you'll be able to open your account then and there on the date you decide.
If you want to deposit any money on your debit account, you can also do that right there in the bank when you set up the account.
Note that the bank branch you go to, to set up your account up with, this will be considered your home branch.
When you have to provide information like your banking details for direct deposit when you have a job for example, and your employer needs to pay you, information requested includes transit number, institution number and account number. (This information can be found in the Scotiabank app under 'manage' when you select your chequing account).
The institution number will be the branch you set your account up with, aka, your home branch, and will also be the branch you'd have to go to if your bank requires you come in, in person for any reason.
Ideally people set up accounts with the bank branch closest to them, but if you do move and it becomes an inconvenience to travel to that specific branch, you can always call in to find out how to switch home branches. (They may require you to come in for this one though).
I would say one of the main things to remember, if you aren't aware and had to learn like I did, are the main differences between a debit account and a credit account.
A debit account is your own money being placed on the card, into your bank account, that you're free to add or take off of, with no charge incurred.
A credit account is money being lent to you by the bank, that you need to pay back, or else you'll incur interest fees.
If you decide to get a credit card as well as a debit card, start off with their minimum credit limit. Most times it's $1000, as it was with my Scotiabank visa account.
That way it helps you manage the limit, and limit your credit card spending as well, and you won't get caught up having to pay a high credit card bill and plummet into debt.
If you're debating whether to get a credit card or not, I would advise you do. Reasons being - Some phone companies require a credit check when you set up an account depending on what type of account, and the next most important thing you need to do besides opening a bank account when you're new in Canada, is acquiring a Canadian phone number.
Setting up a credit card is also a direct way to begin building your Canadian credit score, which may not seem that interesting while you're in school, but it is something that becomes increasingly important as you grow older, having good credit.
Building my credit during my undergrad became really helpful for me when I was looking for off-campus, more 'grown-up' housing when I finished school, where credit checks were requested from some landlords.
Maintaining a good credit score isn't too hard. My advice from my mom, which I'm now passing onto you, is use the credit card to set up automatic payments for small bills, like Spotify, or Netflix, or even student amazon prime for $3.99.
Make sure you pay the bills on time and you'll be able to slowly watch your credit grow.
E-transfer is something I've mentioned a few times through this post as well. This is the concept of sending money from your bank account to someone else's.
All you need is their email address that their bank account is linked to, and it could literally take you 15 seconds to send someone money.
Sending e-transfers to people who don't bank with the same bank as you may come with some additional costs, so before you send anything, make sure to check your account, or even ask questions when you're setting the account up for the first time to have a better understanding as to what the measures in place are.
With a Scotiabank card however, there aren't any fees to send an e-transfer to anyone to matter the Canadian bank. (This is my current knowledge having sent money to friends with accounts with other major Canadian banks.)
All you need to do (in the Scotiabank app) is go to your chequing account tab, click on the button that says 'send money' (it also has the Interac logo) and select the person you want to send the money to and the amount, then slide to send and that's it.
If they aren't a saved contact, you just have to input their name and email address.
Some accounts have auto-deposit on, where money sent is automatically deposited into their account, (before you send money, you'll be notified they have on auto-deposit.)
However if you're sending money to someone who doesn't have auto-deposit on, you'll have to create a security question and answer, and provide the person you're sending the money to with the answer, so they can have the money deposited into their account.
You'll always get an email when the money you sent to someone was deposited, or if it wasn't and will be returned to your account.
Having your bank's banking app on your phone makes it extremely convenient to check your account balance, send someone money, pay a bill, even pay money off on your credit card, or check your scene points if you have Scotiabank.
I'm still learning about managing my finances, how credit works and all that great finance/financial literacy stuff I didn't learn in school, but overtime, through experience you learn the basics and a little more.
The representatives in the bank in my experience have also been super helpful and answer any questions I've had.
Calling in usually involves some pretty long wait times depending on the day and time you call, but whenever you have any questions, or you're uncertain about something, never hesitate to reach out to your bank and ask your questions.
It's your money you're trusting the bank with, the more knowledge you have, the better you're able to manage your finances.
Always ask for help when you're unsure, and always read the fine print!
Now go forth and spend your money!
Wisely of course.