Lucie Xie: When I first moved to Canada, there was a lot I need to organize also I had to make a lot of decisions.
Vikas Sheel: It was a fresh start for us. There was a lot of decision to make for the personal as well as business side.
Lucie Xie: I was alone. I had to start from the very beginning and I do not know about banking.
Vikas Sheel: We are looking for financial institutions as well as advisor who can help us in a right direction.
Male: Vikas and Lucie are both recent immigrants to Canada and like many new comers in their situations; they had questions and concerns about their new home. Andrea Metrick, head of client strategy and multicultural markets with RBC Royal Bank explains.
Andrea Metrick: -- Indian china to speak with people before they move to Canada. We wanted to understand what more we can do to help them, make their transition to Canada easier from a financial perspective. What we found was that initially, the main concerns are based on a more practical nature. We found that people wanted to know, how will I safely and conveniently store my valuables and money? How will I pay for things? When does that make sense to use cash, checks or credit cards and what is the best way to transfer money from one country to another.
Vikas: We didn't know that credit -- of something which is not transferrable from one country to another.
Andrea Metrick: Most newcomers arriving Canada are without a bank account. You can open a bank account here, but if that all possible. Open an account before you arrive. If exchange rates are more favorable at a point in time, you will be transfer funds to take advantage of this. we make it possible to open an account while you are still in your home country. One of the other advantages of this is that when you arrive in Canada, you already have a banking relationship set up and that will help ensure that you get the right financial advice early on.
Metrick says that new comers often tell them that they don't know what they don't know. So new comers welcome proactive information from a trusted source.
Andrea Metrick: We developed the Welcome to Canada banking package that bring together the most relevant products, services and advice that they need with discounts and additional benefits. We have added a guidebook called understanding banking in Canada. It contains the most important financial decisions that a new comer needs to make and when they need to make them. Upon arrival to Canada, as you are getting settled, and when they start planning for the future. The guidebook has checklists and advice presented in a way that is easy to digest and put into practice.
For more information on the Welcome to Canada banking package and the guidebook, visit www.rbc.com/welcomeguide.
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