TD Bank/RBC, switching from Canada to USA

[LuvIllinois 1]

I have seen posts about how you can switch your info from these banks over to the US, in order to start building credit faster. I'm a bit confused...do you mean I just need to have a savings/chequing account to do this or do you mean that I should have a credit card with either of these banks? (I'm not a member of either of these banks but I'm not moving until August 26 so I would still have time to open one).

[neiks 19]

I use Royal Bank Canada and have an RBC Centura account in the US. Very easy to transfer money back and forth between banks. I do beleive that if applying for a loan or mortgage thru Centura they will take your Canada credit history into account. I have not done any credit thru Centura other than the visa/debit card they provide.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

It's somewhat of a grey area....our local American TD branch didn't seem to know much about any connection between them and TD Canada Trust I would love to easily trasnfder to my Cdn TD account which I still have back home.

As for Credit - you can seach and find dozens of posts that go both ways, sometime banks/ lenders are willing to look into getting your Cdn credit rating, sometimes they're not. You might have trouble getting a credit card in your own name, you might not. I had a horrible time getting credit in my own name, despite having very good credit back home in Canada. It can be like starting over at 20 (I was nearly 40 so it was quite a personal blow to my self esteem).

Our mortgage lender would not look into my Cdn credit rating at all (refused and said they didn't know how) and therefore we did not include my name on the mortgage because my husband got an awesome rate by himself, but with me our interest rate went up a couple point

Definitely talk to both banks in Canada and then have your fiancé talk to talk to the banks down here.

[S/B 0]

To transfer between TD Canada Trust and TD Bank accounts in the US, you can call the TD North American support team, the phone number is 1-877-700-2913, available 24 hours/days 7 days/week. This is a fairly new service so the bank reps might not all be aware of the service yet.

[SapphireDreams 71]

To transfer between TD Canada Trust and TD Bank accounts in the US, you can call the TD North American support team, the phone number is 1-877-700-2913, available 24 hours/days 7 days/week. This is a fairly new service so the bank reps might not all be aware of the service yet.

Is the transfer instant or does it take a few business days?

[Kimbear 53]

I tried this but there are no TD banks aside from the East coast..so they told me i was out of luck.

[LuvIllinois 1]

I tried this but there are no TD banks aside from the East coast..so they told me i was out of luck.

I just realized this, along with RBC, so I guess it doesn't matter Thanks for the responses tho!

[S/B 0]

Is the transfer instant or does it take a few business days?

it usually takes 1 business day as it is processed like a wire transfer.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

it usually takes 1 business day as it is processed like a wire transfer.

Cool - any clue whether there was a fee?

[neiks 19]

I live in North Dakota and my Centura branch is in Florida! I use it mostly for bill payments as I can easily transfer from my Royal Bank (I get paid in Canada) when I get paid and transfer my money to my Centura account. The transfer is immediate for me. I then pay my US bills online or via my checks and I have a Centura bank card that I use at any bank machine to withdraw my cash when needed. I don't really do much "branch" banking other than my husband and I have a joint bank account at a local bank. I just write a check from my centura bank and deposit it to my local branch when I need to put money in the joint account.

I am really really pleased with how easy it is for me with the Royal and Centura accounts. My greatest fear is that some day they split and that option is no longer available.

I don't pay any fees with Royal/Centura to transfer money back and forth between them.

Edited August 9, 2011 by neiks

[LuvIllinois 1]

I live in North Dakota and my Centura branch is in Florida! I use it mostly for bill payments as I can easily transfer from my Royal Bank (I get paid in Canada) when I get paid and transfer my money to my Centura account. The transfer is immediate for me. I then pay my US bills online or via my checks and I have a Centura bank card that I use at any bank machine to withdraw my cash when needed. I don't really do much "branch" banking other than my husband and I have a joint bank account at a local bank. I just write a check from my centura bank and deposit it to my local branch when I need to put money in the joint account.

I am really really pleased with how easy it is for me with the Royal and Centura accounts. My greatest fear is that some day they split and that option is no longer available.

I don't pay any fees with Royal/Centura to transfer money back and forth between them.

That is interesting to know! Both TD and RBC have online banking, wonder if there is any advantage/disadvantage to either?

[LuvIllinois 1]

Just an update...I called both and TD does not have the capability of online banking between the 2 but they are working on this in the future. Currently, RBC/Centura DOES have the capability, but the closest branches to Illinois are in Alabama. The gentlemen I spoke to on the phone said that when I open an account here in Canada, they can also open an account in the US at the same time! Not sure what the requirements will be, as in, if I will need an address in that state, so I will keep everyone posted in my progress.

Edited August 12, 2011 by LuvIllinois

[bantam88 1]

PNC Financial is buying RBC Centura next year but they said the impact for their Canadian clients doing business here would be minimal.

I opened my RBC Centura account from Canada. It does not generate interest (that's probably why they don't require an SS number) and there is a minimum amount to maintain to avoid fees . But it certainly made my move to the States much easier. I qualified for a US credit card right away. And I amanaged to get a mortgage thru them as well within months of moving here. Note that they are in North Carolina while I am in Arizona.

Other helpful tips, Verizon (at least in Arizona) considers Canadian credit history (so I didn't have to put down a large deposit). American Express considers previous relationships before but you have to open it via their global accounts group (forgot the exact term).

[neiks 19]

Just an update...I called both and TD does not have the capability of online banking between the 2 but they are working on this in the future. Currently, RBC/Centura DOES have the capability, but the closest branches to Illinois are in Alabama. The gentlemen I spoke to on the phone said that when I open an account here in Canada, they can also open an account in the US at the same time! Not sure what the requirements will be, as in, if I will need an address in that state, so I will keep everyone posted in my progress.

Opened my Centura account from Canada at my local Royal Bank Branch. This was before I had my status in the US so I didn't require a SSN or a US address to open the account. Funny thing too is that I actually called the US Centura call center one time and the customer service rep I spoke to was from Winnipeg.

[LuvIllinois 1]

Were there any negatives/drawbacks to opening up an account with RBC? I just bank with my local credit union, but seriously considering opening an account before I leave on the 26th.