Entrepreneurship & Small Business

Cheapest way to receive USD Funds here in Canada

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  • Nov 26th, 2020 9:11 am
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Nov 10th, 2020 4:55 pm
wolf30 [OP]
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Dec 28, 2005
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Nov 10th, 2020 4:55 pm

Cheapest way to receive USD Funds here in Canada

I have a few side hustles where I get paid in USD and I was wondering how to minimize expenses to receive my funds here in Canada.

Here is what I already have:

Tangerine USD savings account
RBC USD savings account


Side hustles:
Get paid through amazon
Consulting work using Paypal at the moment
Affiliate commission currently getting paid through skrill

I used to be able to receive USD funds in USD through amazon and Paypal but they did something a while back that prevents me from receiving USD funds and need to be converted to CAD. I remember trying to deposit USD funds into my tangerine USD savings account and the transaction getting rejected and me getting charged a fee a while back.

I have a bunch of money sitting in my Skrill account that I haven't withdrawn yet but it seems like Skrill doesn't even have the option of ACH and instead receives a swift code (wire transfer) and RBC charges quite a bit ($17 USD) plus a withdrawal fee from Skrill ($7.97 CAD).

Does anyone know if I can directly deposit USD funds into either one of my USD savings accounts or if I need to convert it to CAD?

Also does anyone have any ideas on how I can get around the high fees for withdrawing from Skrill? It seems like a huge pain the ass to withdraw money from Skrill and getting slapped with huge fees as well. I wouldn't even be using this POS money transfer service if the vendor paying me would be using Paypal.
18 replies
Nov 10th, 2020 8:14 pm
rhw123
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Nov 10th, 2020 8:14 pm

I have some USD income from a side-hustle that is paid into my Canadian Paypal account.

I opened a US-domiciled bank account via TD's cross-border service with TD Bank N.A.. The account is free with a $100 minimum balance. I linked this account to my Paypal so I can transfer USD out.

I also opened a US TD Cash Visa credit card with TD Bank N.A. It has no annual fee, no foreign transaction or foreign currency fees and earns 3%/2%/1% cash back on dinging/groceries/other. They accept applications from Canadian residents, you do need a US address (I used a mail forwarding service) but you can have the card shipped to your Canadian address (nothing gets sent to the US address in this case).

Any USD that I receive in my Paypal, I directly transfer out to my US bank account. I use the US credit card to spend those USD in Canada (or anywhere else in the world), mostly in the 3% category. The amounts I receive more or less match our spending at non-Amex accepting eating places so that works out great.

This is the most cost-effective setup I've found that works for me.

I'm not sure about Skrill but like Paypal, they probably can transfer out USD to a US-domiciled bank account. In that case the above could work with Skrill as well.
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Nov 10th, 2020 8:15 pm
rhw123
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Nov 10th, 2020 8:15 pm

sandeep8g wrote: ↑ It should because you said you get paid in USD so give your customers your Transferwise USD bank account details.

How do I use my USD bank details?
https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2827506

Link your Canadian USD savings account when you want to withdraw.
AFAIK you can't transfer USD from Transferwise to a Canadian USD account, you have to convert to CAD (their rate is a lot better than Paypal's though).
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Nov 10th, 2020 8:32 pm
wolf30 [OP]
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Nov 10th, 2020 8:32 pm

sandeep8g wrote: ↑ It should because you said you get paid in USD so give your customers your Transferwise USD bank account details.

How do I use my USD bank details?
https://transferwise.com/help/articles/2827506

Link your Canadian USD savings account when you want to withdraw.
No, I mean the affiliate vendor just sends my commissions to Skrill. They won't take my bank account info thus I am at the mercy of Skrill at the moment until they change their withdrawal policies. From that link I posted, transferwise lists skrill is not being compatible with their service.
Nov 11th, 2020 10:30 am
Scote64
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Nov 11th, 2020 10:30 am

It depends how much time and energy you are prepared to put into this.

The best way is to open a true U.S. bank account, but it usually takes at least a few weeks and a bunch of paperwork. Several of the Canadian banks have U.S. affiliate banks, but in many cases it doesn't much matter because there's little commonality - you're basically dealing directly with the U.S. bank. Bank of America is a common recommendation for personal accounts for Canadians, or BMO Harris for business accounts. If you have RBC or TD accounts, you might want to check out their offerings for a true U.S. account.

Once you have a true U.S. account, you can use it for almost any normal banking transaction in the U.S., including sending or receiving ACH payments, or paying for things with their debit Visa/Mastercard, or cashing USD cheques via mobile app with no long hold period.

Then you use a forex firm to do transfers and exchanges between U.S. and Canada. They are faster than the banks, and they have lower fees and better exchange rates. Again there is some setup paperwork, but once you are set up you can do a same-day transfer in either direction, and exchange for about 0.4 - 0.5% fee. Some also offer free transfer of same currency (like USD to USD between U.S. and Canadian bank accounts)
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Nov 12th, 2020 10:07 am
lachdanan
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May 22, 2012
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MONTR

Nov 12th, 2020 10:07 am

I am able to send USD from my paypal to my RBC USD without any conversion for free but I am adding that account as a US account. There is a trick with routing number you can find in my history, but the issue is after I send the money, a few days later the added account is automatically removed. So have to call to get it added anytime you want to use it. It sucks but there is no other way I know of.
Nov 12th, 2020 10:20 am
realg123
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Feb 22, 2007
2237 posts
362 upvotes
Toronto

Nov 12th, 2020 10:20 am

rhw123 wrote: ↑ I have some USD income from a side-hustle that is paid into my Canadian Paypal account.

I opened a US-domiciled bank account via TD's cross-border service with TD Bank N.A.. The account is free with a $100 minimum balance. I linked this account to my Paypal so I can transfer USD out.

I also opened a US TD Cash Visa credit card with TD Bank N.A. It has no annual fee, no foreign transaction or foreign currency fees and earns 3%/2%/1% cash back on dinging/groceries/other. They accept applications from Canadian residents, you do need a US address (I used a mail forwarding service) but you can have the card shipped to your Canadian address (nothing gets sent to the US address in this case).

Any USD that I receive in my Paypal, I directly transfer out to my US bank account. I use the US credit card to spend those USD in Canada (or anywhere else in the world), mostly in the 3% category. The amounts I receive more or less match our spending at non-Amex accepting eating places so that works out great.

This is the most cost-effective setup I've found that works for me.

I'm not sure about Skrill but like Paypal, they probably can transfer out USD to a US-domiciled bank account. In that case the above could work with Skrill as well.
Sorry to hijack this thread. Did you also have to fill out a W-8BEN form? If so was your SIN and birthday required?
Nov 12th, 2020 11:07 am
rhw123
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Nov 12th, 2020 11:07 am

realg123 wrote: ↑ Sorry to hijack this thread. Did you also have to fill out a W-8BEN form? If so was your SIN and birthday required?
Yes to all.
I think technically the ID verification to open the bank account and the credit check to open the credit card don't require SIN but I did provide mine in both instances.
AFAIK the W-8BEN (formality since it's a checking account not earning any interest) requires either your Canadian SIN or a US ITIN if you have one.
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Nov 13th, 2020 10:04 am
Scote64
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Jan 21, 2018
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Nov 13th, 2020 10:04 am

realg123 wrote: ↑ Sorry to hijack this thread. Did you also have to fill out a W-8BEN form? If so was your SIN and birthday required?
Yes, but again keep in mind that the W-8BEN goes to the organization paying you. They keep it in their files. The don't send it to the IRS or any other government. It's to cover their ass for not withholding tax even though you don't have a U.S. SSN/TIN. They officially asked if you are taxable, you officially answered No on the form for the valid reason stated, case closed.
Nov 13th, 2020 12:57 pm
realg123
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Feb 22, 2007
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Toronto

Nov 13th, 2020 12:57 pm

Scote64 wrote: ↑ Yes, but again keep in mind that the W-8BEN goes to the organization paying you. They keep it in their files. The don't send it to the IRS or any other government. It's to cover their ass for not withholding tax even though you don't have a U.S. SSN/TIN. They officially asked if you are taxable, you officially answered No on the form for the valid reason stated, case closed.
Thank you. I'm wondering why the bank needs a W-8BEN then
Nov 13th, 2020 1:27 pm
Scote64
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Jan 21, 2018
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Vancouver

Nov 13th, 2020 1:27 pm

realg123 wrote: ↑ Thank you. I'm wondering why the bank needs a W-8BEN then
Because they might pay you interest.
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Nov 14th, 2020 9:48 pm
van800
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May 20, 2012
104 posts
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VANCOUVER

Nov 14th, 2020 9:48 pm

wolf30 wrote: ↑ I think I tried this a few years back and the loophole was closed already and I got dinged with fees. Does it still work for you?
Yes, it works for me without any fees.
Nov 26th, 2020 9:11 am
kanata2004
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Feb 24, 2004
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Nov 26th, 2020 9:11 am

wolf30 wrote: ↑ Can you deposit USD funds into a Canadian USD savings account?
Yes. Did many times
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