Here's a link to the top 15 banks in north America (including Canada) ranked by total assets. Datamonitor is a reliable source.
 
http://www.computerwire.com/companies/lists/list/?listID=681DF741-5320-4D2C-9E22-D7035EBAE8D5

I would look at the top two, Citibank and Bank of America, as they are credible institutions and have branches in many locations nationally. Once you have established a checking account associated with a branch you can access your account online and transfer funds into an online savings account. You can transfer Paypal earnings directly into an online savings account.

Hope this helps ;-)

Wells Fargo is actually doing the best.

AVAVA

Wouldn't you need a US address?

I'm with Bank of America. They have a very good online account access service and many banking machines around.

I'm happy with Bank of America too.  Been with them around 18 years through several name changes and incarnations (theirs, not mine ).  

Thanks Lisa. Does anyone know if a credit union will work with PayPal?

A lot of banks are in trouble in the US so I don't know which bank to pick. Can any of my neighbours south of the Canadian border help me out with the name of a secure bank that has branches in most major cities/locations?

For some reason people still have a run on the bank mentality when everyone should know that their deposits are 100% protected by FDIC insurance up to $250,000. The fact is that it doesn't matter which bank you deposit in, they're all safe.

I personally bank at Wells Fargo, but it doesn't matter when it comes to deposits.

Thanks everyone for the info!    Took me all morning, but I have found (and spoke to them directly) a branch of Bank of America located right across the border (rainbow bridge) in Niagara Falls, who can open a bank account for a Canuk. (not all banks and branches do this apparently)

Wow! That took me four hours, my friends on the internet and a great telephone long distance plan to get that info?

Was this simpler to do things back in the 50s and 60s? I can't imagine doing this without the net or long distance plans. but back then, I guess you didn't do what we do today. I'd probably be stuck in a dark room and canning peaches/ironing shirts and going to pta meetings in between.

Quote from: lisafx on November 21, 2008, 11:34

Penelope, have you considered a credit union?  Usually they have much lower fees than banks, and probably less risky. 

Incorrect. All public banks in the US have FDIC insurance which mean that the US government guarantees your deposits up to $250,000. Credit Union are different and you can't be sure that they are actually federally insured through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund without checking with the NCUSIF to see if they're insured.

What I meant by less risky is that Credit Unions (at least in theory) were not making risky subprime loans like the banks, nor have they gone begging to suck at the federal teat.

FWIW most of us would prefer to have our money in solvent banks, irrespective of FDIC insurance.  Yes, of course they are insured up to 250,000.  But having one's bank go belly up would at least make it difficult to get ahold of the funds in the short term.

But thanks for explaining about the FDIC.  I don't get much information living under this rock here

FWIW most of us would prefer to have our money in solvent banks, irrespective of FDIC insurance.  Yes, of course they are insured up to 250,000.  But having one's bank go belly up would at least make it difficult to get ahold of the funds in the short term.

I agree that most people have that response but 99% of the time it is an irrational response because when the FDIC takes over a bank customers have no trouble getting to their funds in the short term. In fact most of the time the banks are open (under another name) for business the next day, or at a maximum 1-3 days.

I'd also like to point out that Credit Unions are not less risk in theory or in fact. This year there have been 25 credit unions that have failed in the US, there have been only 22 bank failures. While there has been a lot of attention on the big banks lately it's important to note that Credit Unions are more likely to fail than banks. No one said anything about living under a rock, I was just pointing out a commonly held misperception isn't true.

scuse me? 

as quoted by yourself....

Some peoples humour is hidden in sarcasm which is not funny at all.
Words that we read can be well meaning and good humoured but in fact ends up being totally misunderstood and insulting to the reader.

Hey Clyde... how's Bonnie?

Good to know JoAnn.  Solid information beats speculation every time. 

Quote from: lisafx on November 21, 2008, 18:53

FWIW most of us would prefer to have our money in solvent banks, irrespective of FDIC insurance.  Yes, of course they are insured up to 250,000.  But having one's bank go belly up would at least make it difficult to get ahold of the funds in the short term.

I agree that most people have that response but 99% of the time it is an irrational response because when the FDIC takes over a bank customers have no trouble getting to their funds in the short term. In fact most of the time the banks are open (under another name) for business the next day, or at a maximum 1-3 days.

I'd also like to point out that Credit Unions are not less risk in theory or in fact. This year there have been 25 credit unions that have failed in the US, there have been only 22 bank failures. While there has been a lot of attention on the big banks lately it's important to note that Credit Unions are more likely to fail than banks. No one said anything about living under a rock, I was just pointing out a commonly held misperception isn't true.

Very impressive YingYang!  Apologies for having apparently struck a nerve or hit on one of your personal pet peeves.  

In the future Penelope or others who have financial questions might be better off sitemailing you directly rather than collecting the "irrational" opinions of the rabble who are informed only by the prevailing news media...

Out of curiosity, what is your day job?  Something dealing with finance perhaps?  Are you employed by one of the venerable financial institutions that is currently bankrupting the US economy?

Hi Js,

 Yes I knew a lot of worried people that day but like you said it was all covered and no one had any trouble getting their money. Eastside huh, got access to any ranches for a shoot this next summer, either crops or horses no stinky livestock. I can set you up over here if you want to do a trade. Drop me a PM if the idea sounds interesting.

Best,
AVAVA

Quote from: shank_ali on November 22, 2008, 02:25

Have you not considered just putting a black balaclava on and getting yourself a sawn off shotgun and robbing a bloody bank....

you would get further in life sporting a baclava as opposed to a balaclava, dude !

Only been called dude by one other person and that was chris aka lobo...

Are you employed by one of the venerable financial institutions that is currently bankrupting the US economy?

Nope not employed by them, even worse, I have stock in a bank and a credit card company. I've always been one of those people that don't trust analysts or pundits that talk on tv so I've always looked at the actual data instead. For instance I read the quarterly SEC filings for any company's stock that I own or are about to purchase because it's the only way to see what companies are really doing without being an insider. I've read the Wall Street Journal every day since I was a teen, yet I'm a democrat that things pure capitalism is fundamentally flawed.

I don't blame the financial institutions for the current situation because they were just doing exactly what they were suppose to, pursue capitalist greed. I blame republicans and the constant calls for deregulation in all industries since Carter and Regan, even when every example of deregulation leads to corruption and ruin. Enron was result of deregulation in energy. Cable tv rates skyrocketed and service declined after deregulation in '96. Deregulation in airlines was the first to happen under Carter and has resulted in crazy fares, lower service, and bankrupt airlines. The savings and loans crisis of the 80s and 90s was a direct result of deregulation. And now the current crisis in the banks. The fact is that unrestrained/unregulated capitalism brings ruin because it is pure greed in its basic form that is a "tragedy of the commons".

Hadin in the 60's came up with the basic economic concept of the "tragedy of the commons". The basic illistration is to imagine a field (the commons) that is open to everyone's use. Everyone is a shepard that uses the commons to allow their flocks to graze. Individuals are motivated to add to their flocks to increase personal wealth. Yet, every animal added to the total degrades the commons a small amount. Although the degradation for each additional animal is small relative to the gain in wealth for the owner, if all owners follow this pattern the commons will ultimately be destroyed. And, being rational actors, each owner ads to their flock, thus bring ruin to all.

The only solution for this, and capitalism in general, is for the government to regulate the use of the commons. This is not the same thing as communism or socialism despite the constant cries on Faux News to the contrary.