I'm assuming I'm going to have to get a Canadian bank account. In the states I prefer credit unions as they are cheaper and have fewer fees. Do you need to be a member of some special group to join a credit union in Canada? The web sites all seem to suggest that you need to 'buy shares', that there is some sort of initial fee up front for being a member. I'm not familiar with this approach. In the states typically you join a credit union affiliated with your work place or college or whatever. Any info on this?
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Re: Banking in Canada.......Credit Unions.....
Wed, July 18, 2007 - 6:48 PMI have some questions about banking there too. I'm looking at a job in Toronto right now.
For the most part I'm not too concerned about the exchange rate issue. I'm going to be LIVING IN CANADA, and thus I will pay my rent in CA, buy my gas in CA, and buy grocerries in CA. Most of my day to day expenses will be in CA currency. BUT, what concerns me is paying my U.S. bills and getting hacked on the exchange rate then! It's not a terrible difference, but it could add up month to month. For example, my highest single payment for loans is $180, so I'd loose and extra $8.20 converting to US dollars.
So here are my questions:
- Are there any banks that will allow you to write checks or e-checks in US funds? I'd like to avoid having to do a fricken money order everytime I need to send a bill!
- Do credit card companies let you make payments in US dollars? Do they charge you a fee for conversion?
- Is there generally a surcharge for currency exchange?
Thanks for any help you can offer! -
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Re: Banking in Canada.......Credit Unions.....
Thu, July 19, 2007 - 3:44 PMHi Jason,
Check out RBC (Royal Bank of Canda). They have quite a few branches in the US and offer a special account for people living in Canada that will be traveling to and paying bills in the US. I believe you can enroll in e-billing with all your US bills and recieve no extra fees. You can also transfer money to and from your RBC account in Canada to an RBC account in the US. So, you have to open up two bank accounts, but you don't get charged extra fees.
I am not an expert on this account, but I will be moving to Montreal in about a month and I plan on using this one:
www.rbcroyalbank.com/usbanki...usa.html
Hope that helps!
-KH -
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Re: Banking in Canada.......Credit Unions.....
Thu, July 19, 2007 - 3:59 PMHi KH,
Wonderful!!! Thanks so much for the info, that's exactly what I was looking for. That should be easy enough to keep a balance in a US account and write my checks through that one.
Jason
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