Author Topic: US Bank recommendation (Read 34815 times)

PenelopeB · « **on:** November 21, 2008, 08:54 »

I need to open a US bank account (in the USA) to transfer my paypal money into, so I can withdraw my US dollars out when I go on vacation. (paypal won't transfer US dollars into a Canadian US dollar bank account.)

With the Canadian dollar so weak at $0.77 cents, I want to retain my photo money in US dollars so I don't have to pay the conversion.

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?

Will probably open the account in Niagara or Buffalo or somewhere just below the border.

Thanks everyone and regards
Penny

Stu99 · « **Reply #1 on:** November 21, 2008, 09:17 »

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 ;-)

ichiro17 · « **Reply #2 on:** November 21, 2008, 09:26 »

JP Morgan.

All other banks are at risk of bankruptcy. Citibank is falling apart, and Bank of America came very close to filing for bankruptcy

AVAVA · « **Reply #3 on:** November 21, 2008, 09:40 »

Wells Fargo is actually doing the best.

AVAVA

goldenangel · « **Reply #4 on:** November 21, 2008, 11:08 »

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

Lukasphoto · « **Reply #5 on:** November 21, 2008, 11:27 »

Wouldn't you need a US address?

PenelopeB · « **Reply #6 on:** November 21, 2008, 11:31 »

Ok... no luck! Called both Wells Fargo and JP Morgan. Both tell me that I must go into a branch to open an account because I do not have a US Sin number (no US address necessary). ok, fine, I try find a branch that I can drive to near Niagara Falls (Ontario Border crossing) Neither (they claim?) have a branch in Buffalo, New York State or even in the upper New York State at all. Would I be willing to come to Ohio, or Texas

Uh - NO

Sorry, southern cousins... No wonder the banking system is going t*ts up??? You can't get there from here.

How bad is Bank of America? They have a branch in Buffalo.

lisafx · « **Reply #7 on:** November 21, 2008, 11:31 »

Quote from: goldenangel on November 21, 2008, 11:08

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

).

lisafx · « **Reply #8 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.

Consider looking for a credit union in Niagra Falls.

PenelopeB · « **Reply #9 on:** November 21, 2008, 11:40 »

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

lisafx · « **Reply #10 on:** November 21, 2008, 12:19 »

No reason why it shouldn't, assuming you have a checking account there

yingyang0 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 21, 2008, 13:26 »

Quote from: PenelopeB on November 21, 2008, 08:54

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.

yingyang0 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 21, 2008, 13:32 »

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.

PenelopeB · « **Reply #13 on:** November 21, 2008, 13:55 »

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.

madelaide · « **Reply #14 on:** November 21, 2008, 15:18 »

PenelopeB,

Maybe your current bank can open it for your in a USA branch?

I was able to open an account with HSBC in UK because I am their customer here in Brazil. It was possible to open it from here, it just would take longer, but I took a morning in UK to do it there when I was on vacation.

Regards,
Adelaide

lisafx · « **Reply #15 on:** November 21, 2008, 18:53 »

Quote from: yingyang0 on November 21, 2008, 13:32

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

Read_My_Rights · « **Reply #16 on:** November 21, 2008, 22:25 »

i am with a credit union - love it - all transactions online. They have their own insurance. You have to pay 1 buck a month as membership fee - since it is member owned. I have no worries.

yingyang0 · « **Reply #17 on:** November 22, 2008, 00:30 »

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.

shank_ali · « **Reply #18 on:** November 22, 2008, 02:25 »

Quote from: PenelopeB on November 21, 2008, 08:54

I need to open a US bank account (in the USA) to transfer my paypal money into, so I can withdraw my US dollars out when I go on vacation. (paypal won't transfer US dollars into a Canadian US dollar bank account.)

With the Canadian dollar so weak at $0.77 cents, I want to retain my photo money in US dollars so I don't have to pay the conversion.

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?

Will probably open the account in Niagara or Buffalo or somewhere just below the border.

Thanks everyone and regards
Penny

Have you not considered just putting a black balaclava on and getting yourself a sawn off shotgun and robbing a bloody bank.That way you won't need to have a paypal acount our type in the forum for help.

PenelopeB · « **Reply #19 on:** November 22, 2008, 07:35 »

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.

shank_ali · « **Reply #20 on:** November 22, 2008, 09:38 »

Quote from: PenelopeB on November 22, 2008, 07:35

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.

It's ok bank robbing is not for everyone!

PenelopeB · « **Reply #21 on:** November 22, 2008, 10:44 »

Hey Clyde... how's Bonnie?

jsnover · « **Reply #22 on:** November 22, 2008, 11:45 »

Quote from: yingyang0 on November 22, 2008, 00:30

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.

A recent example of this would be from my neck of the woods (although they were not my bank) - Washington Mutual, known as WaMu. They were "seized" by the FDIC and yet things operated normally at the retail level. Perhaps a piece of advice would be to stick with big banks, because it's more likely that efforts will be made to ensure smooth operations during their seizure and acquisition.

lisafx · « **Reply #23 on:** November 22, 2008, 12:52 »

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

AVAVA · « **Reply #24 on:** November 22, 2008, 13:11 »

Hi JS,

We must be in the same neck of the woods if you were with WAMU. Seattle by chance?

Best,
AVAVA

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Author Topic: US Bank recommendation (Read 34815 times)

PenelopeB

Stu99

ichiro17

AVAVA

goldenangel

Lukasphoto

PenelopeB

lisafx

lisafx

PenelopeB

lisafx

yingyang0

yingyang0

PenelopeB

madelaide

lisafx

Read_My_Rights

yingyang0

shank_ali

PenelopeB

shank_ali

PenelopeB

jsnover

lisafx

AVAVA

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