Any one know any bank that still issues a secured credit card in Canada ?
Any one know any bank that still issues a secured credit card in Canada ?
When I asked banks here if they could
issue me a credit card in Canada based on my credit hisory from the US,
the answer has been a consistent NO(I am told that they do not have
access to credit bureau reports from the USA even though Equifax is
present in both countries).
1. Does any one know any bank that could do that?
2. Most of the banks seem to have withdrawn "Secured Credit Card" as a
product. Does any one know any bank that still issues a secured credit
card?
- Generally, only American Express will issue you a credit card based
on non-Canadian credit history, and even then they'll only look at
American Express history. If you never had an AE card, you are out
of luck here.
Try shopping around, particularly in small and/or start-up banks
and credit unions; although the major Canadian banks are pretty
much pertified in their arrogance against the the newcomers, smaller
players tend to be much more reasonable. I'd seen very positive
reports on President's First Choice (a no-frills banking outlet in
Canadian Superstore, which I believe is being run by Scotia Bank)
and on Bank One (a US bank which is/was trying to enter canadian
market). Even so, you might have to try several of those before
you get your credit card .
- Have you tried any credit unions? They tend to be much more flexible
than banks, also many of them have a product called a MasterCard
account.
They issue you a MasterCard that looks and acts as a regular credit
card, but with no line of credit. You can only spend as much as you
have in your bank account, but it is still handy for things like
renting a car, booking hotel rooms, buying tickets over the phone,
things that absolutely require a credit card.
- My experience was quite different - I went to Royal Bank and opened up
a checking account - they did not have a problem giving me a credit
card with a lower limit $2000.
I applied for a MasterCard using Bank of Montreal's online
application.You of course need to have a job - if you don't, it would
be difficult.
- When I moved to Canada 3 years ago from the UK, I only had an American
Express card in the UK. AE upon a phone call approved a Canadian dollar
AE card and cancelled my Sterling one. This surprised me as well as by
that time I had not even acquired a job in Canada. It took me 6 weeks
to land a job. The next day I applied for a Master Card from Bank of
Montreal and a VISA from Royal Bank. Both banks accepted my applications
based on the fact that I had a job and an AE card.
Summarising, in 6 weeks after moving to Toronto, I had all 3 flavours of
plastic. I guess personal luck, and the mood of the adjudicating
officer does play a huge role.
- it's who you meet and also what you have i guess. i had a
lump sum from England, had a job in my first week, and Royal Bank gave me
$3,000 overdraft on my account, $3,000 on my credit card and i opted for
$5,000 line of credit though they were willing to give me $10,000 though! -
all this in less than 2 weeks. Scotia bank i must say though, whom i had
talked to in my first week, were "considering" giving me credit but opened
good accounts for me. I don't know if they would have given me the credit
though! never stayed with them to find out!- I switched to the Royal!
me thinks if you act confident, seem to know what you are doing, talk to the
"right person" in the bank, you'll get what you are after.