# Canadian banks in Italy



## marcoandashalina

Are there any Canadian banks in Italy?

Are there ways of taking our credit cards from here, over to Italy, without getting charged high rates? 

Can we transfer our credit cards to banks over there? Or do we start all over?


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## Joppa

marcoandashalina said:


> Are there any Canadian banks in Italy?
> 
> Are there ways of taking our credit cards from here, over to Italy, without getting charged high rates?
> 
> Can we transfer our credit cards to banks over there? Or do we start all over?


There are branches of Canadian banks in Italy, but they don't provide retail banking service - only corporate business. So until you get established in Italy and build up credit record to qualify for an Italian credit card, just take your Canadian cards and use them. Find a bank or another financial institution that charge no or low overseas fees and take out a credit card. Make sure you set up a contact address in Canada (usually a relative's), online account management and automatic settlement of your monthly bill from a checking account. Some may allow an overseas address.


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## Bevdeforges

Not sure about Italy, but in general credit cards in Europe (mainland Europe anyhow) work a bit differently than they do in North America. They are normally linked to your bank account and work more like a debit card in North America (in that your charges are taken from your bank account either as they hit the bank or at the end of each month, with no option to roll over part of the balance to the next month).

Hopefully, someone currently living in Italy will stop by and either confirm or deny this.

But hang onto your Canadian cards and at least one bank account - certainly for a while. You can generally manage things over the Internet and it's handy to have "local" funds available to you when you're back there for a visit, or for ordering online.
Cheers,
Bev


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## bunty16

there are barclay's banks all around the world, could you not open an account with them in Canada and transfer your branch to italy.


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## Connolly15

marcoandashalina said:


> Are there any Canadian banks in Italy?
> 
> Are there ways of taking our credit cards from here, over to Italy, without getting charged high rates?
> 
> Can we transfer our credit cards to banks over there? Or do we start all over?


You might investigate HSBC. You won't be able to just have one account with them, but they offer services for account holders that are moving abroad (though I think there is a minimum deposit required for those services?)

Whatever you do, don't close your Canadian accounts! Also, make sure you upgrade your bank cards/credit cards to the new chip and pin technology before you leave (if you don't have them already), as it is standard here.

Once you're settled in Italy you can open up an Italian account. You should speak with your Canadian bank before you go and talk about money transfer options that don't require you to be present in the Canadian branch. 

Credit cards are usually not too bad for charges/exchange rates, but the debit cards can cost an absolute fortune to use (usually more the Canadian bank charging you than the Italian bank!). Best bet is early on before you have an Italian account, take out as much cash as you can from an ATM and keep it in a safe place (also speak to the Canadian bank to increase your international withdrawal limit, this is sometimes set very low by default for security reasons).

good luck!


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