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TD Bank US for Canadians

Brendan 2 Comments

Angled_debitcardEarlier this year I opened a TD Convenience Checking account at TD Bank — the US equivalent to TD Canada Trust. This isn’t like the US Dollar accounts you can open up at almost any Canadian bank: TD Bank N.A. is a full fledged American bank with over a thousand locations in the eastern United States. Its operated separately from its Canadian parent.

There are some helpful connections between the two, though, that make managing US money much easier (and faster) for Canadians. Funds can be instantly wired between your TD Bank US and TD Canada Trust accounts for free. The process requires calling in to the TD Cross Boarder Banking phone line, but its reasonably quick and painless. The representative reads an agreement, lets you know the exchange rate, and completes the transaction for you. You’re accounts (US and / or Canadian) may be debited for a wire transfer fee, but in my experience it is refunded within about a day.  Continue reading →

Tangerine Bank First Impressions

Brendan Leave a comment

I’ve been with a BC credit union for a long time, but recently they have been making me sad. I decided to give Tangerine Bank a try about three weeks ago–and so far it has been a great experience. Setting up my savings and checking accounts was easy. The process was basically…

  1. Fill a form on the website with my details and contact info
  2. Write myself a cheque (drawn on my Coast account)
  3. Use the Tangerine app to deposit the cheque into my new Tangerine account

That’s it! The account was opened right away and I received my debit card just over a week later. The setup process, the website and the mobile app are well designed. Its easy to follow the steps and understand whats going on (like holds or transfers) with the new account.

png_base6454d09e919ceff080I called in to see what the service was like, and I was almost surprised at how friendly and helpful the staff were. I received the two $50 bonuses in my new chequing and savings accounts after about two weeks, and a third bonus a few days after my first payroll deposit went through. They’re offering those proportions until the end of this June.

My only gripe would the be hold times for cheques and transfers. It’s five business days (a week however you slice it), and remains even after the funds have been received by Tangerine. That’s annoying. I’m told that as the account matures more funds will be immediately available without holds, so I look forward to that.

The debit card they send can only be used to access your chequing account, in case you’re wondering. So deposits or withdrawals will have to be transferred before using an ABM. Good news is that transfers are instant and there aren’t any fees.

You can setup the saving accounts for Electronic Funds Transfer services though (like PayPal, Square or AdSense for example). You can also setup direct deposit, or payroll deposit, to a Tangerine savings account and it works just fine.

Tangerine Signup
If you decide to try Tangerine use someone’s Orange Key on the signup page.
You’ll both get a $25 bonus–find a friend or use mine

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