Friends had bad experience at RBC. Could just be a local branch problem though

TD seems to be the most poker friendly from what I've read. I opened an account there and told them I'd be receiving money from poker and they said that was no problem. So far I've transferred about 60K to them without issue.

I went in to setup an account yesterday and told the young guy I was a poker player who planned on using the bank account for that purpose with no problem. They technically require some form of Canadian ID along with my passport and Vancouver lease but let me slide on it after consulting a manager. Also, they have some branches in NYC and Portland, OR (no seattle yet, huh?) which is nice.

TD is the best by far. They won't grill you with a million questions.

I went into TD and BMO and got the accounts quickly and without a hitch. In the process of linking them to the poker sites and moneybookers and what not which is a little slow but no huge hassles yet.

FYI, TD Canada Trust in Canada and TD Bank in USA are both subsidiaries of Toronto-Dominion Bank Group, but they operate total independently. So you can't access your Canadian account from their US locations, and vice versa. I was told by a bank manager that they are going to try to integrate the two in a couple years.

-Carlos

How are you guys transferring $$$ from your Canadian bank account to your American account?

wiring it

Since this seems to be the de facto Canada thread, a quick TR on my Nexus interview today at YVR. Obviously I'm already in the country (Canada) and not looking to cross, so it was a pretty chill process.

Applied online, had to wait ~3 weeks for approval, and then scheduled the interview in an open time block 6 weeks later. You speak with a US border agent, a Canadian border agent, some machine takes your fingerprints, and finally get an iris scan. Wait 2-3 more weeks for final approval and your Card gets mailed to your address in the States.

Told the 100% truth about why I'm spending time in Canada, that I have a place here, play online poker, I can't access sites from the States because of the legal dispute, etc. The guards are going down the checklist, counting the time til their lunch break, etc. Very different from the psychological affront they give when "interviewing" you while trying to cross the border.

One thing the US border agent said was that once you get a Nexus pass, you actually have a higher chance of a "random search," but seeing that poker players (telling the truth) get stopped close to 100% of the time driving across, I'm hoping it results in significantly fewer stops for our subset.

Also, you can also apply for Global Entry in the same process, which gives you separate line access when you're flying back to the States through the participating airports.

Edit: Just got a notification 3 1/2 hours later that I'm approved for the Nexus card, guess the 2-3 weeks is the processing/mailing time.

anyone know how long it takes to transfer $ into your moneybookers account and get it on the sites?

As far as banking logistics goes; there is no issue with writing a check from a USD checking account at a Canadian bank to be deposited in a USD account at an American bank, correct?

depends on the bank...smaller US banks don't process international checks, but big banks like US/BoA/etc should be able to handle a Canadian check just fine

I just deposited a 25K TD US$ check into my US Chase account today. Funds are still on hold but there was no problem depositing it.. I'll update with the clearing time once it clears.

I have had no problems depositing two USD denominated checks from TD Canada Trust into my Citibank account in the US. No holds were put on my funds at Citi, but interestingly it takes over a week for the funds to be withdrawn from my TD account!

-Carlos

I've crossed into the US about 20 times with the NEXUS card. I have only had my car searched once. Annoyingly they often seem surprised when I tell them that I have been playing poker in Canada, even though I am sure it is in my file. I'm sure they don't actually take the time to read the info that pops up on their screen when I swipe my card:-( I am a big proponent of telling the truth to border crossing guards, but I would suggest that if they ask you "How much money did you make?" just tell them that you broke even (they only ask this about 15% of the time). The one time my car got searched I am pretty sure it is because I told them that I had made several thousand dollars on the trip, yet I only had a hundred dollars in cash on me (I told them that I have bank accounts in Canada, but that didn't prevent them from being suspicious).

On a related note, when entering Canada when they ask how much I expect to make I tell them my hourly rate and when asked "What is the buy in" I just tell the the lowest buy-in of all the limits that I play. I generally try to avoid using the word "thousand" :-)

-Carlos

Is it easy to return for to Canada for a second 6 month period?

Are people hoping to meet the physical presence test to have their first $90,000 of income be untaxable in the US?

Thanks.

Thanks for the info CC. I think I'm going to brave driving across again.

Anyone have experience driving across, leaving your car (i.e. in a rented space), and flying back to the States? Would be nice to do at times for those of us who don't live near the Border. Just don't want to raise any red flags/have BP come down on me.

I've heard they scan plates at the border to make sure it comes back with you so they can be sure you're not selling cars. I haven't heard anything official though. I would definitely get an answer on this before trying it.

I drove to Canada. Took a short trip back to San Diego recently. I flew while my car remained in Canada. Did not have any issues.

I just drove up to Vancouver last Friday to get moved into my place and then took the train right back to Seattle for the weekend and returned on the train with my bike without issue.

does it possible to play on european sites from canada ?

no.

Update:

The money was reversed in my account and I called Chase to find out why. They said the check has been sent to international collections and can take 4-5 weeks to clear. They informed me that I'm allowed to deposit up to 5K in foreign checks in each of my accounts every ten days without it having to go to collections.

I don't know other bank's policies but I'd guess they're pretty similar.

ya my us account is at a credit union and they send all canadian checks to collections.

If you are traveling, you should be able to sign a document that allows you to make bank wires by calling you local branch and using fax/email for signed documents. I signed a document for BMO to let me do this, but haven't needed to try it.