# Can a US citizen in the states open a Canadian back account? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531 "2004-11-07T21:08:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/1 "2004-11-07T21:08:36Z")
I’m was thinking about opening a bank account in Canada and tucking some money away in Candian funds. The Candian dollar is getting stronger everyday and the family and I are moving up there within 7 months. I’d like to get in on a better exchange rate before the two dollars even out. I don’t have a Social Insurance Number yet and I know in the US without a Social Security Number opening an account is tough. Of course, I could just continue buying cash and tucking it away in my safe, but doing bank transfers each paycheck would be easy and more secure. Are there any dopers in the Candian bank industry that could give me some ideas? Is this possible? Of course, I can just call the RBC or some other bank and ask them,. but dangnabbit it is sunday and no one is there to answer the phone. ☹ Any ideas on buying Candian cash now? The amount would only be a few hundred every couple of weeks. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/2 "2004-11-07T21:39:45Z")
Yes, a US citizen can certainly open up a Canadian bank account. When I was going to school in Ontario (an living in Boston), I opened an account with the [Toronto Dominion](http://www.td.com) bank (aka “TD”). Neither my father nor I (both Americans) needed SINs for the account. I’m sure other banks are the same way. I’m living in Boston again, though I’m n Canada frequently, and I’m actually rather exicted that Fleet – er, Bank of America – won’t charge a fee for it accountholders to use Scotia Bank ATMs. (Although I can’t find a cite online.) This is significantly better than the $5 fee which Sovereign charges me right now… ---
**Author:** ![Survivor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/51bf81/32.png) [@Survivor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survivor)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/3 "2004-11-07T22:16:21Z")
I have a non-resident account with the Bank of Montreal at home in Toronto. Only problem with it I’ve found is that it doesn’t get any interest… I think there’s some sort of taxation reason for that… Then again, with the Cdn dollar going from 65 to 83.5 cents, I guess that’s better than the 2% I would have gotten as a resident. The account is free as long as you have $1000 Cdn in it. Hope that helps… ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/4 "2004-11-08T02:27:34Z")
If all you want to do is bank some Canadian dollars, you don’t need to open a bank account in Canada. You can open a Canadian dollar bank account with a US bank. This may well be cheaper, since there is presumably a cost to transmitting your funds from the US to Canada. Oh, and buying small amounts of Canadian dollars every few weeks? Be careful. Could work out very expensive; check for minimum commission charges. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/5 "2004-11-08T04:06:07Z")
As with the US, Canadian banks have what are called “known customer” rules. This means that they need some form of significant identification (such as a government-issued photo ID). Several Canadian banks own US institutions through which it might be easier to open accounts, and several US banks have a Canadian presence (Citi is the one that comes to mind first). The major Canadian banks are: [CIBC](http://www.cibc.com/) (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) [TD](http://www.td.com/) (Toronto-Dominion/Canada Trust) [ScotiaBank](http://www.scotiabank.com/) [RBC](http://www.rbc.com/) (Royal Bank of Canada) [BMO](http://www.bmo.com/) (Bank of Montreal) ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/6 "2004-11-08T13:31:48Z")
I have a completely free savings account with Scotia Bank. No fees of any kind. Give them a look. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/7 "2004-11-08T17:56:19Z")
You may wish to give a few moments’ thought to how you’re going to transfer money into a Canadian account. I’ve run across this problem a couple of times in recent months, and I still haven’t found a satisfactory solution. Most Canadian banks won’t cash a check drawn in U.S. dollars over a certain amount (US$300 seems typical) without holding the check for a very long time beforehand (say, 30 days). Other means of sending money over the border generally involve fees which you may find prohibitive unless you’re making a very small number of very big transfers. US$25 for a wire transfer, or to order a bank draft in Canadian dollars, for example. Again, if you only plan to make a small number of large transfers then this may not be a problem for you. But if you plan to make a large number of small transfers, you may wish to look into more exotic means of moving the money, such as opening your own PayPal account (a solution which has been proposed to me more than once). ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/8 "2004-11-08T18:57:15Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > If all you want to do is bank some Canadian dollars, you don’t need to open a bank account in Canada. You can open a Canadian dollar bank account with a US bank. This may well be cheaper, since there is presumably a cost to transmitting your funds from the US to Canada. Well, you’d have to send them your check and they’d have to exchange the money. Foreign currency accounts held by US banks work the same way: you send them a check, they convert the currency (taking their fee) and you’ve got an account valued in whatever. I don’t believe that there are many banks that do this. I can only think of one… ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/9 "2004-11-08T21:05:59Z")
> [@Orbifold](#): > > Most Canadian banks won’t cash a check drawn in U.S. dollars over a certain amount (US$300 seems typical) without holding the check for a very long time beforehand (say, 30 days). Other means of sending money over the border generally involve fees which you may find prohibitive unless you’re making a very small number of very big transfers. US$25 for a wire transfer, or to order a bank draft in Canadian dollars, for example. Perhaps you shouldn’t be doing business with Vito’s Bank and Leg-breaking Service. I frequently withdraw money from my Canadian bank accounts while in the US, without any trouble, at ATMs. Similarly, I’ve deposited American cheques and money orders without paying big fees or having a hold put on the funds. As I said above, **all** of the big Canadian banks own U.S. institutions, so cross-border transactions are hardly alien to them. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/10 "2004-11-08T21:34:50Z")
> [@Cerowyn](#): > > Perhaps you shouldn’t be doing business with Vito’s Bank and Leg-breaking Service. RBC and CIBC, actually. > [@](#): > > I frequently withdraw money from my Canadian bank accounts while in the US, without any trouble, at ATMs. Similarly, I’ve deposited American cheques and money orders without paying big fees or having a hold put on the funds. Checks _of what size_? RBC will happily accept small U.S. checks, but hold large ones for thirty days. CIBC at least has ATM’s in Canada which accept checks and deposits in U.S. cash; I don’t know how good they are about accepting U.S. deposits by mail. Money orders are different of course since they don’t have to clear after they’ve been issued. There you just run into the problem of fees. This is not something I’m saying off the top of my head. About a year an a half ago I had cause to investigate how I could transfer money on a regular basis from a U.S. bank account to a Canadian one, and RBC told me exactly what I’m telling you: that large checks from U.S. institutions automatically get held by them for 30 days. If **Seven** is only interested in sending smaller checks across the border, he probably won’t run into this problem. But if he wants to send any more than $300 at a time he should definitely ask any prospective Canadian bank what their policy is on this issue. > [@](#): > > As I said above, **all** of the big Canadian banks own U.S. institutions, so cross-border transactions are hardly alien to them. But those U.S. institutions typically aren’t banks; they’re investment houses. Back in Princeton, NJ, where I used to live, both RBC and Toronto-Dominion had offices offering various investment services, but I couldn’t go into the RBC office and deposit money into my Canadian RBC account. Believe me, I tried. The U.S. institutions are owned by the same people and have the same logo but don’t have anything to do with the bank accounts of their Canadian parent banks. Of course, investment houses may be just what **Seven** is looking for. A U.S. investment house owned by a Canadian bank may be able to offer the kind of service **Chairman Pow** is talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/11 "2004-11-09T06:51:28Z")
Thanks for the replies all. I’ve got some account info heading my way from HSBC (who have an office in my town) and I’m going to give ScotiaBank a call this week. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/12 "2004-11-09T13:10:54Z")
You will save money doing wire transfers instead of mailing cheques. However you really want to check out your potential banks in the U.S. and Canada (don’t forget credit unions) to see which ones have minimal fees. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2004, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-citizen-in-the-states-open-a-canadian-back-account/273531/13 "2004-11-11T15:22:48Z")
I don’t know if there is something that works in the other direction (this is for Canadian deposits into US account), but you might wish to check it out to see if they have something that works for you in the US trying to make deposits into accounts held in Canada: > [@](#): > > Do you frequently travel to the U.S.A? > > As a Canadian you have very specific and unique banking needs on both sides of the border. In response to those needs, we have created RBC Access USA so you can take full advantage of services at RBC Centura. > > With RBC Access USA, you have access to instant money transfers online. You can transfer funds online between your eligible accounts in both Canada and the USA. The funds are transferred instantly and are reflected immediately in your available balances in both locations. > > Accounts eligible for transfer are Savings and Chequing accounts with RBC Royal Bank and Savings, Checking and Money Market accounts with RBC Centura. With accounts at both RBC Royal Bank and RBC Centura, you can now access these accounts with One Sign In via Online Banking. > > For more information on how to take advantage of this new instant money transfer feature in Online Banking, go to: > > [www.rbcroyalbank.com/usbanking/](http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/usbanking/) > > Or, contact 1-800-ROYAL 5-3 (1-800-769-2553) and a representative will assist you.