Opening a US account at RBC or TD

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travesty
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Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by travesty »

I was wondering if anyone had opened a US-domiciled account (i.e., at the corresponding US bank, not simply a USD account at the Canadian bank) at RBC or TD lately.

Was there an online or phone only option? I'm traveling and it will be a long time before I could receive , sign and mail documents, but I can do stuff online, fax things etc.

The TD account does have an online application but oddly after I enter my address it simply says "Application unavailable".
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AltaRed
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by AltaRed »

Cannot comment on TD or RBC, but I believe you can open a USD account via BMO's banking interface with Harris Bank.
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by planB »

I contacted TD Ameritrade a couple of years ago and they did not offer a CAD account in addition to the base USD account, so I didn't see any advantage to sticking with TD. I ended up opening an account with Interactive Brokers (US) which allows CAD and USD accounts/trading and very cheap forex. The IB account was opened on line with no problems.
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by AltaRed »

I think the OP is talking about bank accounts but I could be mistaken.
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by planB »

AltaRed wrote: 13 Apr 2017 20:31 I think the OP is talking about bank accounts but I could be mistaken.
Thanks, I misread the post.
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by gobsmack »

I have a TD cross-border account. I opened it a couple of years ago and it was really easy. I did everything online. As far as I remember, it was pretty straight forward. They offer free wire transfer between the US and CAN accounts (up to $100k per day).
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by Arby »

I have an account at US-based TD Bank, but I can't remember if I opened the account online. The link in the above post to TD Cross Border Account does not accept a Canadian address. I suggest that you phone the TD Cross Border help line at 1-877-700-2913 and ask how to apply online.
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by travesty »

planB wrote: 13 Apr 2017 20:21 I contacted TD Ameritrade a couple of years ago and they did not offer a CAD account in addition to the base USD account, so I didn't see any advantage to sticking with TD. I ended up opening an account with Interactive Brokers (US) which allows CAD and USD accounts/trading and very cheap forex. The IB account was opened on line with no problems.
Yes, I have had an IB account since forever, but I need US banking services and IB can't help here. Well, that's not totally true: you can set up ACH transfers if you do have a US bank, and you can send wires really cheaply (but they require you to jump through a lot of hoops before sending any third party wire, so that part isn't very seamless).

I want a US bank that I can do ACH transfers from.
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by travesty »

gobsmack wrote: 14 Apr 2017 09:17 I have a TD cross-border account. I opened it a couple of years ago and it was really easy. I did everything online. As far as I remember, it was pretty straight forward. They offer free wire transfer between the US and CAN accounts (up to $100k per day).
So as it turns out it must have just been a browser issue. I used another browser and the application went through just fine. My account is apparently opened, just waiting my fist deposit. They send you an email telling you that you better have it done in 14 days or bad things will happen, so I call up to transfer from by TD Canada account (which is one of their recommended ways), but they want the US account number. The application completion screen only told me the last 4 digits, and the US side wouldn't tell me my account number even after completing identity validation.

So I guess I'm waiting for something in the mail before I can do my transfer, which is kind of stupid and then I'm racing against this 14 day deadline...
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by travesty »

Arby wrote: 14 Apr 2017 09:36 I have an account at US-based TD Bank, but I can't remember if I opened the account online. The link in the above post to TD Cross Border Account does not accept a Canadian address. I suggest that you phone the TD Cross Border help line at 1-877-700-2913 and ask how to apply online.
Weird, it accepts Canadian addresses just fine for me (you still need to pick an approximate US "location" where it can assign a branch, but it tells you to just pick whatever you want).
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by gobsmack »

travesty wrote: 14 Apr 2017 16:35 So I guess I'm waiting for something in the mail before I can do my transfer, which is kind of stupid and then I'm racing against this 14 day deadline...
It's been a while but I can say that was not my experience. I remember that, right at the end of the application process, I was able to print a page that had all the info I needed. After that, I called the TD cross-border help line and wired some dollars over from my Canadian account to my new US account. I don't remember having to wait for anything in the mail. You may want to give them a call and ask for help.

One gotcha: If I recall correctly, at some point, you will have to call TD Bank's customer support in order to set up your password for their website in the US. You will never need this password again because you can easily get to your US account from Easy Web. But access from Easy Web won't work until you set up the password on the US site. I vaguely recall this step was not made clear to me when I applied. When you call them, also ask them to make sure your account was set up as a paperless account.
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by travesty »

gobsmack wrote: 14 Apr 2017 17:04
travesty wrote: 14 Apr 2017 16:35 So I guess I'm waiting for something in the mail before I can do my transfer, which is kind of stupid and then I'm racing against this 14 day deadline...
It's been a while but I can say that was not my experience. I remember that, right at the end of the application process, I was able to print a page that had all the info I needed. After that, I called the TD cross-border help line and wired some dollars over from my Canadian account to my new US account. I don't remember having to wait for anything in the mail.
Yes, I read other experiences. I got a confirmation page when the process was complete, but the account number was mostly masked out.
You may want to give them a call and ask for help.
Yeah I called the cross border . The Canadian side took all the information for my first transfer, confirmed my identity, etc, etc, and at the last step asked me my US account number. Oops. Told me to call the US side to get the number. US side told me they can't give the number.
One gotcha: If I recall correctly, at some point, you will have to call TD Bank's customer support in order to set up your password for their website in the US. You will never need this password again because you can easily get to your US account from Easy Web. But access from Easy Web won't work until you set up the password on the US site. I vaguely recall this step was not made clear to me when I applied. When you call them, also ask them to make sure your account was set up as a paperless account.
I entered my easyweb info and password during the account creation process, so perhaps they will just be linked soon (that's what the application process implied), so maybe I can get to my account that way. We'll see...

Thanks for sharing your experience!
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Re: Opening a US account at RBC or TD

Post by travesty »

Seems like I complained too soon! Today the US accounts showed up in easyweb, yay.

Still, the phone reps could be more clued in, like "Oh, you need to wait a couple days for your account to show up in easyweb"...

FWIW I opened both RBC Bank and TD US accounts around the same time and the process was relatively smooth for both. Both applications are online initially, with RBC sending you your login credentials via message to your Canadian online banking (and then you upload your signature). TD is online and then I guess they mail you some stuff but as above if you enter your easyweb info in the process it will show up in your Canadian easyweb after a few days (not sure how many extra days I had to wait due to the holiday).
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