PayPal --- add a USD bank account possible??

[tomstone607]

With the recent uprising of the Canadian dollar, I'm taking a beating on the currency switch over, since I sell in USD. So I opened a US Dollar account today with my bank, added it to my debit card, and away I went. I got home to try and add my new USD account to my PayPal account, this way I can transfer my USD into my US account, and convert it at a much better bank rate. Turns out, you cannot do this on PayPal. I called the PayPal #, and after being on hold for 17 minutes of long distance call, I was told that it was impossible to add a USD account to a Canadian PayPal account.

There's got to be a way around this. My question, then, is what are my possible options of depositing my US balance from PayPal into a USD account? I thought I heard someone say something about transferring it through some middle-man company... but I don't recall all the details.

What do all you other sellers do? Do you deposit Canadian Dollars into your accounts, and take the currency exchange hit too?

[shoplineca]

You didnt open a US bank account with your bank, you opened a US dollar account with your bank. Its not the same thing.

You need to go to the Toronto Dominion/Canada Trust (TD Waterhouse) or Royal Bank and open a US Bank account with their US operations.

You can also travel to the US an open an account there with a bank in a nearby US town if you are fairly close to the border.

A US Bank has a 9-digit routing code and that is what PayPal needs which is completely different from having a US dollar account within your Canadian bank.

Its too bad our bankers are so stupid about this as it was a learning curve for me as well in the beginning.

Malcolm

[muminlaw]

We opened our account with the Bank of America by telephone and mail several years ago - you could probably get it started online now although some of the process will still have to be done by mail. Their service charge for our checking account is $3.00 per month with a $2.00 per month service credit for PayPal's online deposits - a net s/chg of $1.00!

With an account in a US bank, you can write a check to transfer the funds from the US bank to your USD account in your Cdn bank, and then convert to Cdn dollars when the rates are better - a win/win situation.

Glenda

[auctiondropnship]

Please note the following
"go to the Toronto Dominion/Canada Trust (TD Waterhouse)"

My friend did this and 6 months later they closed his account ...why ?? stated he was conducting business with the account

[shoplineca]

Todd
I have had my account open with TD Waterhouse for 2 years and my only deposits made are from PayPal.

Where your income is from is of no consequence to TD Waterhouse however it must be a personal account. I could deposit commission cheques, dividend cheques, bond interest cheques etc from corporations and it would not indicate anything to TD Waterhouse that would cause any alarm.

I would suggest it was probably how he directed the use of the funds that he had on deposit that got him into trouble and not that he received payments from PayPal (as you can sell stuff as an individual).

Its like anything else. If you try to open a youth bank account to avoid paying banking fees and you start depositing your old age security payments, the bank will close out your youth account.

There are thousands of Cdn eBayers that have their accounts set up with TD Waterhouse. I was directed to them by a TD telephone rep whose parents sold cars on eBay for a living and they operated their US account with TD Waterhouse.

Malcolm

[discountlabelsupplies]

"why ?? stated he was conducting business with the account "

They brought this up with me when I asked if I could have an alias on my account and send them cheques made out to "labels4less enterprises". They said absolutley not that if my account is being used for business it would be closed.

Now I only send checks to them made out in my own name. Paypal deposits have never been questioned by them.

[discountlabelsupplies]

" I thought I heard someone say something about transferring it through some middle-man company."

As mentioned I have a TDwaterhousebank account. When it builds up to about $5,000 I write a check to a money exchanger (Vancouver Bullion in Vancouver) and they in turn write me a cheque in Canadian funds at a better rate than any bank would offer. I then take this Canadian cheque and deposit it in my B.O.M. Canadian business account.

[shooger]

I use RBC Centura which is the american division of Royal Bank. I can access all my information online. My PayPal money goes right into my Centura account which takes about 48 hours. When I'm ready (and the exchange rate is favourable... yeah right) I use XE.com (a money transferring service that offers better rates than most banks and PayPal) to convert the money into CND dollars and have it deposited into my Royal Bank account here in Vancouver... where I spend it on chocolate bars, pepsi, and rent.

I've never had a problem with RBC, except that when I was setting it up (about a year ago) they were kind of new, and it took a lot of steps. They should be better at it now. Also, if you maintain $700 in there (which I do) you pay no fees whatsoever. You get free cheques, debit card (useable only in the US of course), deposits and withdrawls, phone help, etc. It's decent.

[gezeilstra]

Sounds pretty good, the only problem I see with Royal Bank Centura is that they only offer online transfers between that account and personal bank accounts, I wonder why they don't allow transfers between business accounts?

[rd1000]

I opened a US bank account with online banking. It is completely free. At first I was writing checks from that account to my Canadian account, until I discovered it takes 30 days for the check to clear. I went to every major bank and they all had the same policy.

I then opened an account with xe.com, also free. I transfer the money from Paypal to my US account, then use xe.com to transfer from my US account to my Cdn Account. Not a single charge and they guarantee a better exchange rate than the banks.

It takes about 2-3 days for Paypal to transfer, and about 5 days for xe.com, doesn't cost me a cent, and I don't have to leave my computer.

Rob

[auctiondropnship]

How does XE.com work ??

[shooger]

rd1000 - exact same method I use. It was a bitch to set up, but now that it's running smoothly, I'm pretty happy with it.

auctiondropship, it's a company that does nothing but exchange money. They can do every currency in the world. You give them your "from" account info, and they confirm it. You give them your "to" account info, and they confirm that too. Then you arrange a trade, based on the current best market rate, which you can't see unless you are a member and signed in). The money is withdrawn out of the "from" account (for example, in US dollars) and deposited into your "to" account (for example, in Canadian dollars). Like rd1000 said, it takes 4-5 days. They guarentee better rates than banks, PayPal, and money exchangers. They can do this because it's all they do, nothing else. And like I said above, the setup was terrible, a lot of hoop-jumping. Faxing this, signing that, entering confirmation numbers. But now, it's very carefree and it runs itself. The no fee thing really helps, too.

[zarzuella]

I use TD Waterhouse. When I want money out, I make a call to an 800 number and they convert and transfer the money to my TDCanada Trust account the same day. No charge.

[rd1000]

I didn't have too much trouble setting up xe. You have to fax in two pieces of ID. The communication was excellent though. The confirm receipt of faxes and e-mail within a couple days if they need anything. It took about a week to confirm my accounts and identification. As soon as they do, you can start transfering.

I am very happy with them.

[gezeilstra]

Which online US bank do you use?

[rd1000]

I use North Country Savings.

[bh542]

I called TD Waterhouse for opening a US bank account and they said they discontinued this program for Canadian residents (only US residents can).

Is there any other way that I can open a US bank account without going to US. Thanks.

[javax.swing]

RBC Centura. Took me about 60 minutes to do the paperwork since I wasn't an RBC customer at all before (you have to have a Canadian account there before you can do Centura). All the paperwork is done, and you get your Canadian account stuff on the spot. Centura mails you the info for your account in 2 weeks, then follows up with more details (full activation for online banking etc) in the week after (or so it was for me).

Huge benefit with the 83 cent dollar now.

[bh542]

Thank you, javax.swing.

I am not RBC customer either. I'll try next week. The US dollar dropping really hurts me. I have to try to save some money.

Thanks again.

[niko*_*]

bh - I just opened a TD Waterhouse account this week. You can do it if you have an existing Td account. so open a Td account and then a TD Waterhouse.