Opening Canadian bank account from uk

[mrcharly-YHT]

Son is moving to Canada in October. Given what has been happening with the pound vs other currencies, I feel it would be a good idea if he transferred a chunk of money to canadian dollars as soon as possible.

Does anyone know if it is possible to open a canadian bank account in the UK?

[ian]

Generally it's difficult to open a bank account in any country that you're not yet resident in because they'll want proof of residency at a minimum (plus credit histories and that don't really work across borders). If he has account with HSBC or Citibank or similar, they have entities in Canada and may or may not be helpful. Or they'll usually offer an international account that lets you move between currencies. These are generally not especially cheap with fees and not exactly stellar forex rates. They're generally for the sort of people who live in multiple countries.

Everyone frowns on attempts to move large amounts of currency these days. And you'll never get good forex rates from shunting between banks.

I doubt it has changed, though it's been a long time since I lived there.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Wouldn't it be simpler to just change a chunk of pounds into dollars here and now, and open an account once he's over there?

[T42]

Carrying significant amounts of currency through customs is dodgy.

[Pickled Onion]

A revolut account allows you to exchange and store the money in whatever currency you like and exchange fees are low. Do your own due diligence on the security of such an account.

[PaulF]

As Ian says without an address  there it will be hard to open an account. However when I moved, temporarily to the US, HSBC were very helpful. We first needed an HSBC account set up here and then I had to visit my new US branch to open the account with minimal documentation. However that was nine years ago and my move was “sponsored” by my employer.

[Paul H]

Depending on how large the chunk is, a prepaid debit card in the currency of choice might be an option.  I use WeSwap, ordered through the below for a £25 bonus
 https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/prepaid-travel-cards/

[ian]

I used HSBC in Canada, the US and the UK. They were indeed helpful but I still had to produce evidence that I was in-country. Multi-currency accounts are only really for if you need to manage your finances across currencies on a regular basis.

Regulations re money laundering are a lot tighter these days. Sending any significant sum of money will require advanced form filling and no bank will take the risk of letting you simply open an account remotely and dump money into it. Well, not unless you're a Russian oligarch or dodgy shell company and the bank is hosted on a balmy Caribbean island, of course.

Realistically, he'll need to open a bank account when he arrives and then have the money wired there. There are other ways to trade forex, of course, but that would assume the chunk of money is significant.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I'm assuming that the pound will not only continue to decline, but will plummet not long after the brexit cliff in march. He will be there for probably 2 years, if not permanently.

So it would be sensible for him to transfer or convert some thousands over somehow now.

[ian]

Tommyrot! Once we are freed of the shackles of Europe, Great Britain will rise like a Phoenix with rocket boosters. British rocket boosters. The GBP will be so mighty that £1 will be the equivalent of the GDPs of Rhodesia and Ceylon combined.

But anyway, unless he's a swanky non-dom looking for somewhere to park a couple of million, he's unlikely to find it easy to open an account in Canada without evidence of residency. It's probably illegal these days. You can still buy travellers cheques etc. though no idea how favourable the rates (or the newer cards). Alternatively invest in something priced in CAN, though there's added risks in any investment vehicle. And they'll still sniff foreign money.

[Cudzoziemiec]

As the pound's just fallen, I'd assume it's going to bounce a bit before falling further post-Brexit. The problem becomes one of how to store them till he goes out there. Cash might be the easiest as it doesn't involve any further bureaucracy, but brings other risks.

[ian]

Canadian money can only be properly guarded by mounties and polar bears. Fact.

[PaulF]

Canadian money can only be properly guarded by mounties and polar bears. Fact.

FAKE NEWS!

The looney only needs a husky to keep it safe.

[Jakob]

Can't you get a USD account in the UK?. Pretty sure you can with HSBC. Also USD is probably more stable than CAD
While the banking systems here in Canada is a million times more user friendly that the UK ones, I'm pretty sure you need to be in-country in order to open an account, unless you're some sort of multi-millionaire.

[Mr Larrington]

Canadian money can only be properly guarded by mounties and polar bears. Fact.

That's where I've been going wrong, eh.  The Canuckistani cash somewhere on the loose in this hoose was guarded by the Wrong Sort of BEAR.

[chrisbainbridge]

Another vote for a Revolut card or similar.  They now allow foreign currency accounts and essentially act as a pre loaded card when out in canada.

I am not sure if they pay interest but they are a good way of transferring cash cheaply.  he could later use the revolut to transfer money from UK to canada on an ongoing basis

[mcshroom]

Thirded for Revolut. They don't pay any interest, but they do allow you to hold a decent balance in different currencies. If nothing else it would allow him to hold CAD (or any other currency on their list) long enough to get an account sorted when over there.

Otherwise, reading the HSBC website it looks like you can open an overseas bank account through them for moving house. It has a fee, and you need to be an HSBC customer beforehand, but it's designed for opening before moving. Others might do the same sort of thing: -
https://financialplanning.hsbc.co.uk/events/moving-abroad

[ian]

HSBC, Citi, and Barclay's certainly do, but they will ask for you to provide specifics of your overseas relocation. All the banks have been stung by money laundering and feel the weight of the new rules. I used HSBC when I moved the US, but it was expensive to keep the account, cheaper to switch back to standard HSBC and open a US bank account once I'd settled and been paid. Not that in either of my international moves did I have any money, just a large overdraft facility.

[mrcharly-YHT]

He won't be of 'fixed abode' for a while, so sounds like a revolut card might be the best option. Thanks for the information.

[ian]

Presumably he has permission to work/visa and a temporary address. That's usually the key thing, not the permanent address. They'll want to know he's legally resident in Canada. They don't just want anyone turning up and stealing their bears.

Note that the same money laundering rules apply to cards and travellers and cheques. Large currency instruments attract interest and not of the favourable variety. That said, the magic number always seems to be 10,000.

[mrcharly-YHT]

He has visa.

Not sure about address.