Depositing U.S. dollar check drawn on CDN bank into U.S bank

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worryfreeinvestor
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Depositing U.S. dollar check drawn on CDN bank into U.S bank

Post by worryfreeinvestor »

Apologies in advance if this question is inappropriate: It's simply transactional, not really about tax or accounting.

I've got a U.S. dollar checking account at one of the big 5 Canadian banks from when I lived there. I haven't dipped into it since immigrating to U.S. a few years ago. It's got a few thousand dollars in it. I never go back to Canada but still possess the checkbook. I went to my U.S. bank and the teller said it takes "up to 90 days" to process the deposit of a U.S. dollar check drawn on a Canadian bank. (I think this teller was surprised to learn that there are banks in Canada, or that Canadians use currency rather than beaver pelts.)

Although it might take "up to 90 days" my intuition tells me that it practically takes less time. Does anyone have a sense of how long I should really expect for the check to be credited to my U.S. bank a/c?
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

It will take weeks.
Better option is to go thru a forex account (yes, even though it is not a forex transaction) which converts your Cdn transcation to an ETF for your US bank. There are other ways to do this, but writing a check from your bank is way down the list.


Shows you what a crock those US accounts were when the Cdn banks set them up.
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worryfreeinvestor
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Post by worryfreeinvestor »

Thanks. I did an ETF back in 2006 but now my CDN bank says it won't anymore - only a wire txr which is more expensive. How about having a family member in Canada mail me a US$ postal order? (Although I have seen letter-mail from Canada to US take 2 wks!)
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

carrier pigeon?

Like I said, you need to set up a third-party system athat will act like a Cdn bank in Canada and a US one in US.

If you must, have a C$ account in canada and that is it. US account in canada is not much use, as you now see.
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nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

... and it lost 40% of its value ofver the past 5 years.
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Amerinuck
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Post by Amerinuck »

This sounds like complete crap. I send US$ checks from Canada every month and it never takes more than a week, once they arrive, to clear. I've also deposited US drawn checks into my US$ account in Canada and it's never taken more than 5 days to clear. 90 days? :lol:
worryfreeinvestor
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Location: Seattle, WA

Post by worryfreeinvestor »

In the short term, I'm doing it through a family member. Eventually I'll get back to Canada and set up a US$ checking account. What is remarkable is that I have a C$checking account and the same bank will not let me set up a US$ checking account unless I walk into the branch in Canada.

Amerinuck, I did not think that it could possibly take 90 days. If you are receiving US$ checks every month from a Canadian bank and depositing them, and it only takes a week, I think that's pretty good evidence that the bank employee in the US was just giving me a worst case scenario.

Anyone else with experience?
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

Confused.
You said in your first post "I've got a U.S. dollar checking account at one of the big 5 Canadian banks from when I lived there.".

Now you say you will" get back to Canada and set up a US$ checking account".

Which is it?
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
worryfreeinvestor
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Post by worryfreeinvestor »

Apologies: that's a very sloppy typo. I sort of ran two sentences in my mind together when they hit the page. Will be more careful in future!

Before immigrating to the US a few years ago I had a C$ checking a/c and a US$ checking a/c at my CDN bank. When I moved to US I closed the US$ a/c but left the C$ one remaining open, because I wasn't sure how long I'd be in US.

Well, it now looks like I'll be in US for good. So, I'd like to keep the C$ a/c open for when I visit my family, but I'd like to move money periodically to US. All I wanted to do was re-open the US$ a/c so that I could execute the FX into US$ within the CDN bank and write myself a check in US$ and take it to my US bank.

The CDN bank is wrapped around the axle about a non-CDN resident opening up a US$ a/c, even though I had one before and still have a C$ a/c. They send me statements every month and I log in to the bank online just like I was in Canada.

In fact, my short term solution was to INTERAC money from my C$ /ac to a family member in Canada. That family member has a US$ bank account in US from when he was a resident in US. So he did a similar transfer to my account here. (They don't call it INTERAC in US, just ETF.)

Obviously this is something you can do only with someone you trust absolutely.

But doesn't it seem strange to allow the non-CDN resident to do anything with his C$ a/c, inlcuding INTERAC, and then treat him like a Taliban-Russian mobster hybrid spawn when he wans to re-open a US$ a/c (just like he had a few years ago)?
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

I would not waste any time setting up a USD account in canada -- you have a USD account in US.

Set up a forex trading arrangement that allows you dep/withdraw C$ from canada and dep/witdrw USD in US, plain and simple.

And, no, you generally cannot open a new account of any type as a non-res without being physically present.
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worryfreeinvestor
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Post by worryfreeinvestor »

Thanks. Which forex broker would you recommend?
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

I have used Customhouse.com, there are others.
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worryfreeinvestor
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US$ check on Canadian bank

Post by worryfreeinvestor »

Amerinuck, when you deposit a US$ check drawn on a US$ account at a bank in Canada into your US bank, do they charge you a fee to accept the deposit? Or do they treat it lik any other US$ check from a US bank?

To be precise, if I have a US$ checking account at Bank of Montreal at my branch in Ottawa and write a check to myself and deposit it into my account at Wells Fargo Bank in San Francisco, how will Wells Fargo handle it relative to my depositing a check drawn on Bank of America, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, et cetera?
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

I have truied this, and its not pretty. If you want to bring US check down to US bank, it should be drawn on the US sister bank in US.

That is why Isaid that having a USD account in canada is of no value when dealing with US bank.
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nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

A USD account in Canada is NOT a US bank account. It might as well be denominated in Rupees.
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