5 online only HISAs for non resident | General comparisons | Discussion forum

Please consider registering
guest

sp_LogInOut Log In sp_Registration Register

Register | Lost password?
Advanced Search

— Forum Scope —




— Match —





— Forum Options —





Minimum search word length is 3 characters - maximum search word length is 84 characters

sp_Feed Topic RSS sp_TopicIcon
5 online only HISAs for non resident
May 20, 2017
4:56 pm
aneblanc
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 5
Member Since:
May 20, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Hello,

I would like to open 5-6 non-TFSA HISAs as a resident and be allowed to keep them when I turn non resident next year. I would like accounts that work well online as phone can be challenging between e.g. Europe and BC. I'd like to park some money there until the forex CAD/EUR becomes better. I'd like to have several accounts to be able to swap the money between accounts to try to use the best ones. Also I want to be protected by the CDIC and will need a minimum of 3 separate accounts.
Any advice beside Peoples Trust as I already have an account with them and Hubert with which I don't want to have an account again?

May 20, 2017
9:06 pm
Loonie
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 9214
Member Since:
October 21, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Maybe you should stick with the Big Banks and Tangerine.
Your main priorities seem to be access online and insurance coverage.
The Big Banks are going to have better overseas connections if push comes to shove, and they are full-service institutions. They will accept your powers of attorney when you're out of the country if needed. Tangerine is owned by Scotia and works very well online.

It will cost you a bit in interest rates but in view of your priorities, it may be the best bet. The online banks have all had wobbly moments from time to time but Tangerine is the best of them for performance. If you accidentally get shut out of your online account because of too many attempts to get in or whatever, you will still need to make a phone call. Don't assume you can get by without phone calls.

Don't assume the Cdn dollar is necessarily going to get any stronger.

May 21, 2017
7:51 am
Cranston
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 206
Member Since:
April 7, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Just wondering. I have seen a few posts here over the years where questions are about leaving Canada but having investments remaining be it HISA, TFSA or RRSP. So my wondering is ....... do financial institutions geo block internet access when trying to access from a different country?

May 21, 2017
7:55 am
Top It Up
Member
Members (temp break)
Forum Posts: 1363
Member Since:
December 17, 2016
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Cranston asked

Just wondering ... do financial institutions geo block internet access when trying to access from a different country?  

I'm a frequent traveller to Europe and I've always had full access to my accounts.

CAVEAT: I never tried to move money in and out of registered accounts or between institutions, while out of the country - just daily use stuff.

May 21, 2017
9:31 am
aneblanc
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 5
Member Since:
May 20, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I will make sure that the institution chosen is not going to block the online access even if I don't have a physical address in Canada anymore.
I do expect the Canadian dollar to recover within the next few years from its current fairly low spot.
I want a bank that works well without telephone even if telephone is another resort. I only had trouble with Hubert and often had to call them to fix the problems.

May 21, 2017
10:24 am
Cranston
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 206
Member Since:
April 7, 2017
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

You can online chat with Hubert as well.
Of all the FI's I deal with the best for total online control are in my opinion:
Hubert
ITrade

May 21, 2017
11:33 am
AltaRed
BC Interior
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 2786
Member Since:
October 27, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I think the OP is only interested in holding cash equivalents to protect capital until CAD/Forex improves. Scratch discount brokers. I think the OP needs to focus only on the more sophisticated (and larger) online banks due to a foreign physical address (non-resident for taxation purposes).

*Tangerine is a good possiblility.
*Also Scotiabank itself has a Momentum Savings account that pays 1.3% I think (minimum 90 day hold). It's 2% promo is over end of June so I wouldn't count on that.
*BMO also has a Savings Builder savings account that pays 1.2% but one must add at least $200 new money each month to get that rate.
* Motive Financial (division of Canadian Western Bank) pays 1.5% and might accept non-residents (CWB should be sophisticated enough for that).
* Maybe Zag bank that is part of the Desjardins' empire that pays 1.65% but Zag might be a long shot.
* Potentially Equitable Bank... but that may be a long shot as well.

May 21, 2017
2:59 pm
Loonie
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 9214
Member Since:
October 21, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Sounds like you and I are on the same page, AltaRed.
I thought EQ might be a good bet too. But then I remembered what a pain their sign-in process can be. They have a very short window in which you must do your business, and then you get locked out and have to start again, which results in another email code and so on. In some countries, email access is sketchy to begin with so you don't want these hassles. It might work if the OP sets it up and gets used to it before they leave the country but a pain if you have to phone them. I have never found them especially friendly or accommodating. I was once basically told I could take my business elsewhere. I didn't, as I like their rate! They count on that though, and have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Just my experience.

May 21, 2017
7:06 pm
Joe
Member
Banned
Forum Posts: 207
Member Since:
June 3, 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I do all my banking from all over the world and have never had any problems with these online banks and I am always moving money.
Tangerine,Hubert ,PC, EQ.
Loonie, what are you talking about with EQ....there just as easy if not the easiest
to sign into and use.

Tangerine....Canada's best bank. LBC.............Canada's 2nd best bank.
Hubert.....worst bank in Canada.

May 21, 2017
8:02 pm
User230
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 184
Member Since:
December 4, 2016
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Joe said
I do all my banking from all over the world and have never had any problems with these online banks and I am always moving money.
Tangerine,Hubert ,PC, EQ.
Loonie, what are you talking about with EQ....there just as easy if not the easiest
to sign into and use.  

Speaking for myself. Initially it was somewhat challenging to use EQ Bank. I didn't find it easy to locate things and it isn't exactly easy to catch onto right away. Like you have to press on a button to gain access to a screen that isn't available under the drop down menu. Sort of strange.

Now that I've done it for a while. Really liking it. Easy to move money around and use (better than Tangerine for sure). Very basic. Very comfortable to navigate. Straight forward. Really liking it as one of my main banks.

May 21, 2017
9:26 pm
AltaRed
BC Interior
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 2786
Member Since:
October 27, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

While the OP is getting some ideas about institutions that may be easy to deal with online, the OP is going to have to: 1) first determine whether any of these banks will even hold an account for a non-resident, and 2) even if they do, will they allow a non-resident to access these accounts online (and/or by phone) and make transactions such as transfers and withdrawals. The OP definitely will not want the accounts 'frozen'.

May 21, 2017
9:47 pm
Joe
Member
Banned
Forum Posts: 207
Member Since:
June 3, 2015
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Correct AltaRed....you need a home address in Canada....and not a postal box. It doesn't seem to matter if your a non-resident (as long as your a Canadian passport holder) I'm not sure of the exact law or rules, it may differ from bank to bank.

Tangerine....Canada's best bank. LBC.............Canada's 2nd best bank.
Hubert.....worst bank in Canada.

May 22, 2017
5:50 am
Loonie
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 9214
Member Since:
October 21, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

Why would you need a passport? I understand that the person who is going to be overseas will have one, but it's never been a requirement at any bank I've dealt with.
In any event, the person who is living overseas is not going to be showing up with their passport in hand.

May 22, 2017
6:19 am
Top It Up
Member
Members (temp break)
Forum Posts: 1363
Member Since:
December 17, 2016
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

aneblanc said

I'd like to park some money there until the forex CAD/EUR becomes better.  

Don't know your circumstances or what you see as an acceptable conversion rate but I'm thinking, with this government, you could be in for the LONG hold

http://www.xe.com/currencychar.....8;view=10Y

May 22, 2017
7:11 am
AltaRed
BC Interior
Member
Members
Forum Posts: 2786
Member Since:
October 27, 2013
sp_UserOfflineSmall Offline

I've posted the same link in another forum (only showing the inverse). The odds are not great of a better forex rate anytime soon.

Further to my post upthread, the OP also has to ask the FIs he has accounts with, the process and cost for a non-resident to write/phone the FI in Canada, to close the accounts and wire the money while residing in a foreign land. It may depend on the country the OP may be in at the time.

As for passports, we don't know if the OP is Canadian or not. In other words, there is a lot we do not know.

Please write your comments in the forum.