<prompt> Human: Hi rpersonalfinance!It seems that both the US system and Canadian system are very similar or at least I find a lot of similar notions, but in my home country France everythings really different. So even when I read the wiki, I dont understand much, because every basic stuff is different and the explanations are meant for an adult, while what I need is more of a ELI5. For example, we dont use debitcredit cards, we only have what we call credit cards but they in fact act like debit cards well, I think. Confused? I am too. Please help me sort this mess out, because once I meet an account manager in a Canadian bank, and when he tries to sell me this product or that service, Id like to avoid any pitfall and not let him use that naive foreigner to get a good commission. We wont have much maybe 20-25K CAD, but with all our assets sold, so theres not much room for error for us in this project, financially speaking.First, just to clear up that debitcredit card confusion: as I understand it, when you open a banking account, you get a debit card. It allows you to withdraw money from your account, from ATMs or by paying directly in a shop, is that correct? Most banking accounts come with a debit card, but you have to ask and pay for a credit card. Credit cards are loan-based, which means that every time I use one to pay something, its actually the bank that pays and I have to reimburse the bank. Still correct? Now heres where Im lost: will I have to pay interests anyway, or only if Im not able to pay them back before some deadline? Now as I understand it, theres also a maximum amount that can be borrowed monthly? from a credit card. Is that what you call being maxed out on a credit card, and the reason why I see characters in movies trying out different credit cards when their payment is refused? So by the way how do you use a credit card? Is it for emergency situations only, like hey I spent my salary but really need to buy that shit, lets use the credit card? Or if I understand the wiki correctly if Im sure to pay the bank back before there are interests I should use a cashback credit card, which could pay for itself and even earn me some money, is that right?Now about the general banking fees. I read some rant on a French immigration board about some guy who was unhappy with Canada because, as he said theres a fee to withdraw money, a fee to pay, a fee to have a card, theres a fee for everything!!!. But that didnt scare me. Most of my countrymen have big mouths and are unhappy about most things. So, when I browsed Scotia Banks website, heres the info that I could gather on the topic: you can get a banking account with unlimited banking operations for 15CADmonth or for free is theres at least 3000CAD on your account at the end of the month. Then you can get an Visa infinity credit card for 99CADyear, which offers between 1 and 4 cashback depending on the nature of my purchases. This sounds very promising, is there a catch, should I expect some hidden fees? It doesnt sound like a lot, in fact provided that I use my credit card for large purchases and that theres enough money on the account to pay the bank back, it could even earn me more money than it costs. Sorry about the wall of text, your help will be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time.  <response>: EU credit cards are a lot like charge cards which must be paid off monthly. I believe only a handful of companies offer this notably American Express and diners. Otherwise, most credit cards are like loans with minimum monthly payments. Your debit card will have a VisaMC logo and you may use it in lieu of a credit card in most instances. 