Banking and Building credit in the US

[Sam and Ben 2]

That's a Great Idea "Collens"

I am in Canada and Have been banking with RBC Royal Bank for many years. I opened a Royal Bank US , using my sons address in Florida. I now enjoy going on Line and transfering money back and forth., when I need to. While on a visit to US, it was great haviing a US Debit Visa card. I know things are a little different as "Trailmix" mentioned. Every country has their rules but overall its been good for us. Hopefully it will be convenient for u.

Best of Luck...

Yes, the do things differently like...

- If you get a new debit card they mail that out and mail out your pin number separately - no going in to the bank to get a new one

- If you forget your pin - again, they have to mail it out

- If you want a money order in Canadian dollars, they have to 'order' it - takes about 2 weeks

- If you have a joint account and say you move, you must both call in and ask for a change of address

The list goes on

If you lose your debit card, you can't go to your bank and get a new one. They have to order you one and it takes 7-10 BUSINESS days. So, you could be without a debit card for two weeks.

Luckily for me, I lost my second debit card in 4 weeks on the weekend haha

I've never before lost my card, but honestly, 7-10 business days? That's ridiculous.

[thetreble 19]

Yeah it's crappy. It's the one thing in my life that I constantly lose, too. I'm always pulling it out of my wallet and forgetting to put it back in.

[trailmix 77]

Yes, the do things differently like...

- If you get a new debit card they mail that out and mail out your pin number separately - no going in to the bank to get a new one

- If you forget your pin - again, they have to mail it out

- If you want a money order in Canadian dollars, they have to 'order' it - takes about 2 weeks

- If you have a joint account and say you move, you must both call in and ask for a change of address

The list goes on

If you lose your debit card, you can't go to your bank and get a new one. They have to order you one and it takes 7-10 BUSINESS days. So, you could be without a debit card for two weeks.

Luckily for me, I lost my second debit card in 4 weeks on the weekend haha

I've never before lost my card, but honestly, 7-10 business days? That's ridiculous.

No, but when they issued our visa debit cards originally we couldn't use them as debit cards because the strips on that batch of cards was faulty, they worked periodically - so we had to have them replaced. We were travelling when we received them and by the time we got the new cards we had forgotten the pin numbers - lol

[Sam and Ben 2]

I know I found it to be the oddest thing, when I went to purchase something online for my fiance's mother on her credit card, it asked for the last four digits of her SSN. I remember finding that to be such a weird thing for them to ask for, until she said that's actually a rather common thing, which is why they have to memorize their number.

[Krikit 1,163]

I've actually gotten in heck from people for not knowing the last 4 digits of my ssn. It is a requirement for pretty much everything here. The other problem is when they request your zip code when using a credit card at a gas pump, for instance. Which means a person with an out-of-country cc can't use the pay-and-go. They have to go inside. It's also a hassle if your cc is tied to a PO box and not a home address because you have to remember which zip. That's if you can remember your zip.

[Sam and Ben 2]

I've actually gotten in heck from people for not knowing the last 4 digits of my ssn. It is a requirement for pretty much everything here. The other problem is when they request your zip code when using a credit card at a gas pump, for instance. Which means a person with an out-of-country cc can't use the pay-and-go. They have to go inside. It's also a hassle if your cc is tied to a PO box and not a home address because you have to remember which zip. That's if you can remember your zip.

Haha, I learned that the hard way! I just tried using my his zip, thinking, hey, maybe that'll work... Nope. Went inside and confused the heck out of the cashier.

I never memorized my SIN. I have a hard enough time remembering important dates without jotting them down.

[Krikit 1,163]

My biggest words of advice are to never ever EVER try to cash a Canadian cheque in a US bank. Never.

[trailmix 77]

I know I found it to be the oddest thing, when I went to purchase something online for my fiance's mother on her credit card, it asked for the last four digits of her SSN. I remember finding that to be such a weird thing for them to ask for, until she said that's actually a rather common thing, which is why they have to memorize their number.

That's really weird, I shop online a lot and have never been asked for my SSN. They do ask for the security code from your credit card though, which is 3 or 4 digits depending on what type of card you are using.

Edited July 21, 2009 by trailmix

[Sam and Ben 2]

I know I found it to be the oddest thing, when I went to purchase something online for my fiance's mother on her credit card, it asked for the last four digits of her SSN. I remember finding that to be such a weird thing for them to ask for, until she said that's actually a rather common thing, which is why they have to memorize their number.

That's really weird, I shop online a lot and have never been asked for my SSN. They do ask for the security code from your credit card though, which is 3 or 4 digits depending on what type of card you are using.

I've always been asked for my security code over here. But when I was placing an order for some concert tickets for her youngest and his girlfriend, it asked for the code and the last four digits of her SSN. She didn't seem put off by it, as she didn't question it.

I did catch the drift about the Canadian cheques... so I opened the US account so I could transfer easily between my account and his before I do the full-out dump of my savings into the US system.

[JillA 2]

My biggest words of advice are to never ever EVER try to cash a Canadian cheque in a US bank. Never.

I even had a heck of a time trying to cash a US money order here. It was from a Canadian bank so I guess they figured the funds were Cnd, even though it clearly said US FUNDS on it. Dummies

[BermyCat 1]

Colleens,

Does your finace use USAA? I highly recommend them. They've been really helpful for me. They were happy to set me up with US auto insurance on my Ontario resgistered car before I had a US driver's license. They also set me up with my own credit card when Phil called them to explain that his wife was Canadian and needed to start building US credit.

~ Catherine

[Colleens 40]

So I went to the RBC last week and I was able to open a us funds canadian account as well as an account at the US branch of RBC Centura. I will be able to apply for a credit card there, and since they are linked to a Canadian branch, they can take your canadian credit into consideration when applying for credit. The only drawback to this is that they only have branches in some of the states on the eastern seaboard.

Another benefit is that I will be able to set up my finace's bank account as a payee in my on-line banking and transfer funds to his account this way for FREE!!! No more western union fees!!! He is going to look into if he can set his account up the same way to transfer funds to my account if necessary as well.

[JillA 2]

So I went to the RBC last week and I was able to open a us funds canadian account as well as an account at the US branch of RBC Centura. I will be able to apply for a credit card there, and since they are linked to a Canadian branch, they can take your canadian credit into consideration when applying for credit. The only drawback to this is that they only have branches in some of the states on the eastern seaboard.

Another benefit is that I will be able to set up my finace's bank account as a payee in my on-line banking and transfer funds to his account this way for FREE!!! No more western union fees!!! He is going to look into if he can set his account up the same way to transfer funds to my account if necessary as well.

Custom House is also free; and a great service. I use it all the time to trasfer $$ back and forth between my Cnd and US account

[to_hope 0]

My biggest words of advice are to never ever EVER try to cash a Canadian cheque in a US bank. Never.

I even had a heck of a time trying to cash a US money order here. It was from a Canadian bank so I guess they figured the funds were Cnd, even though it clearly said US FUNDS on it. Dummies

:head desk:

[DeadPoolX 9]

I've actually gotten in heck from people for not knowing the last 4 digits of my ssn. It is a requirement for pretty much everything here. The other problem is when they request your zip code when using a credit card at a gas pump, for instance. Which means a person with an out-of-country cc can't use the pay-and-go. They have to go inside. It's also a hassle if your cc is tied to a PO box and not a home address because you have to remember which zip. That's if you can remember your zip.

My wife is often amazed at how I can remember numbers with little-to-no effort. For instance, I glanced at my SIN for maybe a moment and fully memorized it. I did the same with my SSN years ago. Maybe I'm lucky in that respect. On the other hand, I can't remember what I did yesterday...

I find ZIP codes easier to remember than postal codes. I don't think postal codes are difficult, but at least there are no letters in ZIP codes. That said, all you need is the five-digit number. The four digit number that is sometimes attached to the end of the five-digit number is rarely required and even when they say it is, no one cares.

My biggest words of advice are to never ever EVER try to cash a Canadian cheque in a US bank. Never.

I'm thinking of writing a Canadian check for $1 and then attempt to cash it in the United States. I'll also demand my cash in pennies.

I know I found it to be the oddest thing, when I went to purchase something online for my fiance's mother on her credit card, it asked for the last four digits of her SSN. I remember finding that to be such a weird thing for them to ask for, until she said that's actually a rather common thing, which is why they have to memorize their number.

That's really weird, I shop online a lot and have never been asked for my SSN. They do ask for the security code from your credit card though, which is 3 or 4 digits depending on what type of card you are using.

Some banks, like BoA, allow you to create a temporary online credit card. I think PayPal does something similar. The idea is that if the number is stolen, you're card is still safe. I'd explain the details, but that'd require much more time and effort than I'm willing to spend on this (plus very few people would actually read it).

By the way... in the U.S. you can get a PayPal credit card and debit card. I don't have those (even before I came up to Canada), so I can't tell you about the benefits and drawbacks. But it sounds like a good option.

Edited July 29, 2009 by DeadPoolX