TD Canada Trust offers 2 different USD checking accounts. You should get the "Borderless Account" because it comes with a USD Visa credit card free of charge. This can be used to verify your Moneybookers account. I am currently waiting for my credit card to arrive to the branch (it takes at least a week, and the deliver it to your local branch because of the Canada Post strike).

Since Canadian banks can't check the credit history of Americans, the credit card must be secured with $3000 that must remain in your checking account at all times (they might actually lock that $3000 to prevent you from withdrawing it while the credit account is open). So, other than giving the bank an almost interest free loan (I think they actually pay something like .05% annual interest), there are no other fees associated with the checking account or the credit card.

Regards,
Carlos

An employee at TD Canada Trust informed me that the debit cards at most Canadian banks do not use the Visa or Mastercard networks.

Yeah it seems like the majority of debit cards here use the chip and pin system and nearly every vendor I've dealt has the device that reads them.

Hey guys i wanted to throw in a few recent events that might change your decision. I'm not sure if there are new banking regs in place in canada, but it seems like at least a few banks are increasing fees on their accounts beginning July 18.

HSBC:
Their checking account fees will no longer be waived for holding a certain deposit limit.

https://www.hsbc.ca/1/content/canada...AGroup_v01.pdf

RBC:
They just sold all of their US branches to PNC so you won't be able to trasnfer money from your CA account to your US RBC account any longer.

Okay, Thanks Carlos.

My problem will be the $3000 USD. The only way I can think of that I can deposit it is by personal check, which I have heard takes a month to clear.

Does anyone know of a better situation at another bank?

Does anyone know how the process of transferring money from a CA bank to a USA works?

What about just mailing a check to you parents/friend and have them deposit it in your bank for you?

To over simplify, most banks offer mail in deposits for checks

So the $3000 is only required to be locked up if you want the credit card (which I recommended for Moneybookers). You can open either USD checking account with no deposit whatsoever. Also you can just hand them cash and not a check. Lastly, if you do write them a personal check from a US bank account, the funds will be on hold for 15 business days (3 weeks), but the account is still opened immediately.

Regards,
Carlos

Cool. Thanks. I am indeed wanting the USD account for Moneybookers.

So I guess I need to deposit a little over $3k, so I can make that min-deposit to FTP from MB (which FTP requires before I can use MB as a withdrawal option).

fwiw every currency conversion on MB eats 2% vig from them

Dispute Between FTP and Moneybookers

http://www.subjectpoker.com/2011/06/...-moneybookers/

This is from several pages back on this thread: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...&postcount=424

Is the consensus still that we should open Moneybookers account in USD to avoid conversion fees? Can we withdraw from FTP to MB in USD as well?

Going to Vancouver next week.

Just finished my appt with CIBC in Vancouver. I setup both a CAD checking and USD checking. So I should be able to go from FTP>MB>CIBC without ever converting. Now if I could only find the non UK support phone number for MB.

use 011 for the area code

For those who have already crossed the border, are you first asked if you're here for business or pleasure? I'm not sure how to answer this since technically it's really neither. We are just there to escape the US and Canada is the closest/easiest place to go.

They do ask what you are there for. I came in through YVR customs. They ask what work you do back home, they ask when you have to be back to work. Also they ask where you are staying. It is recommended to come through with a round trip flight. I came on a 1 way but I have a gf with me and we look like were on vacation.

Maybe you can try a prepaid Visa or Mastercard for MB verification rather than bothering with the $3K deposit. I have no idea if it will work, but just saw that BMO has a prepaid Mastercard that costs $10.

http://www4.bmo.com/creditcards/prep...277469,00.html

Hypothetically, does anyone know the penalties for overstaying a Canada visitor Visa? Let's say my friend and I pass the border and stay there for a year without exiting. Will we go to jail? Pay a fine?

So I got the borderless account setup at TD, and got the credit card. The card doesn't have a Visa or Mastercard (or any such) logo. It also doesn't have the 3-digit CVV2/CVC2 number on the back. Do you think this can be used for Moneybookers deposits/withdrawals? Is your card like that?

The bank assured me this is a credit card, and not just a debit/atm card.

I talked to MB support on the phone and it needs to have a visa/mc logo to be used for verification.

So full tilt has decided not to accept my cell phone documents, they want an actual bill that came from the mail. Has anyone dealt with this?

Yeah, I had to wait for the actual bill (but not from the mail). As soon as it showed up online, I downloaded the .pdf file of my bill and sent them that, and they accepted it.

My cell phone is with Rogers. The bill took 7 days from the day I first got the phone before it showed up online.

At the time, I was worried it could take 20+ days for that bill to hit, so I asked them if there was some other way (since this was the last piece in the puzzle - my bank account and passport had already been verified).

They said yes: "You may contact your local registration office, police station, city hall, or a similar office to print you a verification of your Canadian address."

I didn't do it, because the bill did hit the next day, but if you get desperate you can inquire about that other option.

I don't know exactly what they were talking about, but I wasn't exactly eager to go to the police station asking for help with unlocking my online poker account - lol.

I have prepaid, will I get an actual bill document?

I wonder if PayPal could be used as my "bank" if I change my PayPal address to my Canadian address. I do have a PayPal Mastercard.

I know PayPal won't do business with FTP, but I wonder about MoneyBookers.

Sometimes I wish MoneyBookers had a different name.