USD savings accounts in Canada | Page 2 | General comparisons | Discussion forum

sellis said
Check out PSU.U.TO. It's yielding close to 2% and does a monthly distribution in US cash. Seems to be a decent yield and you don't need to lock in for any term to get it.  

What is PSU.U.TO?

Please provide full name, a link etc

PSU is not close to 2%. USD MMF may not always be the best choice. But right now they seem to be.
1. Nothing else is even close to 2%.
2. For the last 2 years, most USD MMF never went below 2% yield
3. Surely they don't sound as secure as GIC. But CDIC only insure 100k CAD in saving, GIC anyway per account holder

The only inconvenience I always had with these MMF (not limited to these) was the 2+ days settlement. Still most brokers would happily "lend" you the money as buying power any way.

If you really want instant cash availability, can try the US currency ETF on TSX DLR.to. No div.
Moves exactly with the US/CAD fx. Decent trade volume, sell and buy just like any other ETF/stock, instant execution.

con6450 said
Thanks for all the replies. I also did some research and it seems HSBC.ca has 2.0% for a one year term USD. Is this too good to be true considering all other options seem to be just around 1%...?

https://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/personal/investing/products-and-services/term-deposits/us-dollar  

Apparently HSBC's 2% is not so strange after all. I accompanied a relative into Scotia on Aug 10 to help her move some funds around, and when we were told that we had just missed a US$ special that the bank had for 2% for 6 months. It was an advisor special only, meaning that it wasn't advertised and you had to have gone into an advisor's office to hear about it. It was on offer from when the US Feds raised rates in mid-June through to Jul 31. Apparently there is a push for US$, and we were advised to check directly with the branch advisors after each Fed move to see what specials will be offered.

Looking for some good suggestions to pile up USD. I'm contracting in USA and getting all my pay in USD. Right now, I have a 2.80% Tangerine offer but I went over CIDIC (125K !!) and that worries me. I also have some finds at EQ-Bank ay 1% (close to CIDIC limit too). The only other option I can see is Hubert at 0.25%, anyone knows other options ? I want to get the highest interest return possible but not willing to loose my capital.
The exchange rate is not that great, otherwise, I could exchange funds as CAD offers better interest rates.

JohnnyCash said

EQ increased the USD interest rate to 1.25%.  

Nice! I had parked my USD at EQ when it was just 1% when my Tangerine promo ended last month, and Tangerine's new offering to me of 2.2% excluded USD

Another feature that I have used at EQ is transferring from my EQ USD account to my son’s account in a U.S. bank via Wise on the EQ login. The fee is 72 cents regardless of the amount transferred. I use Agility and RBC accounts to exchange funds and then transfer from RBC to EQ.
With EQ you can transfer to anyone’s account in the USA. Cheaper than a cheque and a stamp.

JohnnyCash said

Interesting workflow. Can you send funds from the EQ USD account to your own Wise USD account?  

I do not have a Wise account. Wise is embedded in EQ login. You can use Wise to exchange funds within EQ as well but the rate which is better than most is not as good as Agility.

So my workflow is to log into Agility and book the exchange cad to usd…then log into RBC and under pay bills, choose Agility. I have RBC CAD and USD accounts connected to Agility. I pay Agility from CAD account and then within usually 24 hours Agility deposits the USD amount into my RBC USD. Account. Then I transfer to EQ. Once funds have cleared at EQ, then use wise within EQ to transfer direct (72 cents) to my son’s American bank, bank account.
Agility is the best exchange that I have found (short of OANDA which is not really designed for straight exchange). Knightsbridge is similar to Agility.

BMO Investorline (self directed) currently USD 1 year GIC 2.6 %. 2 year 3.35%