FREE USD Chequing Accounts | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

dickyran333 said
Are there any Canadian banks that offer free USD chequing accounts?

By free, I mean the bank doesn't charge ANY account or transaction fees but does provide free cheques, at least the first set of 25 cheques free.  

To my knowledge, no national financial institution offers those features exactly, no.

Most national and provincial credit unions, however, will offer USD chequing accounts that offer no monthly fees and at least two (2) free debit transactions per month. In most instances, I cannot think of someone who would need more than two debit transactions in USD per month anyway. You will need to purchase a book of cheques however. 🙂

Hope that helps,
Doug

JohnnyCash said

What's your definition of free? Having to maintain a minimum balance is not quite free. I don't know of a bank in Canada that offers a USD chequing account, however some of the large banks through their subsidiaries in the US do. If you bank with CIBC, they have a Cross-Border chequing account through their affiliate CIBC US which has no fees, or minimum balance requirement, it does however require having an existing relationship with them in Canada, specifically a deposit account. To the best of my knowledge, the first book of cheques are free on request.

https://us.cibc.com/en/personal/checking/smart-account.html  

That looks to be issued by CIBC Bank USA, N.A., which may not meet the OP's requirements. Notwithstanding the global minimum household asset requirements to waive fees, I also wouldn't classify it as a free USD chequing account in Canada since it's not issued by a Canadian bank. Many U.S.-based banks offer free USD chequing accounts, too, so this is nothing new.

Cheers,
Doug

So from what I read in this thread, the OP dickyran333 wants to have a free US$ chequing account from a Canadian bank but he wants
- no service charges
- no minimum balance
- no relationship for other products of the bank
- bank to provide free cheques

...and why would the Cdn bank give you a free US$ chequing acct with no fees, no minimum balance, free cheques? and if you don't have any other dealings with the bank?

dickyran333 said
Thanks Doug and JohnyCash. I forgot to add that by 'free' I also meant without any minimum balance requirement.

I guess all banks waive their monthly fees with a minimum balance requirement. I've had a USD chequing account at ICICI Canada. When I opened the account, the minimum balance was $1000, then it was raised to $1500, and a few years ago to $3000. I didn't mind keeping $3000 when the interest rates were lower. But now, when I can get 5.6% on a 1-year USD GIC, my opportunity loss is $168 and I'm quite uncomfortable to have that account for occasional transactions, including writing cheques. Hence, I wanted to close it if I have a better option.

I've had chequing (checking) accounts in BoA and WF in the US but would also like to have a USD chequing account in Canada.  

How many transactions do you realistically need per month on your Canadian USD chequing account? If you live in B.C., I'd recommend the Coast Capital Savings or Envision Financial/Island Savings/Valley First/Enderby & District Financial USD chequing account, which gives you two free debit transactions, unlimited free credits, and no monthly fee.

Otherwise, Scotiabank's USD daily interest savings account allows chequing privileges, I believe. There is a $1.00 monthly fee, but if you can keep at least $100.00 $200.00 USD in the account for the entire month, that fee is either waived and/or fully rebated, and you get two free debit transactions per month.

https://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/personal/bank-accounts/savings-accounts/us-dollar-interest-account.html

It also includes free USD bank drafts, which you could use instead of cheques.

Cheers,
Doug

Note: AltaRed, and maybe Dave, is likely the only one on this forum that knows where Enderby is and who has heard of it.

Hey, I know Enderby, too!

Vancouver City Savings Credit Union (here in BC) has a US Dollar savings account. No minimum, no fees, no interest. I put some bucks into it when exchange is favorable - never more than $50 - and use it to pay US purchases or subscriptions by bank draft (which is free for over-55s; the account is free at all ages). Okay, it costs me a stamp, but no 2.5% or greater credit card fee!

RetirEd

Are cheques of the CIBC US$ Personal Account now drawn on CIBC in Canada or on a bank in the US?

Personal Account Fees (June 30, 2022) mentions this about the account's cheques:

Note on cheques: Cheques can be written on CIBC US$ Personal Accounts. … For U.S. dollar cheques ordered prior to December 2011, if the payee of the cheque negotiates the cheque at a financial institution outside Canada, that institution may not accept the cheque or may deduct a large fee from the cheque's face value.

Sounds like the cheques may now be US-based and not Canada-based.

Norman1 said

dickyran333 said
…
1) Recently I opened the 5.6% 1-year USD GIC at SBI Canada. They told me that if I don't want to open a USD chequing or savings account with them and open just a GIC, I must fund the GIC with a USD cheque of a local bank. Even a US draft was not acceptable to them for opening the GIC. I was just fine getting a USD draft from Scotia as I have a USD savings account with them and they don't charge any commission for USD drafts. But, for whatever reason, SBI Canada refused to accept the USD draft to open / fund my GIC. (Maybe it gives them more confidence on a brand new customer when the customer gives a cheque of another Canadian bank while opening the account). So I had to write a cheque from my ICICI Canada USD chequing account.
…

That's likely because of anti-money laundering requirements.

A bank draft does not indicate the source of the funds. That draft could be given to you by an agent for a dictator who is trying to place money under a name other than his/her own.

The bank draft can be accompanied by documentation from its issuing bank declaring the source of funds. Scotia iTRADE's Bank Draft Source of Funds Verification form is an example of what such documentation looks like.  

Yes, it's likely what Norman1 says. If it's your initial deposit, it could also be because that initial deposit has to be from a preprinted cheque in your name, as proof of identity for non-face-to-face identity verification. If the latter is the case, you should be able to get around that by opening a CAD brokerage account. If it's the former, ask about other forms of verification, such as an online banking e-Statement PDF, VOID cheque form printed from an online banking site, electronic/micro deposit verification, or some other method or combination of methods.

Otherwise, you could order a book of cheques from ASAP Cheques or DiscountCheques.com (both are cheaper than D+H, or whatever they're calling themselves now).

You basically don't need a lot of transactions, from the sounds of it. You just need a free USD chequing account, so your best bet is likely a free USD chequing account from a Canadian credit union that gives you a couple free debit transactions per month. You may still need to buy a book of cheques, but that's not the end of the world. Your credit union may also be able to print you 2-4 counter cheques with your transit and account number on them, too, for a small fee of $0.50-1.00 per cheque, too.

Cheers,
Doug

I have a CIBC US$ personal account: no monthly fee, no minimum amount requirement and $0.75 per transaction. You have to pay to get a cheque book.

https://www.cibc.com/en/personal-banking/bank-accounts/savings-accounts/us-personal-account.html