Sept 6, 2023.

Every year thousands of new immigrants find Canada as their new home. There are many different things they face here, the way things works here may not be same as their home country, one of these is Banking. There are primarily two kinds of institutions: 1) banks 2) credit unions. Both of them have their advantages and disadvantages. Many people keep accounts with both of financial institutions for various reasons. In Canada banking is very safe as compared to other countries, for example banks in USA are not very safe. In case of default only up to $100K are insured in banks. In Canada insurance on accounts depends on province. Across Canada bank accounts are typically insured upto $150k. Credit unions are provencially regulated and their insurance is different based on which province you are in. For example in British Columbia one credit union offers 100% insurance on savings accounts while in Ontario it is up to $250K.

Second, monthly fees is higher in Banks than credit unions. I have accounts with credit union with no monthly fees. Banks take fees, but if you are looking to get loans/mortgages it may be easier with banks than smaller credit unions. Credit unions are community focused and often offer better customer service but getting loans with credit unions can have difficulties.

Some credit unions offer shares to members and they share profit distributions with members. Banks do not do that unless you buy shares of bank from public market. Some credit unions offer profit distributions to members.

Banks are more aggressive and offer different investment products to clients whereas credit unions are more conservative. If you are new, you may try to find credit union near to you and open no-fee bank account.

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