U.S. Banking for Snowbirds

Recognizing that a large number of their customers spend some amount of time in the U.S., many of the major Canadian banks have developed specific banking packages for snowbirds or have developed alliances with U.S. banks that they have an ownership interest in. The largest Canadian bank providing services to snowbirds would be RBC through their U.S. affiliated bank, RBC Centura. However, BMO through BMO Harris, TD Canada Trust through TDBanknorth and HSBC through HSBC U.S. also provide services in the U.S. Further, CIBC, Scotiabank and other Canadian banks provide U.S. dollar savings and currency exchange services to their customers.

Opening a Bank Account in the U.S.

In some cases, you might want to consider opening a U.S. bank account for your U.S. banking needs. In most cases, nothing should prevent you from opening a U.S. bank account. However, because of U.S. and Canadian securities regulations, the opening of an investment account in the U.S. will, in most cases, not be possible for Canadian snowbirds. When you open a U.S. bank account, a specific IRS tax form — W-8BEN Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding — will be required to be on file with the bank to confirm your U.S. non-resident status.