When I arrived in Vancouver, I was faced with the same decision that Jasper Rickmers had to deal with. In his blog “The Decision – My First Bank”, he talks about the points of parity and the points of difference upon choosing the bank that would benefit him most. After doing some research and comparing the benefits of the “Canadian Big Six” banks, he realized that he best preferred the CIBC debit card to his current RBC debit card.
Looking back at the past three months I have spent in Vancouver, I sometimes wonder if I should have gotten a Scotiabank debit card like all my friends have. So far, I have spent more than $100 going to the movies whereas my friends have been watching movies for free because of their Scotiabank debit card. Yes, there are benefits to both my HSBC debit card and their Scotiabank debit card. The points of parity for the two banks are accessibility to ATM machines and the freedom to manage your money online. However, the points of difference for these two banks sometimes makes me think which one of the two debit cards are more worth to have.
HSBC offers the benefit of global banking, where I can have access to my money anywhere in the world and allows me to transfer my money from one account to another internationally, which is how my parents transfer money from their bank accounts in Hong Kong to my bank account in Vancouver. On the other hand, Scotiabank offers rewards such as free movies and moneyback benefits that value up to 1% in returned value. This is a question of opportunity cost. In the short run, I would be better off with a Scotiabank debit card in Canada, but in the long run I would prefer to have the HSBC debit card because it will allow flexibility and convenience as I travel more around the world in my later years.
Blog Link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/jasperrickmers/