Help me choose an American bank
May 24, 2015 9:40 PM Subscribe
I'm a Canadian who got a job in the US and is moving to New York. I need to open an account at an American bank. What's a good American bank? Any to avoid? Is there a difference or are they all the same? (Alas, for those tempted to say TD, it actually confers no advantages to those from Toronto OR the Dominion.)
Do you need a brick and mortar bank? I really like Ally, which is online only. But it's easy to use and has good interest rates for my savings and checking accounts.
posted by J. Wilson at 9:45 PM on May 24, 2015
posted by J. Wilson at 9:45 PM on May 24, 2015
I prefer credit unions. They tend to have lower/no fees.
posted by aniola at 9:49 PM on May 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by aniola at 9:49 PM on May 24, 2015 [8 favorites]
You could also try the Simple route, the automatic goal saving is pretty sweet. (Caveat: I have an account but it's not my primary card. However, I've never had a problem and everyone I've dealt with there has been as nice as pie.)
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:01 PM on May 24, 2015
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:01 PM on May 24, 2015
Metafilter is generally pretty anti-big bank when it comes to bank recommendation questions, but if you want to go that route, I'll give a big thumbs up to Citibank. I have heard or experienced multiple horror stories from every other big name bank. I've used Citibank as my primary bank for over a decade and have never had one problem, and their customer service and online interface have both always been great.
posted by phunniemee at 10:17 PM on May 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 10:17 PM on May 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
To be honest, I had a lot more trouble with my credit union--they just didn't have the scale to get things done right, though they certainly tried.
I agree with this. I've had a few credit unions, and really their only redeeming quality has been the lack of fees. But I don't pay my other banks fees either (usually there are fairly easy ways to get around fees), so that's not a huge win. I've never found a credit union that I thought was great.
Beyond my current credit union who I don't really recommend (and wouldn't help you in NY anyway), I currently have checking accounts with Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and until recently also had one with US Bank and Chase. I also deal regularly with Citi, Chase, and Morgan Stanley for things like credit cards and investments. While it's easy to find horror stories for any of them, I think they're all mostly the same. Some tiny percentage of customers each year has an awful experience that they (justifiably) complain to everyone they know about. That will happen with all banks, so avoiding one of them based on those stories is a losing proposition. I say just pick the one that has the branches most convenient to you. For me that currently is Bank of America, who I've had an account with since somewhere around 1992, and they've been fine.
posted by primethyme at 11:03 PM on May 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I agree with this. I've had a few credit unions, and really their only redeeming quality has been the lack of fees. But I don't pay my other banks fees either (usually there are fairly easy ways to get around fees), so that's not a huge win. I've never found a credit union that I thought was great.
Beyond my current credit union who I don't really recommend (and wouldn't help you in NY anyway), I currently have checking accounts with Wells Fargo and Bank of America, and until recently also had one with US Bank and Chase. I also deal regularly with Citi, Chase, and Morgan Stanley for things like credit cards and investments. While it's easy to find horror stories for any of them, I think they're all mostly the same. Some tiny percentage of customers each year has an awful experience that they (justifiably) complain to everyone they know about. That will happen with all banks, so avoiding one of them based on those stories is a losing proposition. I say just pick the one that has the branches most convenient to you. For me that currently is Bank of America, who I've had an account with since somewhere around 1992, and they've been fine.
posted by primethyme at 11:03 PM on May 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
Here are the keys to having a good experience at your convenient megabank:
1. Find out what is required to qualify for a free account.
2. Go into the branch in person and open up your account. Introduce yourself to a few people.
3. Ask the person opening your account to explain how overdraft protection works and sign up for it.
4. Ask the person to explain how their online bill pay system works.
5. Ask the person to explain any other fees that are likely to come up.
6. If you get hit with a fee, go into the branch in person, and ask them to explain what happened, and to reverse the fee this one time. They will almost always do so, in my experience.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:13 PM on May 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
1. Find out what is required to qualify for a free account.
2. Go into the branch in person and open up your account. Introduce yourself to a few people.
3. Ask the person opening your account to explain how overdraft protection works and sign up for it.
4. Ask the person to explain how their online bill pay system works.
5. Ask the person to explain any other fees that are likely to come up.
6. If you get hit with a fee, go into the branch in person, and ask them to explain what happened, and to reverse the fee this one time. They will almost always do so, in my experience.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:13 PM on May 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I would avoid Bank of America at all costs. All of them. Every cost imaginable.
posted by Enchanting Grasshopper at 4:08 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Enchanting Grasshopper at 4:08 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
You're wrong about TD there is a huge benefit: They offer unlimited quantity of zero cost cross border wire transfers between TD Canada and TD bank (USA) which hapoen same day, up to $100k per day 24 hours a day. I lived as an american in Canada for a decade and when they launched this feature I was FINALLY able to stop driving across the border to transfer money (it really was previously the easiest way!!)
Plus I find their us customers service as good as their Canadian (really the only bank I've ever liked)
So ya, go with TD.
posted by chasles at 4:37 AM on May 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
Plus I find their us customers service as good as their Canadian (really the only bank I've ever liked)
So ya, go with TD.
posted by chasles at 4:37 AM on May 25, 2015 [4 favorites]
I hadn't heard about that cross-border transfer with TD -- that's nice.
Otherwise, all American banks are total dipshits when it comes to dealing with Canadian currency, checks drawn in USD from Canadian banks, checks drawn in USD and payable from an allied US bank but it says the name of a Canadian bank on it somewhere, etc. However bad you think it's going to be, you're going to be unpleasantly surprised.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:32 AM on May 25, 2015
Otherwise, all American banks are total dipshits when it comes to dealing with Canadian currency, checks drawn in USD from Canadian banks, checks drawn in USD and payable from an allied US bank but it says the name of a Canadian bank on it somewhere, etc. However bad you think it's going to be, you're going to be unpleasantly surprised.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:32 AM on May 25, 2015
all American banks are total dipshits when it comes to dealing with Canadian currency
Yes, this was a thing I learned quickly when living in the States. All money is American money. Once I went into a USPS thinking I could buy a CAD money order, just as you can easily buy a USD money order from Canada Post. I looked at the menu overhead. "Money orders" were clearly listed under "international services." "Good," I thought, "This should be easy."
I asked for a Canadian dollar money order of $450 to pay my rent at home. (It was a long time ago...) "Sure." She did some things, and asked me for US$450-something. I paused. "No, sorry, I meant Canadian dollars. I need the money order in Canadian dollars. It shouldn't come out to that much."
It took two other employees plus most of the patrons there to figure out what the problem was: the lady had no idea there was such a thing as a "Canadian dollar." When this was established: no, they could not sell me a money order in a foreign currency. Despite "money orders" being a thing under the auspices of "international services. (The clerk suggested I could "send the $450 and ask your landlord to send you whatever the change should be?")
Also, one day, I spent the entire day going to the big main downtown branches of all the major banks in DC, asking if I could have a bank account. I was very clear: "Is it possible to open an account here if I am not a US citizen? I am Canadian. I do have a passport and other Canadian ID, but no US ID." At every bank: "Yes, please come with me."
Ten minutes later in every bank: "But I can't open an account for somebody without a SSN!"
Eventually I got through this wall with the manager of a tiny branch...
Since TD (US) is now dealing with CAD in some instances, they would probably be my first stop.
posted by kmennie at 6:50 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yes, this was a thing I learned quickly when living in the States. All money is American money. Once I went into a USPS thinking I could buy a CAD money order, just as you can easily buy a USD money order from Canada Post. I looked at the menu overhead. "Money orders" were clearly listed under "international services." "Good," I thought, "This should be easy."
I asked for a Canadian dollar money order of $450 to pay my rent at home. (It was a long time ago...) "Sure." She did some things, and asked me for US$450-something. I paused. "No, sorry, I meant Canadian dollars. I need the money order in Canadian dollars. It shouldn't come out to that much."
It took two other employees plus most of the patrons there to figure out what the problem was: the lady had no idea there was such a thing as a "Canadian dollar." When this was established: no, they could not sell me a money order in a foreign currency. Despite "money orders" being a thing under the auspices of "international services. (The clerk suggested I could "send the $450 and ask your landlord to send you whatever the change should be?")
Also, one day, I spent the entire day going to the big main downtown branches of all the major banks in DC, asking if I could have a bank account. I was very clear: "Is it possible to open an account here if I am not a US citizen? I am Canadian. I do have a passport and other Canadian ID, but no US ID." At every bank: "Yes, please come with me."
Ten minutes later in every bank: "But I can't open an account for somebody without a SSN!"
Eventually I got through this wall with the manager of a tiny branch...
Since TD (US) is now dealing with CAD in some instances, they would probably be my first stop.
posted by kmennie at 6:50 AM on May 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ten minutes later in every bank: "But I can't open an account for somebody without a SSN!
Pro-tip: Go to a branch near a university. Pleanty of international students have no SSN when they arrive and need to open accounts (in fact, it's often necessary to have a US bank account before even moving to the US). So they are a tiny bit more used to dealing with this. They still hassle you and make your life difficult and keep trying to get their SSN blood from your Canadian stone, but eventually it will work. I got an SSN after about a year of living in the US, but just kept telling everyone who wasn't an employer or a tax form that I didn't have one, just because I don't see why I should be giving my SSN to every business I deal with (banks, health insurance, phone companies, cable companies, etc. everyone wants your SSN. Fuck'em, I say.) Actually the hardest part of this wasn't opening the accounts, it was that every time you call them after that they want to look you up by SSN and I'd have to go through the "You can't look me up by SSN because you don't HAVE an SSN for me." which they often had trouble grappling with.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:07 AM on May 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
Pro-tip: Go to a branch near a university. Pleanty of international students have no SSN when they arrive and need to open accounts (in fact, it's often necessary to have a US bank account before even moving to the US). So they are a tiny bit more used to dealing with this. They still hassle you and make your life difficult and keep trying to get their SSN blood from your Canadian stone, but eventually it will work. I got an SSN after about a year of living in the US, but just kept telling everyone who wasn't an employer or a tax form that I didn't have one, just because I don't see why I should be giving my SSN to every business I deal with (banks, health insurance, phone companies, cable companies, etc. everyone wants your SSN. Fuck'em, I say.) Actually the hardest part of this wasn't opening the accounts, it was that every time you call them after that they want to look you up by SSN and I'd have to go through the "You can't look me up by SSN because you don't HAVE an SSN for me." which they often had trouble grappling with.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:07 AM on May 25, 2015 [3 favorites]
A credit union is a good choice if there's one that you can join conveniently and they offer sufficiently modernized services (or you don't care about bells and whistles.)
Chase is the worst in terms of customer service and culture, if you ask me. Wells seems to be engaged in a race to the bottom. I've heard similarly bad things about Bank of America.
First Republic offers the best customer service I've seen in ages (it's kind of amazing) but they charge heftier fees than the big consumer banks.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:15 AM on May 25, 2015
Chase is the worst in terms of customer service and culture, if you ask me. Wells seems to be engaged in a race to the bottom. I've heard similarly bad things about Bank of America.
First Republic offers the best customer service I've seen in ages (it's kind of amazing) but they charge heftier fees than the big consumer banks.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:15 AM on May 25, 2015
I'm not sure if TD does this, but RBC's US subsidiary (which is a "virtual" bank with no brick-and-mortar branches) will take into account your Canadian credit history for credit cards, credit lines, mortgages, etc. To most US banks, it will look as though you have no credit history at all, which makes getting credit difficult. Like TD, they make moving money back-and-forth between US and Canadian accounts really easy (instant, no "wire transfer" fees).
posted by Emanuel at 8:17 AM on May 25, 2015
posted by Emanuel at 8:17 AM on May 25, 2015
Another thing about RBC: you can open your US bank account while you're still in Canada and so have everything ready to go before you move down to the States.
posted by Emanuel at 8:20 AM on May 25, 2015
posted by Emanuel at 8:20 AM on May 25, 2015
Would it work as an SSN/banking hack to register with the IRS for a taxpayer ID number?
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:20 AM on May 25, 2015
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:20 AM on May 25, 2015
(Purely as an aside, you may want to familiarize yourself with our somewhat bonkers tax compliance rules for your Canadian assets. FinCen 110, treatment of RRSPs, etc)
posted by jpe at 11:05 AM on May 25, 2015
posted by jpe at 11:05 AM on May 25, 2015
Personally, I switched to Bank of America because I liked their online banking -- transactions show up instantly and their Android app is very easy for checking in on my finances. That was a big upgrade from HSBC, which I had been using and was slow to reflect my activity online. I also have been able to find a BoA everywhere I have lived in or traveled to, which was another new advantage. There are drawbacks to BoA though, like checks aren't free and you have to pay to order them -- it's not a ton of money, but it is annoying. I also had to wipe out a lot of savings and ended up getting fined for dropping my bank account below a certain threshold, so if you won't have a lot of money in the account, don't get a BoA savings account.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:24 PM on May 25, 2015
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:24 PM on May 25, 2015
I prefer credit unions. Banks are generally ALL made of 100% suck here in the US.
*****AVOID Bank of America at all costs. They may be everywhere, but they are E-ville Incarnate™.*****
Other than that, answer these questions for yourself to help make the decision.
* Does your new employer have a credit union? Larger employers often do. If so, go with them.
* Where (physical location) will you be working?
* Where (physical location) will you be living?
* Which bank(s) has a branch location close to where you will be living?
* Which bank(s) has a branch location close to where you will be working?
* Which bank(s) have convenient ATM locations (to where you will be living and working)?
* Which bank(s) come up recommended when I look using Find A Better Bank?
* What's the minimum balance requirement to avoid monthly fees at [Name of Bank]? Can I reasonably maintain that balance most months?
* What's the non-bank ATM fee at [Name of Bank]? Will I be using non-[Name of Bank] ATMs often enough to care?
* Does the bank offer online depositing of checks via mobile phone?
* Does the bank offer online bill pay and direct deposit?
...et cetera.
posted by tckma at 8:40 AM on May 26, 2015
*****AVOID Bank of America at all costs. They may be everywhere, but they are E-ville Incarnate™.*****
Other than that, answer these questions for yourself to help make the decision.
* Does your new employer have a credit union? Larger employers often do. If so, go with them.
* Where (physical location) will you be working?
* Where (physical location) will you be living?
* Which bank(s) has a branch location close to where you will be living?
* Which bank(s) has a branch location close to where you will be working?
* Which bank(s) have convenient ATM locations (to where you will be living and working)?
* Which bank(s) come up recommended when I look using Find A Better Bank?
* What's the minimum balance requirement to avoid monthly fees at [Name of Bank]? Can I reasonably maintain that balance most months?
* What's the non-bank ATM fee at [Name of Bank]? Will I be using non-[Name of Bank] ATMs often enough to care?
* Does the bank offer online depositing of checks via mobile phone?
* Does the bank offer online bill pay and direct deposit?
...et cetera.
posted by tckma at 8:40 AM on May 26, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
They'll all kind of suck. Back when I lived there, no daily chequing, if you had overdraft protection it wasn't really overdraft, it was a separate associated line of credit, customer service was terrible and they were generally behind the times technologically, though they may have gotten better on that since then. They're not as bad as cable companies, I guess.
Go with whoever will have plenty of branches and charge you the lowest fees. Typically you can find an account with no fees if you have your pay cheque direct deposited.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 9:44 PM on May 24, 2015 [1 favorite]