Credit Card for Temporary Resident (Tourist)

Community Support
1

Hey guys,

Can a relative of mine who is a temporary resident without SIN number get a credit card at Neo? I know the clinet might need sin number, but instead she got TIN (Tax Individual Number) from CRA.

I would appreciate if you know if it’s possible or not!

Best,

AF

2

Hi @AFGN , thank you for reaching out and welcome to the community! This is a great question happy to clarify a few pieces. In order to apply your relative must have:

  • Canadian phone number
  • Canadian address
  • Valid ID (To view the list of the IDs that you can apply with, visit our Help Centre article here)

If they don’t have a Canadian credit file, they’d only be eligible for a secured card, since our unsecured products require a credit check. In that case, they’d need to fund the account through an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) from a Canadian bank.

If they’d prefer to fund the account using Interac e-Transfer, they would first need to open a Neo Everyday Account which does require a Canadian SIN to set up.

Hope this helps clear things up, let me know if you have any other questions! :hugs:

3

Hello Sana,

Thanks for the swift reply,

She has a bank valid ID (Passport & Canadian Driver License). A valid phone number (pre-paid), and a bank statement with Canadian Address stated on it.

  1. For the payment she has bank account with Wise and BMO. Can she use it to pay the outstanding balance or even funding it?
  2. How can I check if she has a credit profile (Equifax or Transunion)?
  3. Is there any way I or she contact Neo to ask question there for faster response?

Best,

AFGN

4

Hi @AFGN , that’s great to hear! To answer your questions:

1. If she has a chequing account with BMO or Wise, that would be one way to deposit funds into the secured card.

2. A credit file is essentially your credit history, which is tracked by credit bureaus like: TransUnion and Equifax. It includes details like your past and current credit accounts, payment history, and overall credit activity. Lenders use this file to decide whether you’re eligible for products like credit cards and loans. So if this is her first credit card that she’s applying for she will not have a credit file.

3. She can also reach out to our support team here at Neo for more guidance, we’ll be happy to help. Our support phone number number is +1 855-636-2265. Let me know if I can clarify anything, happy to look into it for you! :hugs: