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meganpeter

Full Member
Jun 21, 2013
28
0
Hello,

I am new to Canada, So I went into BMO to open up a debit card account and to my surprise the BMO debit card did not have my name and a Visa/Mastercard logo. I cannot open a credit card account because I am unemployed(new graduate) and I have no credit history here in Canada. I applied for a pre paid BMO MasterCard and got rejected because I haven't been living in Canada for a long time. :o

Are there banks in Canada that offer debit cards that has one's name on it and a Visa/Mastercard logo? Or debit cards that work as credit cards? In the U.S, I know they have this, bc I had a Chase bank account.

This issue has been causing a lot of problems for me because I cannot buy things online, rent a car, sign up for paypal, pay for travel tickets etc.
 
Can't you use your non-Canadian bank cards to pay things online, rent car, sign up for pay pal, pay travel tickets, etc?
 
meganpeter said:
Hello,

I am new to Canada, So I went into BMO to open up a debit card account and to my surprise the BMO debit card did not have my name and a Visa/Mastercard logo. I cannot open a credit card account because I am unemployed(new graduate) and I have no credit history here in Canada. I applied for a pre paid BMO MasterCard and got rejected because I haven't been living in Canada for a long time. :o

Are there banks in Canada that offer debit cards that has one's name on it and a Visa/Mastercard logo? Or debit cards that work as credit cards? In the U.S, I know they have this, bc I had a Chase bank account.

This issue has been causing a lot of problems for me because I cannot buy things online, rent a car, sign up for paypal, pay for travel tickets etc.

No, they don't have them here. You could possibly get a 'secured' card with your bank, or perhaps one attached directly to your checking account. Canada's rules about credit cards are not nearly the same as the US. Take a look, you could likely find one that you qualify for.

Good luck.
 
Alurra71 said:
No, they don't have them here. You could possibly get a 'secured' card with your bank, or perhaps one attached directly to your checking account. Canada's rules about credit cards are not nearly the same as the US. Take a look, you could likely find one that you qualify for.

Good luck.

Ask BMO about a secured credit card. If they don't want to do it, try TD. Read about TD secured cards here: http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/newtocanada/just-arrived/building-credit.jsp If TD doesn't want to do it either, you can try more banks or you can wait.
 
I can, but I will be charged extra fees.

steaky said:
Can't you use your non-Canadian bank cards to pay things online, rent car, sign up for pay pal, pay travel tickets, etc?
 
Thanks a lot. I just found out that TD has a visa debit card. Can I use it for online purchases?
Leon said:
Ask BMO about a secured credit card. If they don't want to do it, try TD. Read about TD secured cards here: http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/newtocanada/just-arrived/building-credit.jsp If TD doesn't want to do it either, you can try more banks or you can wait.
 
Yes you can. TD debit visa can be used for that/

I would highly urge newcomers or individuals who have no credit history in Canada to go to a TD branch and ask if they are still offering $1000 unsecured credit cards for newcomers/permanent residents.
When I was working at a branch last year, there was a special program for newcomers that would would provide them with 1 k credit card unsecured. Not sure if it is continuing, it is definitely worth to try since you won't have to keep 1 k in a savings account locked for 3 years if you go secured credit card route.
 
also CIBC has Debit Card visa, and so does Scotiabank. RBC has one too, but its another card they give you with another number that is a debit card visa. I use both CIBC and RBC to make online purchases. I have both because sometimes CIBC is not accepted where RBC is and vice versa.
 
These cards are risky. I don't like them. I always insist on a credit card without a debit logo because protection in case of fraud is iffy at best.