HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

I just opened an US only chequing account in a Canadian Bank, Bank of Montreal.

Just wondering if anyone else has done this, and if it works with paypal to get your US money deposited directly into your US account without it being exchanged?

I spoke to paypal this morning, she told me that even though it is a US account, it is still located in CANADA and it will not accept US money, is this true, thanks Loré.

Another agent awhile ago, said as long as my paypal account was set up as US being the primary currency, I should have no problems, who is right?
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

It won't work!

The account must be LOCATED in the USA.


"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 2 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

A US dollar denominated account at BMO is great (I have one). It will help you deposit checks and money orders denominated in US dollars and pay your US dollar denominated credit card (if you have one - I do to pay my fees at eBay).

However, as explained by the PayPal rep and recped it cannot be used to withdraw US$ from your PayPal account.

When you withdraw US$ from your PayPal account, it clearly states:

"Remember, bank accounts in the United States must be denominated in U.S. Dollars. If your home country bank account is not denominated in your home country's currency, attempts to withdraw funds into your bank account will fail."

If you establish a bank account at a US bank, you can then write checks to yourself from that account and deposit them to your BMO US$ account prior to converting to Cdn$ if and when needed. .
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Message 3 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

Thank you for the explanations, I think I know what to do.
Message 4 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

I find it much more convenient to list on .ca instead of .com and get payed in CAD and pay CAD fees. While some vendors may experience US buyer reluctance to buy in CAD, I have no such issue. (your mileage may vary)

If one is buying goods on eBay regularly, listed in USD, then it can be less costly to maintain USD currency in ones PayPal account and/or USD bank account(s), but there's extra charges and time eaten up maintaining all that.

It's a new century and the new paradigm is 'devolution' so K.I.S.S. and embrace B.T.B...:-)
Message 5 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

Btw. isn't it also cheaper to list on Canadian site because CAD/USD fees are same but CAD is cheaper?
Message 6 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

"While some vendors may experience US buyer reluctance to buy in CAD, I have no such issue. "

When listing on eBay.ca, eBay advises at time of selecting listing currency (US$ or Cdn$):

"Listings in US$ will attract more interest from US buyers and on average are 15% more likely to sell." .
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Message 7 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

I've heard what you have to do is set up a bank account within the US (if you can do so...as they will not acknowledge your Cdn credit references!) and then you can transfer the money in USD and then transfer again into your US funded CDN bank. It might be worth looking into!

HTH!
Message 8 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

My sister has a US account, so I am going to transfer the money into her account and she will give me an US cheque that I can deposit into my US account and all that without paying exchange fees and bank charges. Thanks Loré
Message 9 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

Reply 8.. Your bank will charge you for that US to CDN $ conversion... That is something you cannot escape.

The Paypal conversion rate is about the same as your bank.

Just cannot escape the cost of converting US to CDN $.

Also if a Canadian buys and deposits CDN $ into your Paypal account... I believe that there is a cross-border charge transfer charge about equal to the conversion rate US to CD $.

Right now... Everyone is paying with US dollars and no question about paying with Canadian dollars.

Soon sellers will not be able to say he accepts money order, cheque and so forth on eBay.com... and that will eventually come to Canada.

Paypal, Merchant credit card... or a third option ... Electronic money transfer only.

All of this movement of money, US dollar accounts in US or Canada will become redundant.

The best is to have Paypal... or if you already have a Merchant credit card account use that...
Message 10 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

"Just cannot escape the cost of converting US to CDN $."

???

Since most sales on eBay take place in US$, sellers have the option to convert into Canadian dollars or use those US$ to pay for their US$ expenses (such as eBay fees for example) or US$ inventory purchases (if applicable) without wasting 2.6% conversion fee to PayPal or 2.0% to 2.4% at a commercial bank.

"All of this movement of money, US dollar accounts in US or Canada will become redundant."

???

I will maintain my US$ account in the USA as it is beneficial for me to do so. While it may not apply to you, many sellers benefit from maintaining accounts in US$.

For example, every month I pay my eBay fees (generally around US$1,000 a month) with my US dollar denominated credit card. That is how I avoid paying a conversion spread on the fees. Those savings add up to over $300 a year, not to mention I get airmiles on my eBay fees and an extra 30 days to pay them! I pay my US$ credit card with US$ transferred from PayPal (or received from buyers by way of cheques/checks or money order or cash).

Many sellers here run a real business where eBay is only part of the overall marketing effort. Customers outside eBay will continue to pay by means convenient to them - away from eBay's paranoia and greed. .
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Message 11 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

There are many ways to make things happen...

It is knowing how to do so that really makes the process earn dollars for you.

One thing I always do is use Paypal's exchange rate, US to Canadian dollars to convert my Canadian postage rate to US dollars... That way buyers pay me in US dollars,... Paypal takes its few ounces of flesh and I get the rest back at the same exchange rate.

I never use official exchange rates published the newspaper or elsewhere.

I use Paypal's US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate in all of my conversions. That is US dollars to Canadian dollars as well as Canadian dollars to US dollars. I lose nothing but Paypal's fee... provided the exchange rate does not drop between payment and conversion.
Message 12 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

My paypal account is in US and Canadian funds, Canada post takes the money out of my Canadian funds, my ebay and paypal fees come out of my US account, I do not pay any exchange fees and want to keep it that way.

I sell in US and Canadian funds so that my Canadian account keeps up with Canada post fees.

What I wanted to do is transfer my US funds into a US account located in Canada, but I guess that is not going to happen, so I guess I need to do some creative accounting to get that to happen.

Which is under way now!!

Thanks to everyone for your input

Loré
Message 13 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

Sure you can, just get in the car and drive down to Sumas, walk into any bank and open an account.

You could have a US based account before lunch tomorrow.

Then check https://www.xe.com/fx/ for currency conversion services.


"What else could I do? I had no trade so I became a peddler" - Lazarus Greenberg 1915
- answering Trolls is voluntary, my policy is not to participate.
Message 14 of 15
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HELP! US chequing account in a CANADIAN BANK, do you have problems?

http://forums.ebay.ca/thread.jspa?threadID=500035500&start=0 .
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Message 15 of 15
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