Hi all,
Sorry if I'm re-posting old news, but I just discovered that TD Canada Trust, CIBC and several other financial institutions have introduced free Visa debit cards. However, they don't seem to be making much of an effort to promote them.
Here's the relevant link for TD: http://bit.ly/KIElHd
Simply put, at TD anyhow, you have to ask your branch to replace your regular Access Card with a joint Visa/Interac debit card. There's no credit line or credit check involved, it simply replaces your existing debit/ATM card. For ordinary in-store debit purchases, it will use the Interac network as always. However, it will use the Visa network instead at those outlets that don't accept Interac, especially for online or phone purchases. Much better than those expensive pre-loaded Visa cards or PayPal and its user fees.
Sorry if I'm re-posting old news, but I just discovered that TD Canada Trust, CIBC and several other financial institutions have introduced free Visa debit cards. However, they don't seem to be making much of an effort to promote them.
Here's the relevant link for TD: http://bit.ly/KIElHd
Simply put, at TD anyhow, you have to ask your branch to replace your regular Access Card with a joint Visa/Interac debit card. There's no credit line or credit check involved, it simply replaces your existing debit/ATM card. For ordinary in-store debit purchases, it will use the Interac network as always. However, it will use the Visa network instead at those outlets that don't accept Interac, especially for online or phone purchases. Much better than those expensive pre-loaded Visa cards or PayPal and its user fees.