Yes, it looks like it is now possible for Canadians in Canada with no US connections to open up a US-based US$ Bank Account. Well, one that has no transaction fees that is. You don't need to make a trip down to the USA to open this account as a Canadian.
Enter Harris Bank Free Checking
Harris Bank is owned by BMO, but that's pretty much where their Canadian connection ends. They're not at all integrated with BMO, but they do seem to gladly welcome Canadians through their online form.
Harris Bank's branches are mainly in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. They have plenty in Chicago.
RBC's US Bank will open accounts for Canadians without making a trip to the USA, but if you don't keep a high enough monthly balance throughout the month, you'll have to pay monthly fees. Harris Bank's offering is _free_, and has no monthly balance requirements. Their only requirement seems to be a starting deposit of US$100, which you can send in by cheque (not sure if they'll accept CAD$ or Canadian bank US$ cheques), deposit in person at a Harris bank branch, or you can even use your Visa/Mastercard.
I'm not sure if the Visa/Mastercard opening method counts as a cash advance, or as a purchase.
The Harris Free Checking Account includes:
- Free introductory checks
- Free Harris Debit MasterCard
- Unlimited Checks and Electronic Payments each month
As well as the expected online and telephone banking.
I'm not sure how many free checks you get, but the fact that you get any is pretty good, and then you can order more through any US check printer.
Other Helpful US Banking for Canadians Articles:
- Currency Exchange Rates at Canadian Banks
- Canadian bank-issued US$ Credit Card for Canadians
- Canadian-based US$ Dollar bank account offerings
- Opening a US-based bank account in the USA
TD Integration
I tried to open an account at TD Bank USA, their flat out answer is NO! TD Bank USA will not open an account for anyone who is not a permanent resident of the United States. TD Canada Trust however advised me that later on this year they will be doing a planned system integration where you can go into a TD Bank "store" in the US and access your accounts thru a teller, as well as Americans can go into a Canada Trust branch and access their accounts at a teller as well. This however will not resolve the issue of actually having an US based US dollar account as your US account will still be domiciled at your Canadian Branch.
I myself have been banking with RBC Bank USA for over a year and it has been flawless. I have however been dinged a couple of time for the $3.95 fee when the balance dropped below $700. When you call RBC Bank USA, your call is actually routed back to a Canadian call centre as they closed their US call centres and integrated them with Canada.
The ability to instantly move funds from RBC Royal to RBC Bank USA is really the best benefit, and the funds are instantly available. You can send funds to The Harris through BMO, however you must subscribe to their most expensive banking plan to get that service, it is not instant, and funds transfers do not work "both ways" to and from the American bank.
The only thing that peeves me about RBC Bank USA is that they do offer free checking accounts however Canadians can only have the "Embassy Checking Account" which has a $3.95 fee... I'm thinking RBC Royal decided we should pay a fee because that's what were used to... Americans rarely pay fees for a checking account, so it must have been an easy way to generate revenue from those Canadians who never complain, and are used to paying fees... be careful which RBC account you open, there are two, and the other account has a $29.95 per month fee.
Since RBC Bank USA never opened your account, and great care is being made to separate the Canadian accounts from the US resident accounts, leads me to believe if the Royal ever sells off RBC Bank USA, the Canadian accounts will be repatriated back to Canada or closed.
Harris
Did Harris bank ask for copy of your Canadian passport to prove citizenship?? I only have Canadian SIN and driver's license, is that okay? Thanks
No - I did not send any
No - I did not send any copies of passports; only driver's licence.
Yes. I don't even remember
Yes. I don't even remember sending them copies of anything but I may have sent them a photocopy of my driver's license. It definitely doesn't have to be a passport
Harris Bank
I would like comment on the procedure on the Harris Bank application:
- I applied for the Harris Bank account over the Internet (one checking and one savings); the next day I got a call back asking me for the security code of the credit card I entered via the website for the initial transfer of funds. I didn't have it with me at the time so I told the Harris rep that I would call her later that day, which I did. She told me that my account had been approved and they would be sending me some documents for me to sign. Later that day day I got an email informing me of the same thing. (The initial load of $100 is treated as a purchase, not cash advance)
- Later I received the Harris MasterCard Debit card and its security code (arrived seperately)
- I tried registering for online banking, but the website required SSN which I do not have. I called them and they transferred me to a separate department; that other dept. asked me some questions, like drivers licence number, Canadian SIN number, etc. and activated online banking for me.
- A few weeks later, another Harris Bank rep called me as to whether I received the documents, which I said no. She'll said she'll resend them.
- Today I received a bunch of stuff in the mail: documents to sign including Harris Bank signature form, W-8BEN form (for IRS) [one envelope], cheque book [2nd envelope], and deposit/withdrawal slips [3rd envelope].
Harris Bank
I would like comment on the procedure on the Harris Bank application:
- I applied for the Harris Bank account over the Internet (one checking and one savings); the next day I got a call back asking me for the security code of the credit card I entered via the website for the initial transfer of funds. I didn't have it with me at the time so I told the Harris rep that I would call her later that day, which I did. She told me that my account had been approved and they would be sending me some documents for me to sign. Later that day day I got an email informing me of the same thing. (The initial load of $100 is treated as a purchase, not cash advance)
- Later I received the Harris MasterCard Debit card and its security code (arrived seperately)
- I tried registering for online banking, but the website required SSN which I do not have. I called them and they transferred me to a separate department; that other dept. asked me some questions, like drivers licence number, Canadian SIN number, etc. and activated online banking for me.
- A few weeks later, another Harris Bank rep called me as to whether I received the documents, which I said no. She'll said she'll resend them.
- Today I received a bunch of stuff in the mail: documents to sign including Harris Bank signature form, W-8BEN form (for IRS) [one envelope], cheque book [2nd envelope], and deposit/withdrawal slips [3rd envelope].
Harris Bank
Just a few comments:
- the initial starting deposit is charged as a purchase, not cash advance
- Harris allows Canadians to access online web banking, but you'll need to call them to set it up. They'll ask you for Social Insurance Number, Driver's Licence number, etc.
An update to this: I don't
An update to this:
I don't know if they've updated things because of more Canadians applying but I have 0 problems setting up online banking myself.
The initial form will ask a Social Security Number but I just put my Social Insurance Number instead, which is the same amount of digits as the US SIN anyway, and it worked just fine.
USA RBC Accounts
I am a Canadian having work in the US for a little while. When I returned to Canada a few months ago, I reliazed that I still had to pay Uncle Sam's creditors (namely AMEX and Visa) so I opended an RBC USA Aceess account from the friendly confines of my branch on Harbord Street here in Toronto. You see my California based US Bank (that's the name of the bank BTW) was obvioulsy too far away from Ontario for me to physically make dposits so I needed to think fast to be able make my monthly payments on time... introducing RBC! Now I can tranfer money back and forth between RBC USA and RBC Royal Bank with the click of a mouse! I've pretty well much paid off my US credit cards but do continue to use my US based Amex Gold card as I get points on everything I buy. I then can transfer over my reward points to Aeroplan for that future trip my wife and I are going to take to New Zealand. Besides I can use my debit Visa just like a credit card up here and every merchant thinks its an actual based credit card!
I'm cool w/keeping a high enough monthly balance
Say you drop this requirement of not having to "keep a high enough monthly balance throughout the month" (sometime these high enough monthly balances are not even too high), what US Bank Account for Canadians would you recommend now? Would you go for RBC's instead? Does that one offer a higher interest rate?
How about a savings US Bank Account for Canadians? Can you recommend any of these?
Many thanks.
Yes, in your instance, RBC
Yes, in your instance, RBC would be best, since they have their US and Canadian operations pretty well integrated. Keep an eye on TD though, in case they integrate their's as well.
I can't think of any decent savings US Bank Accounts for Canadians, since all of the high-paying ones seem to be online-only and not accepting of Canadians, even if they do already have a US Bank Account. If you have a substantial sum of funds and are looking into long-term savings, possibly it's best to through it into a brokerage account or a registered investment (for tax purposes).
I just attempted to open
I just attempted to open such an "Access USA" account with RBC bank, and they told me that I have to fist open a checking account with Royal Bank Canada. Was that your understanding about how things are supposed to be done? Or is it that if I call again I'll get a different answer?
TD?
Thanks for the reply. Yes, RBC's US bank sounds good, though, to be honest, TD would sound even better, as that's my main bank. You wouldn't happen to have any more info on the presumed further integration of TD with their US bank, would you? (BTW, what's TD's US bank anyway?)
TD Bank Canada<->US Integration
It is just a presumed integration, I don't think they've announced anything (nor seeded any rumours). TD's US operations have all been re-branded "TD Bank" for your convenience ;)
At one time TD Waterhouse
At one time TD Waterhouse Bank (US) accepted opening of accounts from Canadians (and was advertized on TD Canada Trust website), but they discontinued that service a few years back. However if you have already had an existing TD Waterhouse Bank account they were grandfathered into TD Banknorth. I'm not sure if they will ever resume that service. (I should have applied back then.)
TD Waterhouse US Bank Accounts
Hopefully they will, or at least to some degree where you can call up a number and they can do the transfer for you. I'd imagine the two systems are very different, and regulatory compliance with US and Canadian systems would be a pain.
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