jamar

Wonder if they'll let you apply for a TD Canada Trust card from the US...that'd be a reasonable alternative to them spending money and effort re-working everything on the US side.

D582

Lot's of Canadians fly out of BUF, so that is why there is an ad there. No different than Canadian companies buying local ad time on Buffalo TV stations.

Doubtful as you need to be a Canadian resident, and even then you would be getting a card in Canadian dollars. (TD does have a US dollar card, however it does not have EMV)

jamar

Hmmm. When I was visiting Vancouver and asked around I was told that as long as I had two pieces of ID and a Canadian mailing address I could give it a try, even as a US citizen with no residency in Canada. of course, that said nothing of my chances of approval (I'm going to try CIBC first because my sister does have residency by way of a study permit and already banks with them)

JEFFJAGUAR

Almost all US credit card applications I know of require a social security number so the bank can run a credit check...wouldn't it be almosdt a certainty that a Canadian bank would require the Canadian equivalent of a social security number to do a credit check? I would say the chances are minimal but that's just an educated guess.

jamar

Well, one bank (CIBC) told me they could pull up my US credit history (I'm assuming with my SSN) and use that. But that's not TD.

JEFFJAGUAR

Well let us know what happens but assuming one can easily get a Canadian address through an organization like mailboxes and they can pull up your US credit history and they even give you a credit card, I assume the card would be denominated in Canadian dollars although I know some Canadian banks allow US dollar credit card accounts. How ould you pay your bills? Would you have to open a Canadian bank account? Could you pay a Canadian US dollar credit card account with US checks drawn on US banks and not pay an arm and a leg for the check processing. It might be an interesting way to get an EMV card while we wait for the US banks to get off their rear ends but I question how pragmatic it might be. I would do the same if it works well.

jamar

I'm slightly different in that I have someone in Canada who can handle that for me. The fact that it's denominated in C$ isn't enough of a downside to keep me from considering it since most of the spend using it will be non-US anyway. (Canadian US$ cards are chip-less since the assumption is that they'll be used in the US)


Again, I'm mainly going to be getting this for places where a magstripe-only card is impractical or unappealing. My primary cards are going to be my AmEx and Citi AA card.

garyschmitt

It's a shame multi-currency credit cards are only available in Asia.

I'm not sure why you would ask for a credit card to begin with. If you just need an EMV card for the rare occasion that you're buying fuel at an inner-city European fuel station or want to use a kiosk to avoid standing in line, simply get an asset account (or whatever Canadians call the equivalent of a US checking account). The dispute protections and possible gas rebate would not be worth dealing with international credit card payments.

This is what the CIBC credit card agreement says:
Too bad wire transfers are not automatically accepted. "By mail" is a bit vague. Would be tempting to send them a domestic US check by mail, and say it's their problem if they don't like it because you've complied with the terms .

garyschmitt

That assumption only makes sense with credit cards. Canadian USD-denominated bank cards (not credit cards) probably have a chip, which would be a more practical option for someone not really established in Canada.

JEFFJAGUAR

gary...it's not worthwhile debating anything with you on this issue. Obviously your mind is made up. But from what I've been reading, there is more to it than just well so you can't use the machine and have to queue at a window or make sure you have petrol before the weekend. There is evidently a strong movement under way within the eu in many places not to accept the archaic American cards. More and more, people are reporting difficujlties in using their credit cards without chips when they are off the beaten path. Also I don't like being forced to show ID to use a credit card as seems to be required in most places in Spain. In the Netherlands, you can't buy any train ticket for the most part without a chip card either at the window or in the machines. In Paris, many stations no longer have a clerk and you have to use the machines which only take apparently chip cards. Your retort is well just use cash. I don't carry around a lot of cash. I am used to travelling the 21st century way where you use your credit cards for everything. I don't really wish to return to the 20th century. What will you expect me to do next if the ATM's stop taking the archaic American cards. Use traveler cheques? Face it the inconveniences will only be increasing exponentially for Americans as we move forward uness the American banks get off their rear ends and make an attempt to meet the needs of their customers.

mia

In fact, the topic of this thread is discussion of the half dozen USA financial institutions who have already announced and started to issue EMV cards. I am puzzled why we continue to have posts suggesting that nothing is happening. Want a card with a chip? Just apply here:

https://creditcards.chase.com/credit...lect-card.aspx

Yes, the card is Chip & Signature because that is the way VISA guided the banks to start. Nonetheless, the cards are reported to work in many situations where posters predicted they wouldn't because Chip & Signature cards are issued in parallel with Chip & PIN in Europe and throughout Asia. Additional discussion here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/credi...signature.html

garyschmitt

Nor should you. This is not the debate thread -- it's the "practical" thread.

Why are you back onto this? You don't have to justify EMV when you go to Canada to open an account. You could be getting the EMV card to try to impress a date as far as anyone here cares. This is the practical thread, i.e. how to get an EMV card, for whatever reason you want one.

The clerk is misinformed if they ask you for ID. You do not have to show ID to use a credit card (and in fact you shouldn't).

Not in the post you apparently just replied to. Go back and re-read what I said. I did not mention cash. I said a Canadian asset account would be more sensible than a Canadian credit card account.

This is off topic, but it must be said this is American thinking. In Europe, credit cards are not even close to being usable for everything. Most low-end shops, kabap restos, and many casual dining restaurants in Europe do not take credit card. And of those, half are cash only, and half will take local maestro (debit) cards. You cannot use a credit card (of any kind) at some European metro stations (it's cash or maestro). If you think cash is not in the 21st century, you've not been to Europe. In the center of Brussels, only one taxi company will take credit card. It's not at all like the US, where you can almost say you can use your credit cards for everything (note that in the US where you can use credit card for nearly everything, if that's your reference for the 21st century, it's almost entirely magstripe cards there).

The obsession with plastic is a uniquely signature American phenomenon (the same country that seems to be 20th century by your appraisal).

What's "a lot"? In Europe you should carry around a little more cash than you would in the US. I would say about triple. You can easily enter a cash-only restaurant in Europe, and end up spending 50 euros pp. If you take a cab to get there, and don't want to risk being broke, you would need to carry at least ~100 euros if you're alone (obviously more if you have a family).

I actually expect cash to outlast EMV chips, at least in Europe. EMV cards are 20 years old already, and I don't expect them to last more than another 25 years at most (and realistically probably 15 years).

That's crazy talk. That will not happen on a noticeable scale as long as American tourists continue to carry non-EMV cards that are used to feed the tourist industries worldwide. If banks made a radical and silly choice to kill off a significant portion of tourist money, the chamber of commerce would intervene.

garyschmitt

I came across this blog on Canadian banks with USD accounts -- which may have lower min balance requirements than the Barclay USD EMV card.

dgcom

Hi!

I'm a bit new here (never posted before), but interested in EMV card...

Had already a question to post, just saw this message above:

That table at the link is 3.5 years old, those accounts are more expensive now. But regardless - I know for a fact that TD Canada Trust issues EMV debit card. Anyone care to explain what are the chances of opening account remotely, without driving up there?

Last resort, I can probably open one next time I'm in Montreal, using some local address, but what are other options?

And... let's say I get that card - it does not have any Visa or MC logo on it, would it work in Europe?

Thanks!

D582

Yes, our debit cards (bank cards) have EMV, however almost all debit cards run on Interac (Canadian debit and ATM network), not Visa and MasterCard and therefore have limited use at point of sale terminals abroad.

CIBC does offer a Visa Debit card, however it cannot be used in conjunction with their US Dollar account.

Out of the 'big 5' banks in Canada, Scotia I don't think has a US$ card, TD and CIBC US dollar VISAs do not have EMV, however RBC US Dollar VISA and BMO US Dollar MasterCard do have EMV (contact and contactless), however you need to be Canadian resident to get them.