Opening a bank account
Your employer is likely to pay you by cheque or by direct deposit. A bank account will provide you with easy access to your money at all times and will allow you to accept cheques and direct deposits, pay bills, write cheques and do other types of transactions as well.

Two types of account are available:

	Transaction account (also called a Chequing account)
	This type of bank account allows you to do a variety of payment transactions (cash, cheque, transfer, etc.) and withdrawals (cash, cheque, transfer, automatic debit, etc.)1.

	Savings account
	The main purpose of this type of account is to help you save. Use it to deposit any extra money you don’t need for your current expenses. Both of these types of account are also available for business.

How to open your account

In order to open an account, you must make an appointment with an advisor at a National Bank of Canada branch as soon as you arrive in Canada. He or she will be pleased to help you choose the package that best meets your needs.

You will be required to present the following documents:

• A valid foreign passport
• One of the following immigration documents :
  • Canadian work permit
  • Canadian study permit
  • Application for permanent residence in Canada

After opening your bank account, your advisor will immediately issue you with a National Bank Client Card (debit card). This “smart card” is equipped with a microchip, and provides you easy, secure access to your money. You will activate the card by choosing a personal identification number (PIN) and must enter your PIN to authenticate every card transaction.

Would you like funds to be transferred to Canada from abroad?

The safest and fastest way to send money from a foreign country to Canada is by wire transfer (telex). This service lets you transfer funds in any currency to your account and to anywhere else in the world.

To facilitate wire transfers to your National Bank account, you will need to provide the party initiating the transfer with the following information:

Service charges will be debited from your bank account for all wire transfers. The transmitting financial institution could also demand charges.