How To Build Credit Score As An Immigrant In Rockton
How To Build Credit Score As An Immigrant In Rockton
Posted on March 9, 2021
Yesterday, in How to buy a car as an immigrant to Canada, we mentioned that we would cover how to build credit score as an immigrant to Canada. That’s what we’re going to do today.
This time it was our Rockton auto loan team tasked with putting the ideas together. This is what they came up with.
Get a bank account
Your first step to build credit score as an immigrant is to open a bank account. You will only be able to access basic accounts to begin with but these should be enough to get you started.
The five main banks in Canada are:
- Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
- Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD)
- Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank)
- Bank of Montreal (BMO)
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
Each have accounts for immigrants that provide chequing and savings. Choose one of these banks or choose a different bank more suited to your needs, it’s entirely up to you.
Get a secured credit card
As you won’t have a credit history yet, we recommend using a secured credit card to help build one. They are different than a credit builder credit card as they can be used by people with zero credit history.
Essentially you pay a deposit equal to the credit limit to guarantee the card. You use it just like a standard credit card and make the payments each month. If you miss a payment, the amount is taken out of your deposit, which is how these cards are available to anyone.
Use the card for regular purchases, pay it off every month to avoid interest and your credit score should begin to increase after 3 months or so.
Get a phone
A phone contract won’t have quite the impact on your credit score as a credit card but every little helps. You’ll have to find a provider who will work with someone with no credit history but there are a few that do like Virgin, Koodo and Fido.
Pay the amount by automatic payment and you’ll begin creating a positive payment history to help with your score.
Get an apartment
Some landlords will work with recent arrivals so find one of those if you can. Some will also add notes to your credit report citing on-time payments. If you’re lucky enough to find one, these are well worth using even if they cost a little more.
Like a phone contract, it won’t make a huge difference but it will help build out your credit history. If you can get utilities in your own name and pay those on time too, they can also help.
Emigrating to a new country is an exciting as well as confusing time. Fortunately, the systems in Canada are based (mostly) around common sense. Learn the system, work within the system and it will generally work for you.
When you have a credit score and need a car loan in Rockton, you know where to come!
Contact Unique Chrysler for help, advice and competitive Rockton car finance.
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