Can You Take Your Cell Phone Number From A Contract Plan To A Prepaid Plan

This commodity was produced in partnership with HSBC Canada. Together we thrive.

One of the offset things you demand when you make it in Canada is a cell phone (or, for all yous European readers, a mobile!).

In the era of Google Maps, Amazon, Uber, and all the other millions of services y'all can get at the affect of a push button, smartphones take become an integral part of our daily lives. Think near it: How many times accept you picked up your phone since you woke up this morning?

Using phone to pay

More than and more than people in Canada are using their smartphones to pay for everyday purchases. With HSBC Canada, you can integrate your banking with your mobile devices.

When it comes to devices that nosotros spend so much time with every 24-hour interval, you want to be certain yous're prepare to select the best option y'all can get in Canada.

In fact, y'all tin even inquiry your options before you arrive.

In this article, we review one of the major questions you'll have to answer when choosing a Canadian phone program: practise you lot desire a prepaid programme or a monthly contract? We're going to explain the difference between the 2 and help y'all understand which one is a better fit for your needs.

Once y'all sympathize the difference between prepaid and contract plans, exist certain to check out our guide comparison Canada's major telephone providers.

The basics: What are prepaid and contract phone plans?

Starting time, permit's go over the terminology, in case it'southward different from your home state/country of origin:

Prepaid programme (also called "pay-as-you-go"): This is a blazon of jail cell telephone program where y'all pay for your services in advance. Y'all buy a finite number of calling minutes, texts, and data and if you use it all up, you volition no longer exist able to use those services, unless y'all pay more to refill your business relationship.
Monthly contract plan (as well called "postpaid"): This is a blazon of cell phone plan where you pay for your services after you use them, traditionally on a set solar day every month. A major departure is that monthly plans usually won't cutting y'all off if you exceed your quota for calls, texts, or information. Instead, your phone provider volition only charge y'all for the overage, adding the cost onto your adjacent monthly bill.

Overage charges on monthly plans can be expensive, peculiarly for data. Many Canadian phone providers will charge you an overage fee of $x per 100 MB of data you use after exceeding your monthly limit, so exert circumspection. If you're one of those people who will, with reckless carelessness, stream Beyonce'south new music video on your phone regardless of your data limit… lookout out! (Though, we totally become it.)

At that place are a few advantages and disadvantages to both.

Phones held up at an event, recording

Checking out your favourite band and yous desire to alive stream the show? Y'all might want to check your information limit before you stream!

Many providers too offer loyalty benefits and extras to customers who sign up for a phone contract. For example, Fido offers a rewards program for customers, giving them perks similar extra data and weekly deals with other companies.

For simplicity and ease, many phone customers opt to apply automatic payments for their mobile phone bills, or to pay using online cyberbanking. To do this, you lot'll need a bank business relationship with a bank you tin trust. HSBC Canada offers their Newcomers Program which is specifically designed with newcomers in mind. Check out the HSBC Newcomers Program to learn about how you could earn upward to $700* past signing up!

Credit checks for telephone plans in Canada

One consideration when choosing betwixt a prepaid and contract programme is whether or not you tin can get a positive credit check. A credit check is an evaluation of your financial capabilities in Canada. Frequently this is required for services that are billed on a monthly basis, as businesses want to ensure their customers will exist able to brand their payments each month.

If you are new to Canada, it may be challenging to get a positive credit check considering you are unlikely to accept a Canadian credit history. In this example, y'all may want to opt for a prepaid prison cell phone program. Plus, if you lot accept the correct steps , it won't take you too long to build your credit history in Canada.

Prepaid cell phone plans practise non crave a credit check, only many monthly contract plans do require a credit check.

Are there phone providers who may approve a credit cheque for newcomers to go a monthly contract?

Yeah. To answer this question, we spoke with agents from Virgin, Fido, and Koodo. Co-ordinate to our research , these companies offer the most competitive monthly contract phone plans.

Each of Fido, Virgin, and Koodo encouraged newcomers to accomplish out to their customer service agents direct to consummate a credit check. Each company was eager to process these credit checks from newcomers in lodge to meet if they could exist approved for a new monthly phone contract, with no guarantee that a newcomer will receive a positive credit bank check.

Only! The companies we spoke with encouraged newcomers to complete the credit check to be sure. 1 amanuensis went as far as to tell united states that the approval process for newcomers was slightly less strict than for others, "for immigrants, it is very friendly." (The same could exist said for Canada as a whole, but we'll stick to jail cell phones for now.)

Some of these companies take relaxed requirements for new immigrants. A representative from Koodo mentioned to us that in select locations Koodo offers the New Immigrant Program, which allows newcomers to subscribe to certain monthly contract telephone plans with limited documentation and credit history.

Moreover, international students studying in certain provinces volition exist able to utilise their study allow and foreign identification to complete a credit check with some phone providers. It depends largely on the location of studies, as providers' options vary from province to province.

In the end, the only style to find out for certain if yous'll be canonical for a contract is to arrive touch with the company and complete the credit check.

Be sure to have your documents prepare: Each company may ask for slightly unlike documentation, but yous volition require some identification. Often a credit card and/or a Canadian bank account volition fulfil some of these requirements.

For more data, jump to:
How to build your credit history in Canada

Prepaid phone plans without a credit cheque

All major mobile phone providers offer prepaid plans. However, the most competitive prepaid plans are with Public Mobile, Lucky Mobile, and Chatr Mobile. These three companies but offer prepaid plans, with no monthly contract options.

Some other consideration is that all prepaid plans are, by default, bring your own device (BYO) plans. This means that y'all need to have an unlocked phone already in lodge to sign upward for a program.

You lot accept the option to purchase a phone through the provider, only you lot will have to pay the entire price upward front. For this reason, if you want to purchase an expensive phone model and pay information technology off over a longer term through a phone contract, and then prepaid plans may not exist a good option for you.

We know that you probably desire the latest iPhone on the market, so that you can accept high-quality pictures of your showtime poutine, just unless you've got some serious cash, this might not exist an option right at the beginning. In this case, you lot'll desire to begin building your credit history in Canada and so that you'll be able to get canonical for a new phone and a monthly contract as presently every bit possible.

Person holding cell phone taking a photograph of smiling girl at restaurant table

Canada is full of incredible restaurants for yous to explore with your friends.

How to build your credit history in Canada

If you're new to Canada, y'all should begin edifice your credit history as soon as possible. Having a skilful credit score with a solid credit history will help you lot practise things far beyond just getting a monthly contract for your phone. You'll demand a credit history if you want to get a car loan, hire an apartment, or get a mortgage!

Thankfully, at that place are a few simple steps yous tin can have when you arrive in Canada in order to start edifice your credit history.

Before we go through our pro-tips for jump starting your Canadian credit history, we are excited to let you know that we've partnered up with HSBC Canada, one of Canada's top-ranked banks, to assist newcomers get started with their finances and banking.

Become a bank business relationship: You'll demand a depository financial institution business relationship to manage your Canadian finances, including your new cell phone! Paying your cell phone bill (and many other bills!) can be washed chop-chop and hands through pre-authorized payments, but y'all'll need a bank account to get your pre-authorized payments up-and-running. One of the first things yous should do as a newcomer to Canada is open a Canadian account. Fortunately, nosotros've got yous covered: discover out which Canadian banks have special offers for newcomers .
Get a credit carte du jour (not prepaid): A credit carte is the most accessible mode to start building your credit history. Many Canadian banks offer newcomer banking programs that allow yous to get a credit menu when you open an account with the banking concern. Newcomers on temporary status, such equally a work or written report permit, may find it more than hard than new permanent residents to exist approved for a credit card. Please note: the ideal credit card should not exist prepaid, as prepaid (or secured) credit cards exercise non take a significant bear upon on your credit history.
And be careful not to overspend. Missing your credit card payments isn't good. Other elevation tips include e'er keeping your remainder to nether 70% of your available credit and avoiding taking cash advances domestically. We understand that you lot think information technology would be nice to ain a life-size cardboard cutout of Justin Trudeau that you found on Amazon, but practise you really need it?
Make your monthly credit card payments on fourth dimension: At present that you have your credit card, y'all have to make your monthly payments. This is crucial, especially when you lot're a recent arrival. Having a history of late payments volition brand your life difficult when information technology comes time to complete a credit check in the time to come.
Pay your total amount: It's better to pay off the full amount on your credit carte each calendar month. This demonstrates that yous are a responsible spender who tin can exist trusted to pay back your credit. It may non always exist possible to pay back the full amount, but be sure to at least make your minimum payment, otherwise you'll be jeopardizing your credit score.

After a few months of responsibly edifice your credit history, you'll be able to brainstorm using that credit history. Purchasing a new phone on a monthly contract will be simple once you tin secure a positive credit check!

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