BankInfo < Faculty

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---+ Banking information

   * All banks seem to charge about $5-15/month to maintain a checking account, but this is not true for credit unions (at least Van City).
   * You can hold money in US or Canadian dollars (or have 2 accounts), and then move money between them when the exchange rate is favorable.
   * It takes 15 business days for US checks to clear (!).
   * It takes 2-3 days to wire money (for a small fee).
   * CIBC does not issue check books unless you explicitly ask for them, even on checking accounts. It takes a week for a check book to arrive.
   * If you want to convert large sums of money, you can ask your bank for a better exchange rate, and this may work.  However, your best bet is the Vancouver Bullion & Credit Exchange - http://www.vbce.ca.  They offer *much* better rates if you're converting over $10,000.  Have a money order or cashier's check made out to VBCE in the original currency.  If you give them one from a US bank, they'll post-date the check by up to 10 business days.  Call them and ask for a quote - the rates on the webpage don't reflect these large transaction rates.
   * If you're looking for a bank, I've been very happy with Van City. Fantastic customer service, you can do lots of stuff online including bill pay at no additional charge and transferring money to a US Account totally electronically (you can xfer $1K per day instantly). -Tamara, 3 Mar 2006

-- Main.RachelPottinger - 10 Apr 2005
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Topic revision: r2 - 2006-03-03 - TamaraMunzner